“You’re here?” Scarlett asked, her eyes brimming with tears. “You’re really alive and you’re standing right here.”
My eyes started to sting. “Yeah.”
“I’m hugging you now, that’s just what’s happening.” Scarlett came forward and threw her arms around me.
I hugged Scarlett back, tears breaking free from the corners of my eyes. Cassidy was next, then Bowie, Jameson, and Leah Mae. They introduced me to the others—Devlin, Shelby, Jonah, and George. Jenny wrapped me in a tight hug and by the time we were finished, my vision was blurry from crying.
“I’m glad you’re not deceased.” June gave me an awkward pat on the shoulder.
“Thanks.” I wiped the tears off my cheeks. “Me too.”
“Wow,” Cassidy said. “This makes a lot of sense, but I have even more questions than I did last night.”
“What are you talking about, Cass?” Scarlett asked.
“After Gibs told us the friend-named-Maya story, I did a little digging. I found a Maya Davis on Attalon Records’ website, but it was almost impossible to find any more information. No photos of her. And there’s nothing prior to twelve or thirteen years ago—like she didn’t exist. But I guess she didn’t.”
“I know you have so many questions—”
“Only like a million,” Scarlett said. “Where have you been all this time? Why did you disappear? Why didn’t you ever come back?”
“She did come back,” June said. “She’s right there.”
“But why did it take thirteen years?” Scarlett continued. “Why did my daddy help you, and why did he keep your sweater?”
“Enough,” Gibson said, his voice booming through the woods. “Scar, I think we all know why she left. And she couldn’t come back for the same reason. It wasn’t safe. It still isn’t.”
“The judge,” Devlin said.
“You didn’t give yourself those scars, did you?” Cassidy asked.
I shook my head. “No, I didn’t.”
“Did you ever try to tell someone?” Shelby asked. “A friend or maybe… a teacher?”
I started to say no, but that wasn’t true. “Once. I told a teacher, but only because she was persistent. Nothing ever came of it, and I was too scared to try again. I hid the evidence under my clothes. As for your dad, Scarlett, he found me on the side of the road and agreed to help me get away. But I don’t know why he kept the sweater.”
“His drunk ass probably forgot he had it,” Gibson said.
“I think he kept it as a reminder of something good he’d done,” Jenny said. “He had a lot of regrets in his life. I should know; I’m one of them.”
“Oh, Jenny, don’t,” Scarlett said.
“It’s okay, I made my peace with that a long time ago,” Jenny said. “But I really think that’s why. Maybe it was something he felt he could be proud of.”
My stomach churned with nausea. I needed to change the subject—stop talking about that night. There were hazy spots in my memory that made my vision seem blurry. Like something was trying to break free. I shied away from it. “I want you all to know how sorry I am for disappearing. I’m sorry you didn’t know I was okay.”
“She didn’t have a choice,” Gibson said, his voice uncharacteristically soft.
“Where did you go?” Scarlett asked.
“A little town in upstate New York called Blue Moon Bend. A couple, Quincy and Henna, took me in. They were friends of a friend. I think you’d have to meet them to understand why, but I knew I could trust them to help me. I went to them thinking they’d shuttle me off to the next place where I could hide, but they insisted I stay. They’re amazing people. A little odd, maybe, but amazing. They took very good care of me. Helped me heal. I lived there until I was nineteen. Since then, I’ve been all over the world.”
“Where do you live now?” Leah Mae asked.
I hesitated, not sure how to answer. “Well, I was just on tour with a band—Outbound Platinum. Before that, I was in Seattle for a little while. Before that, it was Nashville.” I paused again, thinking back. My trips tended to blur together. “I was in London for a few months. I don’t have a permanent place to live, really. I stay in hotels a lot. Sometimes rent a temporary apartment. If I’m in L.A. for more than a few days, I crash with a friend. And I try to get out to Blue Moon every so often to see Quincy and Henna.”