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Bethany
It takes a littleover two hours, but then a silver car pulls up and the back door opens, leaving a dark void that beckons me forth. I give Bill a hug.
“Thanks, Bill.”
“It’s my pleasure, Bethany. Goodluck with whatever you decide to do, and if you ever get into a pinch, come and find me. My husband would love to help you out. We’ve got a spare guest room with your name on it!”
“I will!” I pocket his business card and wave one last time.
With apprehension, I walk towards the car and slide into the backseat. As soon as I’m in, arms fold around me, wrapping me in a hug that smells like home. That feels like home.
“Fucking hell, Bethany. Where have you been?”
“Locke!” I choke on his name and start to cry.
Someone shuts the backdoor, and then we’re moving, the driver doesn’t say anything, he just ignores us.
We hug for a long time, in silence, just holding each other.
“I couldn’t believe I got that call. I thought I was dreaming. Shit, look at you, Bethany. You grew up,” Locke says as he pulls back, looking me up and down. “You’re a woman now. What happened to those chicken legs?”
I hit him in the arm lightly. “Hey!” I smile and knuckle my tears from my eyes. “It happens, growing up. Tried to stop it, but alas, I failed.”
Locke has golden hair like Uncle Charles and Kelly and Lia. They all have the blue-green Raines eyes. But Locke is lithe and wears thick eyeliner and fashionable clothes make him look incredible. He really does look like a rockstar.
“You became a rockstar, though, congratulations. Is it everything you hoped?” I scan his face, searching for happiness.
Locke looks away, and there’s a shadow of pain that I recognise. I reach out and grip his hand.
“Locke?”
“I’m fine,” he whispers. “Damn, I forgot how perceptive you are.”
He shifts his arm away from me, and I catch sight of an enormous bruise on his upper arm. I stare at it and look up. Maybe I’m not the only one in trouble. Maybe he needs help, too.
Or it could be nothing.
But the atmosphere doesn’t feel like nothing. Tentatively, I lower my voice and touch his hand.
“Don’t let bad things happen to you. If you need to run, run. Keep fighting until you find your happy ending. The family will understand.”
Locke shifts, and those blue-green eyes land on me, seeing more than I want him to see.
“And what about your happy ending? Did you find it?”
I fall silent. One fact remains true, and that is I’ve never been able to lie to Locke. I could lie to Kelly and Raider, even Lia and Ryn, but never to Locke. “I found them. They don’t want me. Simple.”
Locke curses. “Then they aren’t your happy ending. They are just a blip on the horizon.”
I shake my head. “You’ll understand if you meet your scent match, Locke. It’s like nothing else. You just can’t imagine life with anyone else. They change the way you think.” I look down at my hands. “Being apart from them is agony.”
Locke covers my hands with his ring-covered fingers. “I don’t think I’m going to ever find them.”
“Probably not up here singing, no.”
“I’d need to run very far to find them.”
“The ends of the Earth,” I agree.
