Page 108 of Check the Halls
“Sure. And hey, who knows? If your mom starts to work for the team, we could hang out even more. Several times a week. You’ll be so sick of me, it will be awesome!”
Sam rolls his eyes, but I can tell he’s fighting a grin.
It’s already dark by the time we pull into Sam’s driveway, the headlights cutting a path through the falling snow. Before I’ve even shifted the car into park, the front door bursts open.
Elliot races out in slippers and a wool cardigan, her face etched with relief. I haven’t even turned off the engine when Sam’s door flies open, and she meets him halfway, wrapping him in a hug so tight it looks like she might never let go.
“I wassoworried,” she breathes into his hair. “I love you. Don’teverdo that again. I’m so glad you’re okay. You are insomuch trouble. I love you.”
“Sorry, Mom,” Sam mumbles into her shoulder, and I can hear the guilt in his voice.
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” she says, pressing a kiss to thetop of his head. Her voice trembles as she adds, “Also, you’re grounded until you graduate high school.”
He manages a tired little laugh, and she pulls back just enough to look at him, hands on his shoulders like she’s checking to make sure he’s in one piece.
As they walk toward the front door, I follow behind, hands shoved deep in my jacket pockets. Elliot turns to me, her eyes shining. “Thank you,” she says, her voice thick. “Thank you so much for finding him. I don’t know what I would’ve—” She cuts herself off, shaking her head. “Just…thank you.”
She invites me to stay for dinner, but I shake my head. “I should get home,” I say gently. “But thank you.”
After I turn to leave, I feel a tug on my coat. I turn just as Sam collides with me, wrapping me in a tight hug that catches me completely off guard.
“I won’t get sick of you,” he says, his voice barely above a whisper.
The lump in my throat comes fast and sharp. I hug him back, one hand steady on the back of his head.
“Likewise, little buddy,” I murmur. “Likewise.”
CHAPTER 37
MADDY
Ileave the hotel in a daze, my hands tight on the steering wheel as the city blurs past. I drive as fast as I dare, the roads slick with snow, the sky a heavy, endless gray pressing down on the world. Every red light feels like a punishment. Every second, an eternity.
By the time I reach the condo, my heart is pounding so hard I can barely breathe.
The elevator ride feels slower than it’s ever been, and when the doors finally part, I’m sprinting down the hall like my life depends on it.
I shove the key into the lock with shaking hands. The door swings open.
Cheshire is the only one waiting for me.
Ben isn’t here.
I try his phone again, my fingers trembling, the call going straight to voicemail like it has for the last hour. I tell myself it’s just a dead battery. I tell myself a hundred things I don’t believe. Panic tightens its hold around my ribs making it hard to breathe.
There are no new messages from Beth. No news.
So I sit on the couch, my arms wrapped around my middle like they can hold me together.
The living room grows darker as the evening slides into night, the soft hum of the city outside the windows a distant, indifferent sound. I think about turning on the Christmas lights, but the thought of their festive glow feels all wrong.
So I sit. In the dark. In the silence. Waiting.
For anything.
For some sign from the universe that he’s okay.
Beside me, Cheshire lifts his head, his ears perking up as he looks toward the door.
