Never Apart by Romily Bernard

Never Apart by Romily Bernard

Author:Romily Bernard
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Before I Fall;Lauren Oliver;Groundhog Day;forbidden romance;Southern Gothic;mystery;thriller
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Published: 2017-08-02T16:00:00+00:00


chapter twenty

now…

Freaking internet directions. The turnoff is two miles past where it’s supposed to be and after almost twenty minutes of driving back and forth, I finally spot the dirt road cutoff. I slow down and check my crumpled directions again. The road looked different on the aerial, more…used. This turnoff is crowded with bright green kudzu and bushes on both sides. Weeds prick through the hard-packed dirt like no one’s driven down there in forever.

It can’t be the right turn. I glance at my directions again, knowing full well I don’t have a better idea. Maybe it’ll look better farther down?

I turn the truck off the main road, maneuvering it past the overgrown bushes, and there’s a long, long fingernail-scrape against my door.

Crap. Jem’s going to be furious.

It’s no better farther in. The turnoff dead-ends into a clearing, and I pull to a stop under a drooping water oak. Somehow it’s even hotter under the trees. The air’s close, and it’s only scraggly pine trees and thick underbrush as far as I can see.

Double crap.

Then again…I put the truck in park and hop out. My actual directions might be off, but the aerial still looks right. I worry my lower lip.

What are the chances of the online directions being this wrong? Pretty good…right? I mean, it can’t matter that I’m in some weird parallel universe, because crappy internet directions are universal.

Surely I’m not having some weird…glitch again.

Surely.

I put my back to the road and face the tree line ahead. I need to go east. Ander’s house should be just past this stretch of woods. If I hike straight, I should get there.

I think. I’m almost positive.

Well, I’m going to find out.

I stuff the useless directions back in my pocket and hike deeper into the woods, slapping at mosquitoes and gnats as I go. The trees are thick, but the brush is thicker, and everything smells like roses. I dash one hand across my nose. It’s almost nauseating and makes my lungs feel filled with sand.

I shove through a tangle of blackberries, and branches snap to my right. I stop dead, listen. My eyes jump from tree to tree, searching and searching…and nothing. I’m alone.

I glance toward the truck again and realize I’m too far away. All I can see is woods, more woods, and shadows. They’re gathering in pools.

I use the bottom of my shirt to wipe my face and swat at another mosquito. It’s still another couple of hours to sunset, but the trees are so crowded, they’re blocking the early-evening sun. I need to hurry.

And then I realize how quiet it’s gotten.

No more snapping branches. No birds. Nothing. It’s like the whole world is holding its breath.

“Get going,” I mutter and shove on, ignoring how I’m wheezing hard now.

Several hot and sticky moments later, something long and red slips past the trees ahead of me. It’s a car.

I hustle forward, branches snatching at my hair. The ground slopes down, curves up, and as I struggle to the top, I see Ander’s house just beyond a wall of kudzu.



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