Page 126 of The Sound Of Silence

But a minute to what? Because do I really think she’s here?

I want to believe, yes, but deep down, I know she’s not. This is merely a detour from my path on the off chance that I’m wrong.

I’m just delaying the inevitable.

I push through the last of the trees as the sun sets on the horizon. It should be a beautiful moment, the way the colors paint the sky and the stars take the stage, but when I find the viewpoint empty, I hate everything about it.

All the air rushes from my lungs as I drop my face into my hands, cursing the heavens. It’s almost nightfall and we still haven’t found her. She’s alone, possibly scared, and it’s all my fucking fault.

Bile rises in my throat as my gaze travels up the skirt of the mountain, to the direction I have to take. It’s been hours now. Something must have happened for her to stay away, to not come home.

She remembers.She fucking remembers.I can’t even imagine what that’s doing to her head.Or is she hurt?

I take off in another run and my legs ache. It doesn’t matter how fit you are, this trail isn’t for the fainthearted. I’ve been here before, many times, but the paths are long gone and the forest overgrown. The once beautiful landmark left to rot in silence after tragedy struck all those years ago.

I continue on my journey, forcing myself to focus on the light, acutely aware of the darkness that awaits me if I allow myself to think about it.

Every step brings me closer to madness, but that means I’m closer to her.

What if she’s not there?I can’t handle another dead end.But what if she is?

Curling my hands around my mouth, I bellow out her name, desperate for her to hear me. “Willow?”

Nothing.Where the fuck is she?

“Willow!”

It’s another ten minutes before the tightness in my lungs dissipates and the sound of rushing water permeates the air.

Images of the last time I was here flash through my mind, and I have to blink continuously to stop them from blinding me.Buttercup. She has to be here.

I canfeelit.

I canfeelher.

Thehigher I get, the faster I move, but when I burst out into the clearing, everything stops—my body, my heart, time.

Willow.

“Fuck, Willow.”

Crying out, I almost fall to my knees as relief consumes me, seeing my entire world in front of me.

But it’s short-lived.

Willow’s curled up in a ball, rocking back and forth, muttering something under her breath, completely unaware of my arrival. I want to run to her, but if I’m right and she remembers me, that could do more harm than good. Taking a few tentative steps forward, I wait for her reaction, my insides churning the closer I get.

A stick snaps when I’m a few feet away, and her eyes flash to mine, her grief-stricken stare looking right through me.

Another piece of my heart splinters as I raise my hands in surrender, but something must penetrate through her fog, because I see the moment she comes back to me. I see the light brighten behind her eyes.

“Jesse?”

Thank fuck.

A crushing weight lifts from my shoulders, and I suck in some air. With that one little word, I feel like I can breathe again. She’s alive, she’s with me, and that’s all that matters.

“God, Jesse.” Willow bursts into tears as I rush to her side, pulling her into the comfort of my arms.

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