Trust And Hope

Chapter 20

I was sitting with Sadie in her bedroom. She was sitting in front of me with her back to me, and I was braiding her hair down her back. God, I hadn't done this in forever. I tied off her braid and smiled at my handiwork.

"Richelle," Sadie said, her voice panicked. "Richelle."

"What?" I asked. "Calm down, Sadie. What is it?"

"I don't have it," Sadie said, feeling all around her.

"What?" I asked. "What don't you have?"

"My necklace," Sadie said. "The necklace. From Eva. I can't find it."

"Okay, did you come home with it?" I asked, trying to calm my tone.

"I don't think so," Sadie's breaths came out quickly and panicked.

I tried to subdue the anxiety inside of me. "Okay. So let's ask Mom if she has it. I'll go ask."

I got up and planted my real foot, and my prosthetic and went to go find my mother. "Mom, do you have Sadie's locket?"

"No, I don't think so," Mom said and started digging through her purse. "What does it look like?"

"It's a blue and gold heart-shaped locket," I said. I held up mine. "It looks like this, only gold instead of silver."

Mom nodded and kept searching.

Sadie leaned her head on my shoulder and looked up at me. "What if I lost it? What if I lost one of the only pieces of Eva I have left?"

I stroked her long, blonde hair and leaned my head on hers. "I will do everything in my power to get that necklace back, Sadie. I promise."

"I know you will," Sadie said. "What if it's gone for good and it's all my fault?"

"Sadie, I won't stop until we do find it," I said. "And even if we don't find it, it would never be your fault. You were in a car accident. Eva would have known that it wasn't your fault if she was here."

If she was here. The words I've wrestled with for years.

Sadie leaned into me and I wrapped my arms around her. "I want Eva," she whispered.

"I know," I said. "I know."

"I lost it," Tears started flowing down Sadie's cheeks. "I lost it. Aunt Stephanie was right. I lost one of the only pieces of my sister I have left."

I took a deep breath. "You want to know something?"

"What?" Sadie asked, her voice thick.

"When Eva first gave me my locket, I lost it too," I said. "But you went longer without losing it. I lost it after a month. Eva was so upset with me she wouldn't speak to me for a week. We had a huge falling out. So I stole hers just to teach her a lesson."

"Really?" Sadie asked.

I nodded. "Really. Sades, sisters aren't perfect. We got my necklace back, and we'll get yours back too." I fingered my locket. "You want to see what's inside?"

Sadie's eyes lit up. "Can I?"

I opened up my locket and let the little piece of paper fall into my hand. Then I read it off to Sadie. I had never done this before. The note was the most precious thing I had. But Sadie deserved to know I didn't blame her. So I took a deep breath and read:

Things I Love About Richelle

She can sing amazingly and make people listen to her

She loves with everything she has and she knows that that is the only real way to love.