Wish I May, Wish I Might

Chapter 14

I had almost forgotten about the scream of whatever the hell had called to me that night while I had been driving. Almost. It was still in the back of my mind. Annabelle truly believed I had just imagined it, but I don't know how I could have done that. But even with those thoughts bothering me, Annabelle and Annie and our new adventure out west distracted me. We stuck to freeways for most of the time, thanks to the rocky landscape the further west we went. We spent a day in the mountains of Colorado, hiking as an excuse to get out of the car. My head pounded with the altitude, but it was great to just pretend I was a normal teenager on a road trip before college. I wished for a new phone that couldn't be traced while in the mountains in order to take pictures, but I also made the mistake of looking at the news.

No one really cared about me anymore, as the story of my alleged attack on my neighbor and then immediate escape into thin air wasn't on the Breaking News tabs, thank God, but it had been. The local news stations had been loving it. They really never got to report on crimes outside of Chicago. My senior picture was smiling at me from the screen, along with a family portrait from the year before. Cash had also unfortunately been dragged into it, as a selfie we had taken at Six Flags last summer was placed into a report.

"We don't know where Carter is, and we're really preparing ourselves for the worst," said the father of Carter Moore in one of the reports. "We know she's innocent."

It felt like there was a cold stone in my stomach.

"All of Moore's belongings, including her car, were left untouched," the article continued. "Officials suggest this may be evidence of foul play."

So there was a strong kidnapping theory. That wasn't really all that surprising, considering. I wasn't sure if that made me feel better. Sure, it helped my case if someone had taken me because of what was happening. There was even a theory that the person who had killed Tucker had come back to finish the job on the witness to the crime, or at least the closest thing the police had to a witness. But it still wasn't a good look for a murder suspect to run the hell away from their trial if it hadn't been a kidnapping.

And my poor parents. I could tell that while the quotes in the article were stiff, they were sincere. They really did think something bad had happened to me. And instead of being chained in someone's basement, scared and crying, I was having fun with my new friend and dog in the mountains of Colorado.

I itched to type my mother's phone number into the phone. I wanted to tell her I was okay. But I knew I couldn't do that. I couldn't tell anyone where I was, and I definitely couldn't use technology to do it. My parents' phones would definitely be tapped by the police, and even if they weren't, you never know who can hear you over the phone.

"Carter!" Annabelle yelled, and I looked up from the phone. She was holding Annie's blue leash in one hand and had been throwing snow into the dog's mouth with the other.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"What's wrong?"

I looked at the two of them. Annabelle and I were similarly dressed in brand-new athleisurewear, perfect for climbing the rock faces and hiking the trails of the mountains. Her hair was expertly braided back, and she had a huge smile on her face. Annie had been cleaned up and given a new collar and was absolutely bounding with excitement as she frolicked around in the mountain snow. You could practically see the hearts above her head as she looked at Annabelle.

I shook my head and slipped the phone into the pocket of my polyester legging. "Nothing. Everything's fine."

~

After a while, the three of us made our way back to the rock face we had climbed to get to the top and began the slow descent.

"I don't care, the writing in Riverdale sucks!" I argued in response to Annabelle's claim of Riverdale being an iconic, and therefore forgivable, show, as I avoided falling flat onto my ass on the slippery rocks. Annabelle was in front of me by a few yards, as I had stayed at the top taking pictures while she started her descent.