It has been a year since Annalise Montgomery lost her fifteen year old sister Lilly in the middle of a sunny day when she was waiting in a parking lot.
Annalise takes the case into her control when the police are empty handed. No leads, no traces, n...
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No one comes here anymore.
The trees have overgrown the land, the place unclean and sickly. Seamville once had an amazing park that accompanied the river, but it now is a thick crowd of trees. I remember it as a kid. It was such a popular place to take a walk.
I'm standing on the bridge that overlooks the river, watching the water rush where it links links with the ocean hours away. Vibes had eaten the railings, and the stoned floor is covered in moss.
It scares me how much a place can be forgotten. It's hard to get to it now as it's far from town, and trees block every entrance. I persisted though. I felt like I needed air after these last couple days.
I wanted to clear my head, spend a moment alone with somewhere that Lilly and I use to sneak to and explore. I smile at the memory of the blonde girl trying to make her way down the unstable path to try and get under the bridge.
She did it, successfully, and then traveled back up to the bridge. I simply stayed above the water and watched. I didn't want to walk around with wet shoes and pants.
My phone starts to ring in my pack pocket of my jeans, ripping a sigh from me. I was enjoying my silent bubble here. Going to a place that I spent time with Lilly Montgomery makes it feel like she's standing right next to me.
I pull my phone out and see a name on the screen that surprised me. Isla Marshell. It's the first time she's tried to contact me after we'd gone for lunch. I assumed her dad was still keeping a watchful eye on her.
"Hello?" I answer it immediately, eager to see why she'd called me. Perhaps she wanted to go out for lunch again, go shopping. But what if something were wrong-
My stomach had dropped. "Annalise?" All my organs had slipped through my ribs at the sound of her shaking voice. She's crying. "I didn't know who else to call."
"What's wrong, Isla? Where are you?" I'd already starting walking along the bridge so I can prepare to get in my car if she needs me.
She's trying to keep her sobs quiet. It urges me to get to my car faster. I nearly trip on tree roots. "I was just trying to buy my dad a gift for taking care of me and finally letting me out of the house alone, but when I got out of my car and started to walk to the entrance, I saw the exact mustard van parked a few spaces from mine, and there was a man that got out and went inside, but I'm too scared-"
"It's okay, Isla. I need you to calm down for me." I'd started to run. It took me a few minutes to walk through all these trees. "Can you tell me where you are? I'm on my way to you."
I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings. A root had snagged my angle, forcing me to make an uncomfortable step that instantly turns into a sharp pain. I ignore it, pressing on to get to my car despite the ankle protesting.
