Love Always, Mia

by Cecily Wolfe

  Eli nods agreeably with a sweet smile, and when he stands up and offers me his free hand, still holding the umbrella over my head with the other, I take it and let him help me up.

  THE END

  Read on for the first chapter of That Night, which follows Kayla's closest friends during the month following her tragic death.

  Now available in ebook, paperback, and audio editions.

  That Night

  Saturday

  “Who are all these people?”

  People meant guys, Cass knew, and when Sarah scrunched her face in disbelief at the amount of strangers at the party, Cass looked around, agreeing that the number of people she didn’t know was much greater than the amount of kids that she knew. In fact, some of the boys looked like men, too old to be in a high school student's house on a Saturday night.

  “Danny’s brother probably invited some friends,” she offered, as much to reassure herself as Sarah, shrugging as she took her friend’s hand and pushed through the crowd. They had been to one of Danny’s parties before, although they weren’t close friends. He was popular and friendly, with shaggy, dark blonde hair and a smile that didn’t quit. Everyone was welcome to his parties, so everyone came, which meant, Cass considered, that a lot of people she, Sarah, and Kayla wouldn’t know were there, especially since his older brother was in college and would have friends here as well.

  “Just stay with me, and we’ll see if we can find Kay.”

  Cassidy didn’t look back at Sarah, but the girls kept hold of each other’s hands, stretching their necks to look around for Kayla. Kayla had stopped by earlier with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, and if they found Paul, they would most likely find Kay. Cass remembered that Kayla had been tired all week and she hadn’t wanted to come to the party, but Paul had asked her to go with him just for a while, since he was friends with Danny, and he wanted to talk to her in private, Kayla had explained to Sarah and Cass that morning through texts. How Paul thinks they will have any privacy here is a mystery, Cass thought, blinking through someone’s cigarette smoke and tightening her grip on Sarah’s hand. Bedrooms were an option, she knew, but they were often occupied quickly, if she could place any stock in rumors. Texts about and Snapchat documentation of couples entering bedrooms, sometimes kissing as they fumbled with the door or sometimes, Cass uncomfortably remembered, with a boy or two carrying or dragging a sleepy-looking girl along with them. She and her two best friends had resolved never to go to a party alone, and never to drink anything anyone they didn’t know handed to them. This was clearly one of those parties where anything could happen, and it probably already was. Kayla wouldn’t be happy about being here, but she also loved Paul and Cass knew they could trust him.

  “Hey, girls. Lovely ladies all alone tonight?”

  Damn. Sarah’s hand tightened around Cass’s, and Cass pulled her up against her, their bodies pressed together as a united front. When Cass took a closer look at the figure speaking to them, she took a deep breath to calm herself. He was unshaven, tall, and near middle age, possibly even as old as her father. She felt Sarah begin to shake beside her and stood straighter.

  “We’re fine, thank you. Is Danny around?”

  The man blinked at her and seemed confused for a moment.

  “Danny? Is that some guy from your school? You don’t want some boy, not when you can have a man.”

  What the hell, Cass thought. Why did Danny let this creeper into his house? She turned to walk away, holding Sarah’s hand firmly, but just as she did so the man took a giant step in front of her, his eyes half-shut, his smile predatory.

  “A little jumpy, huh? I got something for that. We can all have a good time, if you just trust me.”

  Sarah had pressed herself against Cass’s back, and Cass was searching for a way to get away from the stranger, looking into the crowd for a friendly face, when Paul suddenly appeared, his face red and sweaty. He grabbed Cass’s free hand, ignoring the man and swallowing visibly before speaking.

  “Have you seen Kayla?”

  Cass’s concern for Kayla reached a pitch that caused her voice to come out higher than usual when she responded.

  “Isn’t she with you?”

  His hand was damp in hers and she took a quick look around, just a glance, as if Kayla might be close by and wondering why Cass was holding hands with her boyfriend. Kayla wasn’t jealous, but Cass would never dream of touching Paul. Paul and Kayla had been together since middle school, breaking up and returning to each other as if they were somehow attached, the strings holding them together long but taut when stretched to their limits. There was something terrifying about Paul holding onto Cass, as if he needed something only she could give him. Between Sarah and Paul, Cass wondered why she was the one they were looking to for answers and guidance.

  “She was, but she sat down on the sofa up in the living room while I went to grab some Cokes.”

  “You mean Diet Coke, right? Kay would never drink a regular Coke.”

  Sarah’s voice was small but insistent against the side of Cass’s neck. Paul shook his head as if to clear it.

  “Yeah, sure, but she wasn’t there when I came back. I was only gone a few minutes, just to the deck, right outside the sliding glass door in the living room. The coolers . . . it doesn’t matter. She’s gone. That’s what matters.”

  Cass tugged Sarah around so the two of them stood side by side facing Paul.

  “Let’s look together, the three of us. I don’t feel good about splitting up.”

  Sarah nodded, looking first to Cass and then to Paul, who looked down before nodding as well.

  “Hey, what happened between you two?”

  Paul looked stricken, his brow wrinkling as he frowned before answering.

  “Nothing. Like I said, she was tired.”

  “You didn’t say that.”

  Sarah was watching him carefully as she spoke.

  “Well, I meant to. She was, she is. It’s just been a long week, and maybe I shouldn’t have asked her to come. I just, I wanted to talk to her, just the two of us, and at her house her mom is always hovering.”

  Cass nodded. It was true. Kay’s mother was a helicopter parent to the extreme, and her dad, when he was around, wasn’t much better.

  “Okay, let’s just start down here. Is there a basement, or garage door somewhere, maybe somewhere more quiet, private?”

  Paul kept his hand in hers, and the three of them made a chain of sorts as Paul pushed ahead through the crowd. Someone patted Cassidy’s butt and she held back the urge to turn to see who is was.

  “Asshole.”

  Sarah must have seen, speaking up on her behalf, and Cass couldn’t stop a small smile from creeping up onto her face in spite of the situation. Sarah was small and quiet, but she could bite when provoked, and Cassidy and Kayla always enjoyed the surprise of a stranger when he or she heard Sarah’s hiss.

  Paul turned a corner into what seemed to be a storage area, or a closet without a door. It was small and had a variety of large plastic bins stacked along the wall. He shook his head without turning to look at Cass. She turned to look around towards the stairs that led to the middle section of the split level house when she caught sight of their host.

  “Danny!” she called out, certain that the loud music and cacophony of voices would drown out her voice. To her surprise, he turned to look directly at her, a smile breaking across his face as he nodded towards her. She let go of Paul’s hand to wave at Danny to be sure he understood that she wanted him to come over and that she wasn’t just greeting him. She could sense Paul moving around the storage space as she watched Danny press effortlessly through his guests to reach them.

  “Hey, Cass, Sarah. What’s Paul doing? Hey, man, you need something?”

  Danny didn’t look angry that Paul was nosing around the room, just curious.

  “We’re looking for Kayla. Have you seen her?”

  Sarah spoke up, and Danny’s smile softened as he turned his gaze to her. />
  “Last time I saw her, in fact, the entire time I’ve seen her tonight, she’s been with Paul.”

  Sarah leaned into Cass with a sigh, and Danny looked sorry that he didn’t have a more satisfactory answer.

  “Is she okay?” he asked, looking away from Sarah to Cass. Cass shrugged and looked at Paul, who stood with his hands on his hips. Cass waited to see if Paul would answer, and when he didn’t, wondered how she should.

  “Just tired,” she explained to Danny, hoping that she was right, and there was nothing more that was wrong, either before Kay had arrived, or now.

  “Bedrooms upstairs, but, uh, I think they’re all, uh,” Danny looked at Sarah pointedly, as if he didn’t want to offend her, but Sarah just looked at Cass as if to say let’s go.

  “Thanks, Danny,” Cass offered him a quick and emotionless smile, focusing on Paul, who had returned to her side with a decidedly panicked air about him.

  “What the hell, Paul?”

  Danny had walked away, easily distracted by a group of guys who greeted him by shoving him against each other. His laugh was audible over and above the others. Cass’s question made Paul shake his head.

  “I don’t know. She was so tired I thought she’d be asleep when I came back.”

  Sarah stepped up before Cass could respond.

  “So why didn’t you take her home instead of leaving her alone?”

  Paul wasn’t angered by her question, and it worried Cass that his confusion spoke of his fear for Kayla.

  “She didn’t want to. She said she was fine, and a Coke would probably help. Besides, she was meeting you two here, and didn’t want to leave you hanging.”

  Great, Cass thought. A little guilt wasn’t going to be helpful.

  “Diet Coke,” Sarah reminded him. He ignored her, but not because he was angry or annoyed. Kayla would be horrified if anyone thought she was drinking regular soda. She had to be careful with her calories and weight, and her parents and coach would pitch fits if she was drinking pure sugar. All three of them knew this. Paul turned towards the stairs and the three of them held hands as they pushed against the wall and around the mass of people congregating in the middle of the steps. Cass took a quick look around the hall and the living room as they rounded the corner and noticed the sofa where Paul must have left Kayla earlier. The sliding glass door had been left open, and several empty beer cans were rolling around in the corner where the door met the wall. Cass wondered if Kayla had walked outside for some fresh air, but continued to follow Paul up another short flight of stairs, thinking that checking inside before outside was probably the best plan of action.

  There was a bathroom to the left, and Paul knocked on the door before twisting the knob and opening it. Cass could hear giggles and a brief exchange between Paul and a male voice before he pulled the door shut without turning to Cass to explain. Three more doors, one to the right, one to the left, and one straight ahead, remained closed to them, and Paul kept moving, tackling the one on the right, which was the first they reached after he had checked the bathroom. His knock was answered by a loud female voice instructing the interloper to do something physically impossible, so Paul stepped away, walking with greater speed to the door on the left side of the hall. It was locked and there was no response to his knock. He hesitated for a brief moment before glancing at Cass. She shrugged and Sarah nodded towards the last door, which was within an arm’s reach. The knob worked easily in Paul’s hand, and at first it was difficult to see in the dark but clearly someone was in, or on, the bed, snoring contentedly. The figure was too large to be Kayla, who didn’t snore, but a rocking chair stood beside a window, and the light from the moon rested on the small bundle that looked like a pile of clothes at first, but then, just as Cass recognized Kay, Paul released her hand and ran around the bed, nearly tripping over the comforter that draped haphazardly over the corner of the mattress onto the floor. Cass kept her hand in Sarah’s and they followed, stopping as Paul knelt down and reached out to Kayla, putting an arm around her to pull her into his arms. Kay slumped over in what was something more than a deep sleep, and Cass stared as Sarah dropped her hand and took long strides around her to lean into Kay as Paul struggled to push away from the rocker and rest Kayla onto the carpeted floor.

  “Call 9-1-1,” Sarah told Cass without looking up at her. Cass blinked and fumbled at the back pocket of her jeans. Where was her phone?

  “Call 9-1-1, Cass, come on!” Sarah was staring at her now, and Cass almost dropped her phone as she finally was able to pull it out of her pocket. Paul’s hands were on Kayla’s face, his thumbs on her lips, and as he leaned over to kiss her, no, he was breathing into her, Cass heard a voice speaking to her. Had she dialed? The voice became insistent, and she watched tears streak down Sarah’s face as Sarah held Kayla’s limp hand between her two, as if she could warm Kayla’s heart through her fingers.

  “What is your emergency?”

  READ THE REST OF THAT NIGHT NOW, AVAILABLE FROM ALL EBOOK RETAILERS AND AUDIBLE.

  Books by Cecily Wolfe:

  Women's Fiction:

  American Girls*

  Reckless Treasure*

  A Harvest of Stars (A Harvest of Stars, Book One)*

  Starlight (A Harvest of Stars, Book Two)*

  Daisy: A Portrait

  Christian Historical Romance:

  (as Cecily K. Wolfe)

  Throne of Grace (Cliff Walk Courtships, Book One)*

  Crown of Beauty (Cliff Walk Courtships, Book Two)*

  Treasure of Hope (Cliff Walk Courtships, Book Three)*

  Faithful in Love (Cliff Walk Cousins, Book One)*

  Abide in Love (Cliff Walk Cousins, Book Two) available October 2021

  Sweet Small Town Romance:

  (with Kara Storm, writing as Alessa Martel)

  Romany Romance: Short Story Collection*

  When You Were Mine*

  Until There Was You*

  Just the Two of Us available December 2021

  Young Adult Fiction

  That Night*

  The Competition*

  The Library War*

  Love Always, Mia

  *also available on audio

  About the Author

  Cecily Wolfe writes contemporary young adult and women's fiction, as well as contemporary sweet romance with her teenage daughter under the name Alessa Martel. She is also the author of the award-winning, best selling Cliff Walk Courtships Christian historical romance series as well as the sequel series, Cliff Walk Cousins, under the name Cecily K. Wolfe.

  She graduated from Kent State University with degrees in English and library science, and enjoys her career as a librarian in Cleveland, Ohio, where she lives with her daughters - both of whom are published authors (Molly Lavenza & Kara Storm).