The Lake (The Lake Trilogy, Book 1) (39 page)

The
house is packed and so are we. Since our deadline has arrived, we really don’t have a choice in leaving. Chris and Tyler arrived before 7:00 AM to help get the truck packed, and Gwen and Caroline come around 9:00 AM for moral support. Between the three of us girls there isn’t a dry eye.

“I want you two to know how much I love you both. You welcomed me into your circle and became sisters to me. Thank you…so much.” I say in between soft sobs. I hug them both tightly, not wanting to let go.

“We love you, too. We’re so glad you came here. Before we met you, I remember Will telling us that you were going to breathe a breath of fresh air into our lives; he was so right.” Caroline says through tears.

“I know it isn’t like me to, you know, get all mushy, but…Layla…you changed our lives. You showed us what it means to be true to yourself and uncompromising. I don’t know what we’ll do without you.” Gwen hugs me fiercely and I know that my earlier fears of her not coming to visit were unmerited.

We say nothing of Will’s disappearance, not wanting to make the moment any harder than it already is. The girls leave, saying they can’t bear the idea of watching me drive away. After Chris and Tyler finish loading the truck I’m forced to say my goodbyes to them. 

“You better not forget about us!” Chris says picking me up as he bear hugs me.

“I wouldn’t think of it,” I whisper in his ear. I’m afraid to talk any louder than that for fear I’ll burst into tears…again.

Saying goodbye to Tyler is harder. He had come to my aid and helped me understand Will in those times when it seemed impossible. He reassured me and helped build my confidence in Will’s love for me.

“I think I’m going to miss you most of all,” I tell him.

“Not half as much as I’m going to miss you. If only I had seen you first, I would have made you mine.” He holds my face in his hands and kisses my forehead. “You’re an amazing person, Layla
– a spitfire. Don’t ever forget it. You had the courage to stand up to Gregory Meyer. If you can do
that
, you can do anything. That’s one of the reasons Will loves you so much. You gave him courage he didn’t know he had. You did that for all of us.” I embrace Tyler and don’t want to let go. He is as close as I will ever be to Will again. “I love you,” he whispers.

“I love you, too,” I tell him.

“I’m so sorry about Will. They’re going to find him,” Tyler whispers.

“I hope so,” I say, echoing his whisper.

“Layla, it’s time,” Luke says softly, placing his hand on my shoulder. I pull away from Tyler and take a long look at him.

“The four of you need to come down and see me soon, ok
? Road trip, right?” I try to lighten my tone in an attempt to stop the tears.

“I don’t have to let Gwen drive, do I?” Tyler jokes.

“No…definitely not.” We both laugh and I feel good about leaving on a high note.

We hug everyone again and say our goodbyes. Caroline’s parents are still there, as are Chris and Tyler’s, which I think means a lot to Luke and Claire, too. Claire and I climb into the Denali and pull out of the driveway with Luke behind us in the moving truck, towing the Lexus. I cringe as we drive past Will’s house. I feel like I should be doing something to help find Will, but the reality is that there is absolutely nothing that I can do. I’ve not powered down my phone in almost two weeks, and kept the ringer as loud as it will go. I even set a different ring for Will’s number.

It’s late in the day when we leave so we stop in Savannah overnight and continue on to Tallahassee the next day. The drive is fine. It’s mostly desolate, especially through South Carolina. Claire and I make small talk, but I mostly listen to my iPod. All I want to listen to is the playlist I created of my favorite songs from the bands, old and new, Will introduced me to. It’s on shuffle and repeat.

We have adjoining rooms at the hotel in Savannah, which is good because Claire is close by to console me in the night as I cry in my sleep. Every night
since Will disappeared it’s a variation of the same dream. I’m in the back seat of my parent’s car on the night of our accident. We crash and there’s blood splattered on the windows and me. As I look up I see Will in the driver’s seat and me in the passenger seat. Sometimes I’m me at the age I am now. Sometimes I’m twelve. Every night I wake up to Claire stroking my hair and telling me it was just a dream and that I’m ok.

When we arrive at our new house in Tallahassee
, Claire gets out and meets Luke at the front door. I sit in the car for a while, soaking it all in. I can’t bring my body to move. I’m having déjà vu, only I didn’t feel completely dead inside the day I arrived at Luke and Claire’s house in Davidson.

I force myself to open the car door and get out. Each step is labored and forced. The house is smaller but just as beautiful.
I push the huge double wooden doors open and get my first glance of the place I’ll live in numbed existence until Will is found. The floor plan is typically Floridian: very open and lots of windows. I walk to the back of the house and I’m immediately struck by the view, which is the first time I’ve felt much of anything outside of fear in days.

“We had it built for you. If you follow it, you’ll find a manmade lake. It’s not Lake Davidson, but, we didn’t think you should have to give up everything.” Claire says as we stare at the obviously new dock poking out from the thick brush of trees and vines.

“Thank you, Aunt Claire,” I say quietly.

The moving truck with all the furniture and boxes arrives a few hours later and the movers work diligently to get everything set up. Nothing looks, feels, or even smells the same. I wanted to make this move just like it was planned to be, but there is no way it can. I was going to live in a constant state of hope and anticipation that Will and I would be together again one day, but now that Will is missing it’s not the same. I spend my time in a contrast of fear and hope. I don’t want to give up on Will being out there somewhere, but he’s been missing for so long.

I’ve been through more than one person should be able to withstand in five short years – Mom and Dad’s death, my imprisonment with Gram, and losing myself completely to care for Gramps. Now Will’s gone. It’s like the universe is slapping me in the face.

Sometimes I wish I had died that night with my parents
– one swift death instead of several repeated slow deaths over the last years. Now the most painful thing of all: I don’t want to say it out loud, but the truth is…Will may be dead, too.

I’ve nearly finished unpacking, breaking down boxes as I empty them. There are dozens more than when I first
moved in with Luke and Claire, so it’s no wonder it’s taken me a week to unpack instead of hours. As I deposit a few broken-down boxes in the garage, I choose a few more marked with my name. I don’t remember packing up this many things, but Gwen and Caroline were with me most of my packing days, making the mundane task more palatable, so forgetting isn’t that surprising.

There’s a lighter box that I think must have scarves and gloves in it so I stack it on top of one a bit heavier and continue to wear a path in the floor between the garage and my room. I’ve started a box of seasonal clothes so I decide to go ahead and transfer the scarf box items to the seasonal box. I cut the packing tape, breaking the seal along the edges. When I open it all I find is newspaper. Lots of newspaper.
There’s nothing in here?
I think just before my heart stops.

No. There
is
something. Underneath the sheets and sheets of crumpled newspaper sits a black velvet jewelry box. I feel my brow furrow and my eyebrows tense. I didn’t pack this box but it has my name on it. I pull the black box into my hand and recognize the scent that lingers from it. For a brief moment I am filled with hope. I allow my mind to stroll through hopeful places it hasn’t been in quite some time. I decide to open the box while I’m visiting these not-forgotten streets, and I am not disappointed. As the box creaks open the light catches the shiny metal inside. I think my heart is going to leap from my chest as I stare at this remarkable treasure.

Will’s ring.

Thank you, first of al
l, to you, the readers. I want you to know that I am honored that you chose
The Lake
and invested your time and emotions into Layla’s story. I hope you’ll stick around for the journey and see Layla through to the end. I think you’ll be glad you did!

I am so incredibly thankful to my dear friend Lisa (LB!). You played a major role in the development of this story. You gave your honest feedback whenever I asked, and you never held back. Your questions challenged me, and your pure love for Will and Layla’s story was, and continues to be, invaluable. Never underestimate your impact on this process.
I will never have enough words of thanks to give you. I treasure our friendship. I am so glad Jason married you!

Thank you to my editor, Lisa, who fixed all my ‘buts.’ You were and continue to be a lifesaver! I’m glad we’re discovering that we have more in common than Old Navy. I’m so grateful for you and our growing friendship!

I couldn’t have been more blessed than to have author Erin Healy walk along side me through this process. From the first call to tell you I was writing a book but had no clue what I was doing, to the time you gifted me in helping me create a stronger introduction to Layla’s story, you believed in me and encouraged me in my writing. Who would have thought that when we met all those years ago that God would connect us again this way? Thank you for your advice and guidance. You are truly the best thing to happen to my writing career.

To everyone who
beta read the book and gave me feedback: your input made Will and Layla’s story better and for that I’m truly grateful. Lisa B., Lisa S., Sarah, Erin, Jenna, Kelly, and Christi: thank you for cheering me on!

To my dear, sweet friend Dana. Thank you for keeping this baby safe from the very beginning. You have been a constant source of support and encouragement. I treasure you and our friendship, and I don’t know what I’d do without you.

Thank you, Vinh, for helping to make Marcus sound like a trigonometry genius. I have and always will admire your brilliance!

I have such great respect for the authors who have gone before me, paving the way for stories like Will and Layla’s to be told. Ted Dekker, Erin Healy, Colleen Hoover, Jamie McGuire, J.K. Rowling, Suzanne Collins, Kathryn Stockett, and Stephanie Meyer: you are my inspirations. You have written incredibly addicting stories that aren’t easily put down. Thank you for your fearlessness in creating characters and stories that inspire us to be better friends, stand up for what is right, and love more deeply.

A huge thank you to Amazon! Thank you for making it possible for independent writers to get their work out there. You’ve created an outlet that fulfills the creative need in so many and I am eternally grateful!

Many thanks to my
dad and mom, David and Anna, for raising a daughter who turned out to be pretty fearless. Having three older brothers will help in that process, too, I suppose. To said brothers – Glenn, Derek, and Chris - thank you for challenging me throughout life. You are all brilliant and talented, and I’d like to think I’m a good, albeit strange, mix of the three of you. I could have used fewer swirlies, but they helped shape me into the person I am today, so thanks.

To my kids who have encouraged me through this process simply by thinking it’s cool that their mom wrote a book.

Last and
never
least, enormous gratitude to my husband, Donavan. Thank you for your love and support, for listening to every story line idea, letting me space out every now and then as the wheels turned in my head, and for the nights you had no idea what time I actually got into bed. Most of all, thank you for always believing in me. You are my best friend and the best partner in life a girl could ask for.  I couldn’t have done this without you. So much!

The Lake
is the first book in AnnaLisa Grant’s Lake Trilogy. AnnaLisa earned her Master’s degree in Counseling at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina. She and her husband Donavan live with their two children and one recently-adopted kitten in Matthews, North Carolina.

To learn more about AnnaLisa, visit:
AnnaLisaGrant.com

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acebook.com/AuthorAnnalisaGrant