Pieces of You

Chapter Ten

Jamie | After

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Stones crunch beneath my feet.

Wind and rain conspire together to crash into me as I walk, seeping through my dress and chilling me to my bone. My fingers shake, numbed from the bitter cold, and the hot tears rolling down my cheeks are my only source of warmth. As I trudge through the darkness of Berewood Forest, I clutch at my arms, fighting against the hypothermia that the weather seems insistent on causing.

I probably shouldn't have left the party. Sure, Anna didn't leave me much of a choice, but I could've walked through the front door and hunted for Sky instead. Anna wouldn't have known any better, and at least then I'd be surrounded by people, under the glow of streetlights, and not here, not left alone to my thoughts with only the trees as company.

Because those thoughts? They're the worst place to be right now.

For all I know, Sky could be passed out somewhere, alone in the cold with god knows who. Since Dean said she was talking to Anna, she could literally be with anyone right now – nothing would surprise me, not even if she were talking to Blaire Olsen herself.

Okay, maybe that one's a little far fetched.

My foot lingers over a broken tree trunk as I consider turning back, but when I look over my shoulder, out into the darkness that stands before me as thick as a brick wall, I'm not even sure I could.

Berewood Forest is a maze, a gathering of trees so dense and thick you'd better know your route beforehand if you have any hopes of getting out. The darkness surrounding me is all encompassing and I can barely see an arm's length in front of me.

Yeah, there's no chance I'll be able to find my way back.

The light from the party is long gone, with drops of rain tapping against leaves replacing the sound of beating music and the rush of wind replacing the hush of muted party conversation. And despite the distance separating me from Anna's house, the nagging feeling that something bad has happened to Sky refuses to leave my mind, no matter how hard I try.

Images of Blaire's missing posters flash past my eyes, but with Sky's bright face where Blaire's should be. I picture her in the woods, skin turning blue and hair all damp from the rain. Her eyes see nothing, pink lips parted in a silent scream. There are footsteps, someone walking away with suspicious ease.

Something like that, something bad, happened to Blaire.

I can feel it in my bones. And who's to say it won't happen again?

I grit my teeth, hopping over the endless roots embedded in the ground. When I get home, if I still haven't heard from Sky, I'll call her mom. The rain won't stop, maybe not even until tomorrow evening, but even that won't stop Jen from going out looking for her. If she's not too angry, maybe she'll let me help too.

Of course, my plan is also reliant on me getting home.

The road to travel through these woods is cocooned by thick, ominous trees.

When I was younger, I used to be scared of them, if only due to their impossibly large size and the shadows they created. But my dad loves it here, so exposure therapy was how I dealt with it. I remember all of our trips with clarity, how the fear slowly left my body with each passing weekend spent sleeping in sheeted tents. In daylight, I know this forest like the back of my hand.

At night, not so much.

But spending so much time here was how I learnt that if I follow the sound of Berewood River, I'll eventually wind up on the main road, mere miles away from civilisation. It might take thirty minutes, it might take five, but if I follow the sound of water, I'll be safe.