Divided (Unguarded #2) - Ivy Stone Page 0,50

while. She listened to me whine. She listened to me cry. She just listened. We’ve been friends ever since.

I flop down beside her. “I’m good. How are you?”

She doesn’t reply straight away. I turn my head to find her lips pressed together, eyes downcast.

Concern rocks through me. “What’s wrong?”

“Ali, I have to tell you something. It’s the same thing Roam came to tell you yesterday when you wouldn’t see him.”

She crosses and uncrosses her legs, refusing to look at me. My heart pounds.

“What is it, Cass?”

Finally, she turns my way, pain etching through the crinkles around her eyes where her skin is bunching. “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Adriana Marino was reported missing yesterday.”

“What?” I stutter. “Why?”

My mind races for reasoning.

Cass holds up her hands. “I’m sorry, but we don’t know.”

Unease tickles my back.

“Could you tell me even if you did know?”

She grimaces her head tilting. “Probably not. But if I find anything out I’ll let you know, okay? And if you hear from her can you give me a call?”

I nod. “Yeah, of course.”

She stands from my bed and squeezes my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Ali. I have to get back to work. Roamyn just wanted to make sure you knew right away.”

My chest tightens. Of course, he did. Always looking out for me. Why does the man have to be so damn hard to avoid?

“Thanks, Cass.”

Four Months Later

I pull my clothes out of my suitcase and transfer them to the drawer in the dresser. Over the top of the radio playing lowly in the background, I hear Lindsey’s voice followed by the door to the loft slamming closed.

“My God, did the clinic have to rent out a second room just for your stuff? Where did all this shit come from? You didn’t have it before.” I hear her yell, and I can’t help the smile pulling at my lips. I breathe in. Carefree. The Marino men are in prison. I’m safe. I’m now home from rehab and I’m reunited with my sister. A sense of calm warms inside of me like it never has before. There’s no chaos. No crazy. No drugs. Not even Roamyn. Just me, being me, being enough. I’ve gained control over my nightmares and anxiety thanks to therapy, and slowly I’m making tracks on a path to recovery. It’s amazing, despite the hole in my heart I can’t seem to fill with any amount of positive thinking or inspirational muse. I miss him every day.

I poke my head out around the corner to answer Lindsey. “If you’ve never seen it before, it’s probably Cassidy’s or Adriana’s. Cass lent me stuff while I was in rehab and Adriana’s, well she hasn’t ever come to get any of it back.”

Thoughts of the other two girls closest to me overwhelms me with a swirl of mixed emotions. Cassidy is becoming a great friend. After she started visiting me, I realized the kind of people Roamyn surrounds himself with. They’re good people. Loyal, caring and willing to go to any lengths to protect the ones they love. Their compassion is admirable, inspiring, and now I know where Roamyn gets it from. I’d witnessed it with Mason and his growing love for Lindsey. I’d heard it in Cassidy’s voice as she talked about Elias and their family. I’d felt every bit of Roamyn deep in my bones. But what I’ve missed terribly is the kindness one girl showed me when were in grade school on a day when I came with no lunch or money. She didn’t just share her food with me, she ended up sharing—her room, her clothes, her make-up, her school work, her life. We shared everything and she’s still missing. Worry tightens inside of me. Or so the police say. Four months she’s gone, now presumed dead, but she isn’t. She can’t be. Adriana’s smart, fast. She’s a Marino. Even if someone had kidnapped her, she’d get away. My heart refuses to let me believe she’s dead.

Lindsey grabs some clothes out of my case and hangs them up alongside me. “So have you heard from Adriana yet or still nothing?”

Sighing, the hurt of not hearing from my best friend a reminder of just how much I’ve lost over the past few months. I shift over to my dresser, aligning accessories and make-up on the top. “That would be a no. I’ve tried calling, emailing, messaging her on Facebook. She’s completely MIA. It’s like she’s fallen off the face of the