Smoke

2 | Let It Be

༝ 7-9-16 ༝
Smoke — Let It Be

Location - Maple Valley, Maine
Date - August 18 | 9:03 am
Narrator - Mrs. Nolan

Author's Note: This chapter may be a little odd, considering it is in Mrs. Nolan's POV, but I needed to put Alina's parents' reactions into this. At first I thought I would just do 3rd person, but then I decided it needed to be in their mind for the full effect. Hope it's not too awkward!

Sunlight pours into the room from the open window, which Eric (Mrs. Nolan's husband and Alina's father) so carelessly didn't close last night. I sigh, and leave the bed before putting on my robe and heading downstairs. I have to cover my mouth to prevent an unwelcome yawn from escaping. Alina probably won't be awake for another few hours, so I'll just make breakfast for Eric and I.

I walk down the spiral staircase toward the kitchen and find an envelope sitting on the kitchen counter. There's no return address, the only thing written on the letter is Mom & Dad.

Huh, that's odd. It must be from Alina. How sweet! Maybe she thought she would write an old fashioned letter for her old folks.

I was genuinely touched as I tore open the envelope. Inside was a hand-written letter on an otherwise blank piece of paper.

Dear Mom and Dad,

I'm sorry to tell you this and I don't quite know how to, but in the morning, when you wake up, I won't be there. It's not because I'm sleeping over at a friend's house or I went out on an early jog this morning, it's because I'm gone and I'm not coming back.

I can't tell you where I am, because I can't have you looking for me, but I can tell you this:

I'm okay, and I will be okay. I'm safe; you don't have to worry about me. So please don't send a search party across the entirety of Maine to look for me. Please don't look for me. I won't tell you my address and I won't tell you my new phone number. I will send letters, without a return address of course, and Lee will keep me updated on how you two are doing. If I hear that you are pressuring Lee, or any of my friends, to give you my address or phone number, I will cut off all ties with everyone. If you ask anyone for my information I will stop sending letters, I will change my number and my address and I will never speak to anyone in Maple Valley ever again. You have my word on that.

I had to leave because I couldn't live in Maple Valley anymore. The little town girl personality doesn't suit me; it never has. I'm meant to travel and to live somewhere with a lot of people, culture, and life. I need to do this, and I'm sorry it had to come down to this; me leaving you without you getting the chance to properly say goodbye. I love you both so much.

You can do whatever you want with all my stuff, I don't care about that, but please...give Finn to Lexi, I know she'll take good care of him. I don't trust him with anyone else. I love you guys and I'll write when I can; I promise.

All my love,

Alina

Tears start to trickle down my cheeks as I finish reading the letter and place it on the table. I quickly run upstairs, head in my hands and letter in my pocket, to our bedroom.

"Eric! Eric! Please..." I cry, rushing to his side.

"Terra (Mrs. Nolan)? Terra, what is it?" Eric asks, immediately sitting up and welcoming me into his arms.

"It's...it's Alina. She's gone!" I sob, crying into his shoulder.

"What?!" Eric unwraps his arm from around me and jolts forward, both confusion and shock written across his face.

"Read this." I say, taking the letter from my pocket and handing it to him. His eyes scan over the letter and as soon as he does his hands flies up to cover his mouth.

"Oh my God." He says once he finishes.

"I know! Oh God, what do we do?!" I sob.

"We leave her." Eric says, his lips pressed into a straight line, his face emotionless.

"Leave her?!" I repeat, shocked.

"Yes. It's what she wants, and it's the least we can do as her parents to respect that."

"She's only seventeen! She can't take care of herself!" I argue.

"I know Ali. She's smart and she can take care of herself. All she has to do is survive without us finding her for a few months and then she'll be 18, an adult. We won't be able to take her back." Eric says.

"Exactly, we can find her and bring her back while there's still time! What if she's in danger, Eric? What if she's hurt and we're not doing anything about it?!"

"We have Lee and Alina's letters for that. We can't look for her; it's too risky. She'll cut off all ties with us if she finds out. Would you rather stay here and still be able to talk to her or try and find her, fail, and never speak to you again?"

"The former, obviously, but-" I'm cut off by Eric.

"Exactly. So we stay here, and we live our lives. That's what she would've wanted."

"What do we tell everyone?! She ran away from home and we're leaving her to do as she please?!"

"We tell them that she's living with Chloe in Boston for her senior year, then she's going away to college. She's grown up and she's moved on, which is the truth."

Author's Note: Yay! So that's Chapter 2! I know it's incredibly short, but honestly I didn't want to right a 3,000 word chapter about the Nolans. Chapter 3 will be extra long, I promise! Let me know what you think!

Kisses,

Rachel