hasn’t let me out of his sight. I’m sorry about how he acted earlier. He’s just like that.”
I didn’t care what her father was like. “Have you heard from Elizabeth?”
“No,” she said. “That’s why I’m late calling. I was hoping I’d hear from her. But she hasn’t called. I’ve tried her a couple of times, but she hasn’t answered.”
I shifted lanes to let a fast-moving semi-truck pass.
“She should’ve been down awhile ago if the flight left at one thirty,” she said, concerned. “I made her promise to call me. She always keeps her promises.”
Lauren glanced at me, her eyebrows furrowed with worry.
“Okay,” I said. “We’re in the car and we’ll be driving for awhile.”
“Why aren’t you flying to California?”
“Long story,” I said. “But we’re going to be driving. Lauren said she gave you both of our numbers. You have them both, yes?”
“Uh huh.”
“Call us as soon as you hear from her,” I said. “If we need to call you, Lauren will text you first. If you can’t call back right away, that’s okay. But let us know. Text her back.”
“Alright. My dad goes to bed early so nighttime won’t be a problem.”
“And we don’t want to get you in trouble, Morgan,” I said. “We really don’t. But we appreciate your help.”
The line buzzed for a moment.
“She’d do the same for me,” Morgan finally said. “She’s always been a good friend to me. She’d help me if I needed help.” She paused. “Is she gonna be okay?”
“She’ll be okay,” I said. She had to be. We were so close. “Just call us when you hear from her.”
She said goodbye and hung up.
We drove for a few minutes, the snow packs growing heavier on the mountainsides as we entered ski country. The sun had shifted low in the western sky, its intensity muted by a thin blanket of clouds.
“What happens if she doesn’t call Morgan?” Lauren asked.
I didn’t answer because I wasn’t sure.
FOURTEEN
We were in Utah and my eyes were getting heavy. The taillights of the cars in front of us glowed a blurry red.
“Lauren,” I said. “Hey.”
She started in the passenger seat and jerked herself up. “What?”
“I gotta pull over and rest for a bit,” I said. “It’s after midnight and I’m tired.”
“I can drive,” she said, trying to straighten herself in her seat.
“You’ve been out cold for an hour,” I said. “We’re both wiped. I’m gonna find a motel. We both need to rest.”
She started to protest but I stopped her. “Just for a little bit. Then we’ll jump back in the car.”
She didn’t argue, just nodded, yawning. “Phone didn’t ring?” she asked, grabbing it from the middle console.
I shook my head. “I texted Morgan half an hour ago. She still hadn’t heard anything.”
My gut tightened even as I said the words. I could come up with several plausible excuses as to why she hadn’t called—lost her phone, delayed flight, just forgot—but none of them felt right. Judging by Lauren’s silence, I wasn’t alone in my thinking that something was wrong.
“Should be something here in just a minute,” I said, scanning the road in front of us. “I just need a couple hours. And so do you.”
She nodded silently.
The next exit lit up the darkness like a Christmas tree, several hotels, gas stations and fast-food restaurants rising up out of the night. I pulled into the first chain motel, parked the car and ten minutes later we were in a small but clean motel room.
I dropped on to the bed closest to the window, flat on my back. Lauren went to the bathroom and I could hear the water running. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to sleep because I was worried that we hadn’t heard anything, but I knew I needed the rest. Neither of us would be any good if we were exhausted, and we still had a lot of driving in front of us.
The water shut off and the bathroom door opened. Lauren’s hair was pulled back and her face freshly washed. She shed
I didn’t care what her father was like. “Have you heard from Elizabeth?”
“No,” she said. “That’s why I’m late calling. I was hoping I’d hear from her. But she hasn’t called. I’ve tried her a couple of times, but she hasn’t answered.”
I shifted lanes to let a fast-moving semi-truck pass.
“She should’ve been down awhile ago if the flight left at one thirty,” she said, concerned. “I made her promise to call me. She always keeps her promises.”
Lauren glanced at me, her eyebrows furrowed with worry.
“Okay,” I said. “We’re in the car and we’ll be driving for awhile.”
“Why aren’t you flying to California?”
“Long story,” I said. “But we’re going to be driving. Lauren said she gave you both of our numbers. You have them both, yes?”
“Uh huh.”
“Call us as soon as you hear from her,” I said. “If we need to call you, Lauren will text you first. If you can’t call back right away, that’s okay. But let us know. Text her back.”
“Alright. My dad goes to bed early so nighttime won’t be a problem.”
“And we don’t want to get you in trouble, Morgan,” I said. “We really don’t. But we appreciate your help.”
The line buzzed for a moment.
“She’d do the same for me,” Morgan finally said. “She’s always been a good friend to me. She’d help me if I needed help.” She paused. “Is she gonna be okay?”
“She’ll be okay,” I said. She had to be. We were so close. “Just call us when you hear from her.”
She said goodbye and hung up.
We drove for a few minutes, the snow packs growing heavier on the mountainsides as we entered ski country. The sun had shifted low in the western sky, its intensity muted by a thin blanket of clouds.
“What happens if she doesn’t call Morgan?” Lauren asked.
I didn’t answer because I wasn’t sure.
FOURTEEN
We were in Utah and my eyes were getting heavy. The taillights of the cars in front of us glowed a blurry red.
“Lauren,” I said. “Hey.”
She started in the passenger seat and jerked herself up. “What?”
“I gotta pull over and rest for a bit,” I said. “It’s after midnight and I’m tired.”
“I can drive,” she said, trying to straighten herself in her seat.
“You’ve been out cold for an hour,” I said. “We’re both wiped. I’m gonna find a motel. We both need to rest.”
She started to protest but I stopped her. “Just for a little bit. Then we’ll jump back in the car.”
She didn’t argue, just nodded, yawning. “Phone didn’t ring?” she asked, grabbing it from the middle console.
I shook my head. “I texted Morgan half an hour ago. She still hadn’t heard anything.”
My gut tightened even as I said the words. I could come up with several plausible excuses as to why she hadn’t called—lost her phone, delayed flight, just forgot—but none of them felt right. Judging by Lauren’s silence, I wasn’t alone in my thinking that something was wrong.
“Should be something here in just a minute,” I said, scanning the road in front of us. “I just need a couple hours. And so do you.”
She nodded silently.
The next exit lit up the darkness like a Christmas tree, several hotels, gas stations and fast-food restaurants rising up out of the night. I pulled into the first chain motel, parked the car and ten minutes later we were in a small but clean motel room.
I dropped on to the bed closest to the window, flat on my back. Lauren went to the bathroom and I could hear the water running. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to sleep because I was worried that we hadn’t heard anything, but I knew I needed the rest. Neither of us would be any good if we were exhausted, and we still had a lot of driving in front of us.
The water shut off and the bathroom door opened. Lauren’s hair was pulled back and her face freshly washed. She shed
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