Until I Find You - Rea Frey Page 0,68
calls him to explain there might be a delay.
Bec’s house is dark. She peers in one of the windows and then checks her watch. Bec should be here. She shoots her a text and decides to check Wilder.
At the park, she makes sure her supplies are locked in the trunk and does a quick loop. Once again, Crystal marvels at the fact that Bec does this so many days per week by herself. As an experiment, she closes her eyes and walks a few steps on the sidewalk. Just like on the stairs, her world tilts and she almost steps on the back of someone’s shoe.
“Sorry.” She apologizes to a bewildered mother who gives her a hostile stare. A leaf detaches and brushes her shoulder. The crunch is satisfying under her shoe. She can’t wait to attend the fall festivals with Savi. Halloween is her daughter’s favorite—the whole season, in fact. Carving pumpkins, dressing up, finding spooky activities—it’s all part of the package as Savi’s mom. She’s been told that Elmhurst allows kids to run lawless through the streets. Neighbors transform their homes into makeshift haunted houses. Crystal appreciates the trustworthy nature of this town, but there’s no way in hell she’d ever leave Savi alone to run through the neighborhood without her.
At the playground, she searches for Bec. Not here. She glances around for any familiar faces and sees a few women on the park benches. She hesitates. She doesn’t want to seem creepy, but she’s also just curious about her friend. Rebecca comes here almost every day. Surely, someone has seen her.
She takes a deep breath, feeling like a new kid at school, and approaches. “Hi.” She offers a wave.
Two moms stop their conversation and look up. One bounces an infant on her knee and wipes his face with a wet wipe.
“Sorry to interrupt, but I was just wondering if either of you know Rebecca Gray?”
They look at her blankly.
“She’s … blind.” Her face heats at the admission, as though she’s exposing her disability for some sort of benefit.
The woman smacks her friend on the arm. “That’s her. That’s who everyone’s talking about.”
Fear detonates like a bomb. “What do you mean?”
“Here.” The other one reaches into a bag at her feet. A few bracelets slide down her wrist. She extracts a folded flyer and presses it into her hands. “These were being handed out yesterday. I also heard some other rumors, but you know how people talk.”
Crystal slowly unfolds the paper. Jackson’s face stares back with the title: HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY?
“Holy shit.” Crystal’s heart beats so fast, it clogs her ears with sound. She scans the flyer. There’s not much information. Just facts about Jackson and when he was last seen. She lowers it. Is this a joke?
She thumbs back through their texts. There’s no way this can be real. Rebecca would have called her. She wouldn’t be so flippant in her texts. She wonders if this is a prank someone is playing on her. Maybe Rebecca got wind of it and is furious, embarrassed, or ashamed.
She interrupts the women on the bench, already deep in another conversation. “Sorry, but where did you get this?”
“At the parade yesterday. Two ladies were handing them out.”
“I thought it was for free yoga.” Her friend snorts.
“Has he been found?”
The one with the bracelets waves her arm. “Oh, no. It was a false alarm. The woman was mistaken. Everyone’s talking about it. She thought her baby was missing or swapped or something, but then she changed her mind. I mean, she is blind, so…” She shrugs. “All babies look alike, right? Isn’t that what they say?”
Crystal’s face heats once again and she fans herself with the flyer. “Thanks.” She turns and speed walks back to her car, starts it, and blasts the air-conditioning toward her flushed face. She voice dials Rebecca, this time leaving a serious message. “Rebecca. It’s Crystal. I just saw the flyer. Tell me where you are. I want to help.”
She ends the call and drums her fingers on the wheel. Who would know what’s really going on? Jess?
She puts the car in gear and drives to Jess’s house. Her heart breaks thinking that Rebecca didn’t come to her first. But she understands. She probably thought she’d be bothering her. Both women hate to ask for help. Well, you’re going to get it whether you want it or not, Crystal decides. Bec has done enough on her own. It’s time to be there in the way she