Page 79 of Please Remember

"Are you sleeping with other guys?" Drew asks.

"No!"

Jax and Benji both laugh, but my heart melts when Drew sighs and says, "This is serious to me, Sage."

"Can we maybe talk about this when we're not in the middle of the woods at one in the morning?" she asks. "We're distracting Allie."

"No, it's actually helping," I say. "It's allowing me to go on impulse."

The conversation continues around me, and I like how even though we're on a mission to find the place I was held captive for years, this feels oddly normal. The dynamic between us all still works the same way it always has, and it almost feels like no time has passed. Almost.

"That girl who peed on me on the dance floor called me," Drew says. "She yelled at me for not calling her after our date."

"She didn't remember peeing on you, did she?" Sage asks, and I hear the smile in her voice.

"Nope. She told me I was a liar, and I asked her why she's not allowed to drink at the bar for six months. She had nothing to say to that and hung up on me."

Drew clears his throat. "Has Laura called anyone?"

"I wish she'd call me!" Sage almost shouts. "Hell, I wish I'd been able to have a crack at her before she was arrested."

"Not me," Jax says.

"Nope," I say.

Benji makes a noise indicating no, and Drew sighs. "Why the hell would she call me?"

"Because you're the nicest one out of all of us now that Jax hates her," Sage says.

"What did she say?" Benji asks.

"She wanted to know if I could get in touch with her friend, Natalie. I said I had no idea who she was, and then she asked if I could get her an attorney. Even tried to plead her case that she didn't do this, but I asked her who did if she didn't."

I find it interesting that she would think to call anyone in the group. From what Seth told me, they all told her she was crazy when she stormed into the bar. She has charges for illegally recording Jax and me having sex along with breaking and entering on top of all the other charges.

"What did you tell her?" Jax asks.

"I told her to figure it out for herself. She did this to one of my best friends, and I wasn't going to help her. Then I hung up. She hasn't called since."

"Who's Natalie?" I ask.

"Her best friend," Jax says. "She was supposed to be the maid of honor."

The edge of the tree line comes into view, and the moment I step into the clearing, I freeze. We're off by only a few yards, but I see a dark house that looks more like a shack. Everyone falls silent behind me as I take in the scene before me. My mind shifts back to running away, and I know it's the house.

"Allie?" Jax asks.

"That's it," I whisper, my lungs struggling to take in air. "That's the house."

His hands grab onto my arms as my legs give out, and Sage rushes over. "Are you sure?"

Nodding, I fight back the tears. I don't even know why I want to cry. My hands grab for Jax, and he knows exactly what I want. He pulls me up to stand, letting me place my ear on his chest as I stare at the house. The house I spent years locked away inside.

"Allie, are you okay?" Benji asks, his voice soft and full of concern.

"Yeah, I'm okay," I say, letting out a deep breath.

We walk through the wild grass and weeds towards the house. There are no lights on, and I climb the back steps to the door to look in the window. I can't see inside, but it's familiar. All of this is familiar.

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