Page 137 of Trick Knot Treat

Yeah, I am. So, I need to get back there. I stop fighting the paramedic and sit back quietly.

I take Holly’s hand and watch her unconscious face.

The door shuts, and then we’re off, being driven to the city, and a world that has never felt so far from Sunshine Cove as it does right now.

Chapter 33

Khione

Four days, and I can’t delay anymore, but every day I get up, I know I’m not leaving that day. This morning is no different. The thought of leaving them makes my heart race and sweat break out. I can’t leave. Even if Clint were here, I still couldn’t do it. But with him missing, it’s quiet in an uncomfortable way. Like the words we want to say are stolen.

We need him home. He will come back; I know he will. But it’s just another reason I can’t go yet.

I have to stay here and be with them. Leaving is impossible until we clear the air. Period.

I pad barefoot through the house, patting Spectre absently as he follows me to the window. The beach looks amazing, the sky is blue, there is not a single cloud in the sky.

Inside it’s a storm. I want him back.

“Let’s go to the beach,” I murmur. “Look for him there. He will come for us. We have to be ready.”

Felix looks up, frowning slightly. “Okay.”

I know they are all concerned about me. I’m concerned about myself. Clint said no. I replay that stupid date over and over. He just handed back the stone and vanished from the world.

A tear rolls down my cheek, I swipe it off my face and force a smile.

Inside, I’m screaming.

“Come on. We can eat chips on the beach and try to convince Sully to stop pining for Clint.”

Jace snorts. “I think we will have that bird for the rest of its natural life. How long do seagulls live?”

“The Internet says ten to twenty years.”

Jace sits down on the couch, his eyes filling with despair. “Clint would sit here and say something stupid like, ‘I’m too young for this life sentence.’”

I close my eyes, trying to survive the verbal bomb he just dropped.

“Come on. Come play in the water with me.” I try so hard to be happy, to be cheerful, normal me. I sound like a puppet.

“Well, if you put it like that, how can I say no?” Felix murmurs and kisses my cheek.

It takes half an hour to get ready, and then we’re standing in front of the café, and I’m bleakly thinking that time moves too fast. My desperate gaze finds Yolanda, and she shakes her head.

He hasn’t come back. He’s not here. I bite back a sob while Felix, Jace, and Zaire run in to grab us some food.

“What are you thinking about?” A dark whisper floats from behind me.

I jolt, startled. Guilt has me avoiding his searching gaze. To be honest, I had forgotten Harvest was even here; he feels like he’s a whole world away.

“Harvest! What are you doing here?”

“I am asking you what you’re thinking about,” he says again, giving me a look. “He didn’t come back, did he?”

I shake my head, and when he hugs me, I fall into his strong embrace and sob.

“No, he didn’t come back, and I don’t know how to fix it if I can’t find him.”