***
Wasn’t long at all before Colby walked back into the room. Blake ran straight up to him as if nothing was wrong with his ankle. They said a few words. I pretended to be focused on the book in my hands, but I couldn’t help myself from peeking over at them every few seconds.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Colby dropped his bag back into his sleeping space. Then Blake went over to our suitcase, discreetly got the crackers back out, and handed them to Colby. I smiled inwardly, realizing Colby must have changed his mind.
Colby didn’t look my way. Probably didn’t want me to say “I told you so.” Not that I would’ve done that.
Later in the evening, though, Colby did come over to me. “Can we talk?”
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“So I had planned on going with that group of guys to get a truck, but at the last minute I decided not to.” He rubbed a hand on the back of his head. “I just heard they got caught. Didn’t even make it off the campus.”
I sighed. “That doesn’t surprise me. I’m just glad you backed out before it was too late.”
“Me too.”
He was still looking at me, so I asked, “Do you have something else to say?”
“I just want to apologize for being a jerk, that’s all.”
I guess I’d been secretly hoping for a little more than that. My heart dropped, but I tried not to show my disappointment. “That’s all? Oh, okay. Well, I accept your apology.”
Before I could turn around, he gently touched my arm. “I also want to thank you for talking some sense into me when I wanted to take the quick way out.”
“You were mad at me for it,” I said.
“Yeah, I was,” he admitted. “Looking back at it all, I know you only had my best interest in mind. And me being angry really had nothing to do with you. I knew what was the right thing to do, but I was battling with it. Went out with those guys and was ready to steal a car because that’s what I thought was best, and look what happened. Almost got myself into trouble again.”
I gave him a slight smile. “I get it. I haven’t been perfect either, but I do wanna get better.”
“Oh yeah?”
I paused and chose my words carefully. “I want to get better about my pride—opening up and letting people know how I feel about them.”
“Maybe we can help each other,” he said, smiling.
“I’d like that.”
“Well, you’re admitting that?” he teased. “It’s a start.”
I laughed, and he reached out to hug me. Boy, did the embrace feel good.
Chapter 11
That night was probably the first time in my whole life that I didn’t have a meal at dinner time. I didn’t know how I was going to sleep on an empty stomach.
I couldn’t help thinking about my parents. Where were they? Had they gotten my letters? If they hadn’t, I knew my mom had to be worried out of her mind. My dad would be turning over every stone in search of us. Meaning if we got to Montgomery, he might not even be there. He might already be headed back to Atlanta, trying to find us. I felt so frustrated. I was used to the days of texting and IM and email, where I heard back from my parents almost instantly.
Now, I had no idea where they were or if they even knew we were okay.
I could only clasp my hands together, release my fears, and have faith that everything was going to be okay—even though I was trying to suppress my feelings of not really believing everything was going to be okay. With each passing day, things weren’t getting better. They were getting worse.
I was awakened by Allison the next morning. “You guys gotta go. Come on.”
“Where are we going?” I asked, rubbing at my eyes.
“There’s a new plan,” she said. “And it’s going to get you closer to your family. Come see this.”
Colby and Blake were already outside waiting for us. “What’s going on?” I asked.
Blake excitedly pointed at a huge green Army truck with the engine running. “It’s a transport!” he told me. “They’re moving us to another shelter—in Montgomery!”
I noticed the group waiting by the truck with their packed belongings were all kids. And there was a cardboard sign hanging from the back of the truck that read:
eighteen and under only
Colby grabbed my hand. “I need to talk to you, please.”
I noticed he had his belongings with him. “You’re leaving?” I asked in disbelief.
“We should all be leaving. You, me, and Blake. They’re taking kids whose families haven’t found them yet to this other shelter just for minors. It’s in Montgomery, like Blake just said. Which means—”
I cut him off. “I’m not leaving. Blake and I are staying put.”
“Why? We should stay together.”
I jerked my hand away from his. “Then don’t leave. I sent those messages to my parents—you sent a letter to your grandma. They’re coming here for us. They could be on the way to Merrimont right now. What’s the use of getting all the way to Montgomery if it turns out our folks aren’t there?”
I could tell Colby was losing his patience. “If they were coming to Merrimont, don’t you think they would have already been here by now?”
“Not if they have to walk!”
“Other families had to walk from even farther away, and they’ve already gotten their kids. We need to go look for our folks. Maybe they’re stuck in Montgomery. Maybe they never even got our letters!”
“I know that’s a possibility,” I said quietly, looking down at my feet. “But . . . something is telling me we should stay put. At least for a little longer.”
Colby sighed. “Your choice.” He took me gently by the arm and pulled me to a quiet place around the corner. “But Bailey, look, before we make any other decisions, I just have to tell you . . . I think you’re beautiful.”
My heart raced at his words. I hadn’t had a decent shower in weeks. I hadn’t even brushed my teeth yet this morning. And here he was, calling me beautiful.
“You’re smart,” he continued. “And you’re tough. You push me to want to be better.”
I had no clue where he was going with this, but I couldn’t move a muscle. When he leaned in and put his lips to mine, I felt like I was floating. Like we were floating, suspended through time. Like this was the best moment of my life. And then he abruptly backed away.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“What for?” My stomach dropped at the thought that maybe I’d done something wrong. I’d never kissed a boy before. “Did I . . .”
“No, no, it’s not that,” he said, giving me a genuine smile. “You did fine.”
I touched my lips, wanting this feeling to never end.
“Please,” he tried again. “Come with me. When we get to this new shelter you can write to your parents again. Or we can look for them on our own.”
And suddenly the feeling was gone. Colby was sweet, but it bothered me that he wouldn’t respect my decision. “I told you I can’t do that,” I responded softly. I couldn’t explain what I was feeling. It wasn’t just hurt. It wasn’t just anger or sadness. Maybe it was a little bit of all of it rolled up into one, and I needed to be away from him. He just needed to go.
Colby reached for me again.
“Stay strong, Bailey. Take care—”
“No, just stop, Colby. Just go. I don’t need you kissing me and acting like you care. I’m done with your mixed messages.”
Chapter 12
I watched Colby line up with the other kids and teenagers to board the transport truck. I didn’t want to be the girl watching him leave, so I walked around the corner to get some air. I leaned back against the brick of the building and wiped the tears as they sprung from my eyes.
Even though Colby and I didn’t exactly see eye to eye, I could admit to myself now that I cared about him. I wasn’t expecting him leaving to hurt this much. After a few minutes, Blake found me. His eyes were watery, and I realized I wasn’
t the only one breaking down because of this. I hugged him tight.
“We’re gonna figure this out.”
“I don’t think so anymore,” he said. “We should go with Colby. Please, Bailey. We can protect each other. Please.”
“But Momma and Dad will be coming to find us here . . .” I said.
I didn’t know what to do. What if we left and our parents came here? But what if we stayed, while our parents were busy looking for us in Atlanta and Montgomery?
“What if the letters never got to them?” Blake mumbled. “What if Momma and Dad never find us?”
“I wouldn’t worry about that,” we heard a familiar voice say.
Shocked, we pulled away from each other to see our dad grinning at us. You wouldn’t even be able to tell Blake had hurt his ankle by the way he ran over to our dad.
I could see one of the Army officers watching us, looking to confirm that we knew this man. I just put my hand over my mouth and nodded. He gave me a thumbs-up and moved back to the truck. I dashed to my dad then too.
“Daddy!” He stepped away from Blake and opened his arms wide as I rushed over to him. I burst into tears again. “I’m so sorry, Dad. I know I’ve been distant and mad. After everything that’s happened, I’ve just wanted to be able to tell you how much I love you.”
“I know, honey,” he said as he pulled out one of my letters. “When your mother and I got your messages—”
“Wait, Momma?”
He nodded. “She’s talking with one of the officers out front to get you signed out.”
Even before he finished talking, our mom walked over to us. Blake took off running again. He tackled her, and I was right behind him. “I can’t believe you’re both here!” I choked out.
“Your dad and I ran into each other at the front entrance,” my mom explained as she hugged Blake and me. “What are the chances of that?”
Suddenly I froze. Not because I wasn’t excited to see my mom, but because there was someone familiar standing right behind her.
Colby walked up to me and said, “Looks like those letters worked after all.”
“Guess so,” I said as my heart fluttered. “I thought you were going to the other shelter.”
“I am, but the truck had to make a last-minute stop. And I realized I couldn’t go without knowing you and Blake were okay.” Colby gently brushed my cheek. Our eyes locked. My dad coughed. I came back to reality with a hot flush in my cheeks. We quickly stepped away from each other.
Allison and John walked over to us. They were grinning at us, plainly seeing that Blake and I had finally been reunited with our parents. I introduced everyone.
As our parents thanked Allison and John for watching out for us, I turned to Colby. “I guess this means we’ll be going back to Atlanta. I don’t know if I’ll see you again.”
“Actually,” my mom said, “with all that’s going on, your dad and I have agreed we should all be together for the time being. We’re going back to Montgomery until things have settled down.”
“We’re heading in that direction too,” Allison said. She looked at Colby. “And, Colby, since we’re the ones who brought you here, we should be able to sign you out to leave with us.” She winked at me. “If you’d like to tag along with everyone to Montgomery . . .”
Colby grinned. “That would be great.”
Blake cheered, causing the adults to laugh. I couldn’t help but laugh with them. I even felt brave enough to grab Colby’s hand in front of my parents.
I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring. We still hadn’t heard anything about the Visitors, and no one had any idea if we’d ever get the electricity back. Ever since the attack, I’d been trying to get home, but I now knew that as long as I was with those I cared about, I was already home.
About the Author
Stephanie Perry Moore is truly from the south. She was born in South Carolina, raised in Virginia, educated in Alabama, and now lives in Georgia. She is the author of many YA series, including the Sharp Sisters series, the Swoop List series, the Lockwood Lions series, the Grovehill Giants series, the Payton Skky series, the Laurel Shadrach series, the Perry Skky Jr. series, the Beta Gamma Pi series, and the Yasmin Peace series. She and her husband, Derrick Moore, have three children: Dustyn, Sydni, and Sheldyn.
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