Chapter 35
THIRTY-FIVE
PRESENT DAY
Garrett
I walk home from the bonfire with Madeline on my mind, and as I approach her house, I spot a light on in the front window.
It’s amazing how I’ve gotten used to her presence next door and the comfort it brings me to know she’s there safe.
She’s with her sister, so I won’t knock tonight, but tomorrow I’m going to have to tell her the truth, and then I’m going to have to convince her to go home to Maple Ridge and never come back.
With a heavy heart, I open my front door and step into the darkness. I usually leave a light on in the corner, but in my hurry to get to the bonfire with Madeline, I must have forgotten. My hand is reaching for the switch on the wall when I sense movement across the room.
I freeze, holding my breath.
Is this it? Is this the moment it all comes crashing down? For years, I looked over my shoulder, double-checked the locks, slept with a baseball bat next to the bed. For years, I waited for them to come for Adam .
And then slowly, I began to relax. I took the bat to the beach to play baseball with Ellery and put it away in the garage when I got home.
I started walking home alone at night. I left the doors to my Jeep unlocked.
Slowly, Adam faded and then disappeared, and I became Garrett.
I moved on and believed that everyone else had, too.
I stopped worrying, stopped searching for faces in the crowd, stopped fretting about whether or not they’d find me.
I stare at the dark figure on the couch.
What if they found me?
And then an even worse scenario slams into me. Madeline and her sister are next door. What if they stopped there first? I curl my hands into fists and charge into the room as the figure on the couch reaches for the lamp on the side table and flips it on.
I bend over and clutch my chest, gasping.
It’s Madeline.
Thank God.
I stagger over to the couch and sink down next to her. “You scared me to death.”
“Did I?” she asks.
My emotions dart around, and all I can do is breathe out a shaky laugh. “I’m happy to see you but I thought you’d be with your sister.”
“She went to bed early.” Her voice is cold, flat, which drags me from my own ragged emotions.
I take in her pale face and bright eyes. Has she been crying? My heart seizes again. “Did something happen? Did you run into that creepy guy again?”
“No.” Her hands twist on something in her lap. I reach down to still them, and my palm comes to rest on cold metal. A framed photo. She flips it over, and I stare down at her face, ten years younger. Jason’s face. And Adam’s face .
My face.
“I planned to tell you,” I blurt out, wincing at the hollowness of the words.
“Did you.” There’s no rise in inflection, and it’s not a question. She doesn’t believe me. Why should she?
“I was going to tell you tomorrow.” I reach for her hand, but she recoils, sliding back against the arm of the couch.
“Don’t touch me.”
“I’m sorry.” I hold up my palms helplessly. “Madeline, please…”
“I can’t believe you’re alive. That Adam is alive.” Madeline lets out a slightly hysterical laugh. “I mean, I know I came here looking for Adam—for you—” She shakes her head as if she’s trying to get it straight. “But it’s still completely unbelievable.”
“I know.”
“How did you survive that crash? And then—where did you go?” Her breath hitches and she whispers in a broken voice, “Why didn’t you come back?”
I ball my hands into fists to keep from reaching for her.
Madeline presses her palms against her temples like her head is throbbing.
“I keep going over and over it in my head. And all I could come up with is that you had some sort of amnesia and didn’t know who you were, who any of us were.
But you have this photo.” She stares at me.
“You recognized me immediately that day on the beach, didn’t you? ”
I nod.
“So, what happened? Did you survive the crash and see your chance to get away from us? To start a new life somewhere else? If you didn’t want to be with me, you could have told me. Not left me to agonize over you for a decade.”
“Madeline, it’s not that. It was never that.” I can’t help it now, and I slide for her end of the couch, taking her by the hand. I need to touch her, to reassure her. “I never would have left if I’d had a choice. ”
“So why did you leave? And why couldn’t you tell me you were going?” She grips my palm, digging her fingers into my flesh. “Adam…” She closes her eyes in anguish, but a tear escapes and rolls down her cheek. “Garrett. Whatever your name is. I just need the truth. For once, just tell me the truth.”