Ellie's boyfriend kissed her goodnight and disappeared without a trace, never to be seen again... until now.
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A week before their high school graduation, Austin and Ellie parted ways with a goodnight kiss, thinking they'd be seeing each...
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I didn't see Austin during the whole first day. But I guess I shouldn't really be that surprised. He'd managed to disappear without a trace before... and to stay away for ten years. Maybe it was silly of me to expect that I'd be able to confront him at this conference. He was clearly much better at this hide-and-seek shit than I was.
As much as the situation saddened me, it also pissed me off. There was just so much I wanted to know. Things I'd never thought I'd be able to get answers to. As the years passed, so did the hope. I'd never truly expected I'd ever see Austin again. In truth, I thought he must be dead. Because if he wasn't, why did he never reach out?
Why else would he do what he did?
Now that I had seen him again, alive and breathing and looking better than I remembered, the pain was back. The same raw, cold despair that I'd felt back then. Afterward... after he left.
I took a drink of my tea that did nothing to warm me up and forced a smile at Linda after I caught her studying me. We were having breakfast with Adam and his team. It was Friday morning and our last day in St. Louis. Linda and I were booked on the same flight out that afternoon, so I had to keep my shit together the entire day, until I got back home.
"I'm going to get another cup of coffee," Linda said. "Do you want anything?"
"No." I shook my head. I had my tea, vanilla yogurt, and some strawberries.
"You're not eating," she pointed out in a stern tone, like a disapproving mother.
I speared one of the strawberries with my fork and put it in my mouth. It was tasteless, but I continued to chew, knowing it was the only way to shut Linda up.
She narrowed her eyes at me and grumbled a "fine."
It didn't give me the usual satisfaction that I normally got when she let things go. But then, whatever situation this was, it wasn't normal.
I took another sip of the breakfast tea that was getting cold. Maybe I should've asked Linda for another cup? But in reality, I probably wouldn't end up drinking it, anyway.
My thoughts returned to Austin, the way they had over and over again since I saw him Wednesday night. I just couldn't believe that he was alive and that I'd seen him.
He was just as attractive as he'd been back then. Maybe even more so.
But what was he doing here? And where had he been all this time?
I swallowed hard and forced myself to stay in control. I was not about to break down again about something that happened ten years ago. It was enough that I cried myself to sleep the night before.
There were just so many questions.
Why would he just leave? Without a word. Like I meant absolutely nothing to him. That was what hurt the most.
