If You're Gone Read Free Page B

evening air like lyrics to a beautiful song. I could never have imagined that hearing the words coming from his mouth would sound so natural, so right.
    “I love you,” he said again, this time less nervous but just as sincere. “So much. Good night!”
    As he turned away I realized I hadn’t answered him. I had been too busy staring into his eyes.
    “Brad! Wait!” I shouted in a voice only slightly louder than a whisper. He rushed back to the window as the words flew off my tongue. “I love you, too!”
    We leaned toward each other and our lips met. Somehow, the kiss was different from the hundreds we had shared before. It was more official. More permanent. When we broke apart he stroked my cheeks with his hands, holding my face close to his.
    “I’ll see you soon, Lil. I love you.”
    “I love you too,” I echoed. “Good night.”
    Brad pulled away from our embrace and smiled, offering a quick wink before turning to leave. Sitting on my knees and hugging the window frame, I watched as he disappeared into the darkness. He was gone.
     
The First Forty-Eight
     
    I met Anna in the driveway, holding two ceramic mugs brimming with fresh coffee and motioned her to the back deck. She looked glamorous as always, even in an oversized tank top and cut-offs, like a movie star caught by the lens of paparazzi.
    “So, how was your date?” Anna asked with a wide yawn as she accepted the coffee from my outstretched hand. She nestled into the green paisley cushion draped across a wrought-iron bench on the deck. A handful of small birds fluttered overhead, darting at each other as they passed.
    “It was great. Really great...” I sighed, letting my body melt into the chair beside her as I fiddled with the ring around my neck.
    “Oh my gosh, don’t tell me. Did you…” Her eyes grew wide.
    “Shh! No!” I glanced back towards the kitchen window to make sure Graham and Eliza weren’t eavesdropping through the screen. “But he told me he loved me.”
    Anna nearly dropped her coffee onto the side table, quickly swallowing the hot liquid that remained in her mouth.
    “Shut up! What did you say? Do you tell him you love him?”
    I smiled as I nodded. “Yes! I just said ‘I love you too’. It was kind of magical.”
    “I mean, I knew you were crushing hard, but love? No wonder you woke me up at the butt-crack of dawn. I’ve been trying to get Thomas to drop the L-bomb for like months. Even though I'm pretty sure the guys on the basketball team are trying to convince him he’s whipped,” she laughed. “I’m so sorry for doubting that you had huge news!” Anna reached for her coffee, her face frozen in a bewildered grin.
    I glanced at my hands as I wrung them in my lap, my smile fading. “That’s not really what I called you for, though.”
    “Don't tell me, did you get engaged, too?” she asked with a giggle.
    “No. Nothing like that.”
    “Okay, okay.” She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. Go ahead.”
    “Mrs. Lee called and told me Brad didn’t come home last night,” I told her. “She doesn't know where he is.”
    “And he wasn’t with you?”
    I shook my head.
    “Well, where could he be?”
    I let my head fall back into the chair as I let out a groan. “I have no idea. That’s the whole problem. I’ve called him like twenty times.”
    “Maybe he went to Jason’s party and just ended up crashing there.” Anna sipped her coffee, pursing her lips as she swallowed.
    “Anything is possible, I suppose,” I agreed. “But Brad never goes to parties anymore. Let alone crash somewhere. It doesn’t sound like something he'd do.”
    “You’re right.” Anna took a deep breath. “But, just thinking out loud… is there a chance that he had planned to go out and didn’t tell you?” She turned her head away from me as she spoke and stared out into the yard.
    “No, why would he do that?” I asked defensively.
    “I’m just saying, Lillian,” she said with a shrug. “It’s not like you and