Page 28 of Next Level
I move down the hall and check each room.
Nothing. Silence.
“Goddamnit!” I roar.
Cherry calls out, “Level, come here.”
I follow her voice and find her in the kitchen.
“What?” I say, looking around for someone or something.
She takes several dirty dishes out of the sink. “They’ve been here. There’s food in the fridge and dishes in the sink.”
I look around the place and notice beer cans, a bottle of Jack, and empty soda cans.
Questions fly through my mind.
How could they have known we were coming?
Could someone have tipped them off—but who?
Where did they go?
Is she okay?
Cherry grabs my arm, pulling me from my thoughts. “We’re going to find her. Let’s head back into town. There are a few bars and places he might go to.”
“What about Sam? She’s fifteen years old. She won’t be in a bar.”
“Let’s just ask around. Check things out. Get a room and figure out our next move. You look like you need some sleep and to regroup. We’re close. We’ll get her,” Cherry reassures me.
I know she’s right. We are so close.
I agree and follow her out of the house. She closes up, leaving it the way we found it in case they are only in town. We don’t want to tip them off that we’ve been here.
After hitting a few bars, we find out that a couple of people have seen Garrett in the bar, but no one has seen Jared or Sam.
We decided to check into a hotel and stay for the night. My anxiety and stress are through the roof. I feel like I’m going to lose it.
We’re so close.
MY BLOSSOM
As soon as we get into the hotel room, I tell Cherry I need a shower. But what I really need is to calm down, regroup my mind, and wash off the day.
Emerging from the bathroom after a long shower, I’m only wearing my jeans. When I look up from towel-drying my hair, Cherry is sitting in a chair with a travel-size vodka bottle halfway to her lips.
She whispers, “Ho-ly-shit.”
I grin. Knowing damn well that Cherry’s taking in all my tattoos.
“Like what you see?” I tease.
She stands up and downs the vodka shot, never taking her eyes off me.
I say with a smirk, “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Putting the empty bottle on the table, she walks over and puts her hands on my chest and traces the cherry blossoms.
