~Chapter 14~
The next morning, the space between them hummed with excitement.
"Today is the day," Allison declared, staring down at the folded letter clutched in both hands. "Devin is going to deeply regret how he treated me yesterday."
"Amen to that," Anna agreed, tapping her fingers against the steering wheel.
"Here is the plan. You drop this letter in Devin's mailbox, and I'll go wait for him at the exact place where we first met."
Anna nodded.
Anna dropped her off near the beach access. She watched her friend walk away, the ocean breeze catching her hair, though Anna wasn't entirely sure where the specific meeting spot was.
Minutes later, Anna pulled into the quiet driveway of Devin's house. She quickly hopped out, slipped a crisp envelope into the mailbox, and drove off, completely unaware of the eyes watching her.
Further down the street, Cathy sat idling in her parked car. From behind her windshield, her heart skipped a dangerous beat as she watched the unfamiliar girl deliver the envelope. She instantly thought of Devin's "ghost"—the mysterious penpal he'd loved for years without ever laying eyes on her.
Cathy waited until Anna's car disappeared completely around the corner before stepping out onto the pavement.
Moving swiftly, Cathy approached the mailbox. Her fingers closed around the envelope. She could feel the weight of it, sensing the heavy importance of whatever words were sealed inside. Without a second of hesitation, she pulled it free and shoved it deep into her leather bag, her mind already spinning with possibilities.
***
Inside Austin's estate, Devin was fresh out of the shower, vigorously drying his hair when the doorbell rang. He quickly pulled a t-shirt over his head and walked toward the front gate, a faint, desperate hope flickering in his chest. Maybe she finally wrote back.
But as he opened the gate, his hopeful expression instantly plummeted.
"Cathy," he said, his voice dropping to a flat, exhausted deadpan. "What are you doing here?"
Cathy adjusted the strap of her bag, acutely aware of the stolen truth burning a hole against her side. "I was just passing by," she said, her voice uncharacteristically soft and tentative. "I wanted to see if you were busy. I need... I actually need someone to escort me to the grocery store."
"No," Devin said bluntly, already turning back toward the house. He wasn't in the mood for her usual games.
"Devin, wait!" Cathy called out, hurrying after him. "Look... I know I've been awful to you. I called you names, I teased you relentlessly about Sam... but isn't it a little unfair? I'm Sam's sister. Can't we just try to be friends, too?"
Devin stopped in his tracks. He was already so mentally drained from the confusing chaos at the beach the day before, his mind constantly looping back to "Allison" and the argument. He simply didn't have the energy for another fight, and Cathy's sudden, pleading vulnerability caught him totally off guard.
He let out a long, heavy sigh, the weight of his own loneliness making his shoulders slump. "...Fine. Just this once."
Cathy's heart surged with dark triumph, though she kept her face perfectly composed in a grateful smile. She had the letter. She had him right where she wanted him.
And Devin would never know what he had just lost, while she held him close.
***
As Allison walked toward their meeting place, the sudden grey sky began to bruise—a deep purple-black that swallowed the horizon until the churning sea and the heavy clouds became one.
Allison stood frozen on the edge of the tide. The wind was growing teeth, biting fiercely at her salt-stung skin, but she barely felt it. Everything had happened so fast, leaving her rooted to the sand as the sheer weight of the realization finally hit her.
Again. The word echoed in her head. This storm felt like a ghost of the one six years ago—the day her parents dragged her away from Devin.
A jagged tear of lightning split the charcoal clouds, and the heavens finally broke. Allison turned and ran, her bare feet sinking deep into the sludge of wet sand, her sandals abandoned like forgotten offerings.
Allison reached for her pocket, her fingers brushing only wet fabric.
The phone. Anna had it.
Miles away, from the crashing waves, the same lightning that lit up the coast flickered against the humming fluorescent lights of the City-Mart.
Inside the store, Anna reached for a carton, her mind looping back to Allison on the beach, when her world came to a jarring halt.
Across the aisle, between towers of cereal boxes, stood Devin.
Beside him was Cathy. She reached out, her fingers grazing his sleeve as if trying to anchor him to the spot, but Devin flinched. He shifted his arm away with a sharp, instinctive jerk—like her touch was a burn he hadn't expected.
Anna's pulse spiked. The "Maria" persona she'd played at the beach yesterday vanished, replaced by a heat that scorched her throat. He was here, with someone. While Allison was out there.
She abandoned her cart, letting it roll aimlessly into a display of bread, and marched toward them.
"Devin!"
The name cut through the hum of the refrigerators like a blade. Cathy's face drained of color, her eyes darting toward the exit like a trapped animal. "Devin, we should go," Cathy urged, her voice tight and high. "Your uncle must be waiting for you by now."
But Devin stayed rooted to the spot. "Wait. I think someone is calling me."
"I am," Anna said, reaching them with a jagged breath. "I'm calling you."
Devin looked at her, his confusion warring with a flicker of recognition from the day before. But the fire in Anna's eyes didn't match the casual "Maria" persona from the beach.
"Excuse me?"
"There's no time to explain this, Devin, but I'm Anna, Allison's best friend. A few hours ago, she sent me to your home to leave her letter for you. And she's out there somewhere—only you and she know the place—waiting for you."
The air in the store seemed to vanish. Cathy couldn't move, her gaze fixed on the floor.
The realization hit Devin as he stood petrified, hearing it from Anna.
Devin didn't wait for another word. He didn't even look at Cathy. He turned and sprinted, his footsteps echoing like a frantic heartbeat against the floor.
Anna turned her gaze to Cathy, her eyes burning with a cold, sharp light. Cathy gave her one final, venomous look before slipping away into the aisles.
Anna didn't bother to finish her shopping spree. She spun around and ran for the glass doors, the humid air of the storm hitting her like a wall.
***
While Allison ran against the raging storm and heavy rain, she saw a glimpse of hope.
A beach house?
Allison wondered. After holding her breath for too long from running, she had finally found a safe haven—a fortress made of glass.
She scrambled onto the porch, huddling against the cold glass. It was dark inside—hollow and locked.
She pressed her forehead to the wood, shivering so hard her teeth rattled. A sudden grin burst across her face.
I'm not that same kid anymore who is scared of you. ---
***
Inside the car, the windshield wipers couldn't keep up with the deluge. "Allison! I'm dead worried about you! Your parents are gonna kill me," she shouted at the dashboard, her hands white-knuckled on the steering wheel.
Then, the brake lights appeared—a sea of red stretching into the grey gloom.
"No! No, no, no!" Anna slammed her hand against the horn. The blare was rhythmic, annoying, and desperate. She reached for the passenger seat, grabbing the phone. Their phone. Her heart sank. If Allison was in trouble, she had no way to call. She remembered how Allison had decided to give her the phone because she didn't need it—she preferred a long-distance penpalship with Devin. Now she realized it was foolish.
"Hey, move your car!" she screamed out the window at the bumper in front of her.
A woman in the next lane rolled down her window, her face twisted in a scowl. "Stop honking your fucking horn, kid! We all want to go home! Perhaps you'd rather spend the night in an orange shirt!"
Anna didn't even blink. She leaned out, rain drenching her hair instantly. "Kid? I'm eighteen! Shut the fuck up, old lady!"
Devin checked the mailbox. Empty. His heart sank. He went inside and called Sam.
"Sam..."
"Bro, yes!"
"Sam, listen to me. Remember the woman yesterday?"
Sam answered, "Woman? Which of them?"
"You asked for her number yesterday. I need it right now."
"Wait! What? Why? Are you hitting on her too? She—"
"Sam, just text it. Now. It's an emergency!"
Sam stared at his phone, baffled. Wait, does Devin already know she's Allison? But he texted the number anyway.
***
Meanwhile, as Anna readied herself to escape the next traffic jam, she flipped her middle finger at the old woman and ducked back inside, her breath fogging the glass. Suddenly, the phone in her lap vibrated as she drove away.
An unknown number.
She swiped it before the first ring finished. "Hello? Ali? Oh my god, Ali, where are you? I'd be dead, Ali—"
"Anna, it's Devin."
The voice was breathless, competing with the sound of a roaring engine on his end. "Anna, the letter—it's not here. Where is she?"