Existing (53 page)

I grab Riley’s lighter and set fire to the stu
pid fucking letter. I hold it by the top corner and watch the flames take hold on the bottom until they’re flicking and licking up the paper and at my fingers. I drop the burning paper onto the ground and stamp on it.

“You’ll regret doing that,” William says, nodding toward the pile of black ash.

“I won’t,” I huff. “I’ve read it about fifty times already and nothing changes. The same words are there and Rose appears to have completely fucking vanished.”

Will sighs and glances at Charlotte. She just shrugs at him and leans her head against his shoulder.

Ashley comes walking back towards us and flops down next to me, throwing his phone on the sand. “That’s the tenth time I’ve called her today, which means I’ve called her two hundred and ten times since she left and she hasn’t answered a single one.”

“Is it still actually ringing?” Riley asks.

I glance up at him. “What do you mean?”

“Well, if she’d lost it or turned it off, it wouldn’t ring, would it? It would
just go straight to voicemail.”

“It’s ringing,” confirms Ashley.

Riley chews his nail off and spits it out.

“That’s gross, Riley,” says Charlotte, frowning at him.

“If it’s ringing, then she’s ignoring you, Cabe,” says Riley. “She’s ignoring all of us.”

“I can’t believe that she would just accept her Father’s decision,” says Charlotte, echoing my own thoughts. “She has friends here now, and she has Cabe.”

They all look at me. Will and Riley don’t seem convinced by Charlotte’s words. I shrug. I don’t want to believe it either, but the reality is that it’s starting to look like Rose has done just that.

“Are you sure that Rose didn’t want to leave?” asks Ashley.

I glare at him. He’s read the letter nearly as many times as I have. He knows full well that the letter was her Dad’s way of saying that he was going to do it and there was nothing anyone could do to stop him.

“I’m just saying,”
he continues, “maybe she didn’t know about the plan before it happened, but then once she did know, she was happy with it. Maybe she wants a fresh start too.”

I shake my head. “Rose wouldn’t do that. She would at least try to explain
or say goodbye.”

“
Didn’t you say that she left Utah without saying goodbye or explaining anything to anyone?” asks Riley.