Found Missing

by Lily Jill

We hear it outside again. Tentative steps. Contemplative. Calculating. It's the sound that tells me it's him. It's the sound that tells me he's found me. Except he doesn't find me dead like I wanted him to a year ago when I left him. It doesn't matter now. I'm no longer missing. I'm found. And now, I'm as good as dead. DRABBLE.

24. Chapter 24

Thanks to everyone who reads, betas, prereads, and follows. You make me excited to post every day!

With one last huff of life, the red truck pulls into a gravel driveway and shudders to a stop, as if it knew we had arrived, finally, at our final destination.

We had made it from one end of the country to the other in one piece, though we're both more drained and weary than the way we had started our journey together. Now, as I get out of the car and slam the door behind me, I vow not to step foot into this truck for as long as I can.

And not just because I've spent the last week traveling in it, but also because if I go in it, it will take me away from this place, and right now, I'm awestruck by the views surrounding me.

Temporarily, I forget the reasons why I'm standing here in this driveway to begin with.

I'm overwhelmed by the deep greens and rich browns that seem to grow in abundance in this little corner of the world. I can hear nothing but the distant flow of a stream and birds chirping to one another as I stand and stare at the beginnings of a new life.

The cabin I'm staying in is small, obviously meant for no more than one person, two if you don't mind living in extremely close quarters. It's worn and weathered, plopped on the corner of a dead-end street next to the quiet and soothing stream I had heard earlier.

It's absolutely perfect.

When I find the keys Emmett's cousin had left for me, I can't help but find the irony of it all.

I had spent the last five years in the house of my dreams, with my wraparound porch and extra bedrooms, which only provided more space for my loneliness.

But it's here, as I stand in my one-bedroom cabin with one window overlooking the stream, that I find the freedom he had stolen from me.

So, I came home from my family reunion at the beach on Friday night...and I'm leaving tomorrow morning for a smaller family vacation. Don't worry - you'll still get a chapter a day while I'm gone :)

Thank you for your reviews and insights and personal stories. I think our Bella is finally where she belongs :)

See you tomorrow!