Mia Hill. College bound with an athletic scholarship. A go-getter with big dreams and a fully thought out plan to make sure they come true.
But with her father's release from prison looming and the inevitable stresses of adulting, everything she wa...
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The longest game of Hide 'N Seek I ever played was when I was fourteen. It was Cecelia's tenth birthday and all she wanted as a gift from me, bless her heart, was to play a game. She even let me hide first.
At the time, I thought that was just her sweetness. Putting others before herself is my sister's specialty and, in some ways, that's exactly what she was doing by letting me go first that day. But I found out soon enough that she also had a motive.
She was giving me a moment before using her turn to pull a Houdini on me and staying hidden for the rest of the afternoon.
I searched our entire property and couldn't find her anywhere. It got to the point where I was worried and rallied the parents to help.
My mom found her in record time, tucked away at the bottom of the basement stairs in a small alcove that Dad and I had no idea even existed.
They claimed it was mother-daughter intuition that led Mom there, but that felt pretty convenient considering our house has been in her family for years. Before it was ours, it belonged to her grandmother, my Great Grandma Valentine, and it was the place Mom spent a lot of time growing up.
For that reason, I called bullshit on the intuition thing, but Dad let it slide with a smirk in my direction and a gooey look at Mom.
Cecelia won the day. A birthday level up and bragging rights on Hide 'n Seek for the rest of our lives. But her Houdini act has got nothing on Mia Hill today on campus.
She's gone. Absolutely gone. It's like she's disappeared into thin air. I've looked everywhere I could think of, and it seems she doesn't want to be found.
I shouldn't be surprised. Last night was pretty wild for her and if she remembers even a fragment of our conversation when I brought her back to my dorm, that tells me all I need to know about why she'd want to avoid me today. But the thing is, that conversation is the exact reason I need to see her.
"Sometimes, I wish we were kissing."
I know she was drunk. And I'm trying not to read too much into it. But isn't it sort of true that honesty pours out with alcohol? Or is that something I'm making up to pad my ego?
Regardless, all I know is that I'm gonna remember that moment until I die, I just know it. And since I'm both intrigued by her words and scared shitless, I need to talk to Mia.
Which means I have to keep looking. She's gotta be here somewhere. But seeing as I don't know where that somewhere is, there's only one thing left to do.
Consult my personal expert on Hide 'N Seek...
Gray: Where would a girl hide on campus if she's trying to avoid someone as hot and awesome as me?
Cecelia Rose: If someone is hiding from you, it means they know the REAL you, Gray. I'd start looking out of state. 😅
