<b>Chapter </b><b>63 </b>
Maddox
The moment Harper’s voice cracked, begging me to follow Anna, I pushed my chair back with my body weight so fast that it scraped against the pavement. I didn’t even care that I had grabbed the attention of the people around or that someone might’ve been right behind the chair.
The call was still running, and I tightened my grip around my phone, determined to find her sister.
“She has long purple hair and a green shirt!” she managed to say with a pang of desperation.
I pushed through the crowd in hopes of spotting anyone that fit Harper’s description<b>, </b>but the path leading to the main road was chaotic. There were cars honking, taxis pulling up and driving off before I could even get close enough. There was no sign of her.
I stood by the sidewalk, my chest tightening with frustration. Harper was going to be crushed and I hated the fact that I had to be the one to tell her I failed.
I sighed in defeat, making my way to somewhere quieter with the phone still in my hand. I rested my back against the wall before bringing the camera back up to my face and I froze. She was in tears<b>, </b>not even looking at me. She’d set her phone down at an angle where I could see her shoulders shaking, her hands covering her face. It only made me feel worse, but I still had to tell her.
“Harder,” I said carefully, my voice low. “I wasn’t able to spot anyone that looked like Anna. She must have gotten away before I could get too close to the taxis. I can find her. I have lots of people who can work on it right away.”
Her shoulders trembled harder, her hands on her face muffling her sobs and fuck, I felt useless and that was
rare.
My jaw clenched. I had never felt so desperate to assure her.
“Hey, we’ll track her down. I’ll make sure of it.”
It still felt like I wasn’t getting through to her, but then, out of nowhere, she dropped her hands. Her cheeks were still wet and eyes shining with tears, yet her lips were curved into a bright smile.
It caught me so off guard that I <b>just </b>stared with words stuck in my throat.
With a deep exhale, she said, “It’s okay.” Her voice was shaky. “I was just hoping you’d be able to stop her on time just so I could see her again… but there’s no need to look for her. Just knowing that she’s in London is enough. I’ll be content with that.”
My eyes narrowed. She looked like she was longing for something more.
<b>“</b>Are you sure<b>?</b><b><i>” </i></b>I asked.
“Yeah.” She wiped her cheeks with a chuckle. “I’ll call you backter. I need to make a few calls.”
Her voice was now less shaky and she sounded happier. It was the only reason that I was relieved. I even
about stuff like that?
Harper
I hated myself for the fact that as soon as I knew where Anna was, the first person I wanted to <b>call </b>was Grayson, but he and I weren’t talking anymore, so I called Aunt Patricia instead.
I was in the kitchen, making myself something to eat while the phone was on the counter. With the onions hissing on the pan, I had to turn up the volume even when my phone was on speaker.
“Really?” Aunt Patricia gasped with delight from the other end of the line.
“Yes! I’m absolutely certain it was her!” I chuckled, ncing at my phone on the counter. “Her hair looks so different now. It’s purple longer. She looked a little rough, as always.”
The moment Anna had passed by Maddox’s screen behind his chair shed in my mind and I smiled sadly. She was right there but I couldn’t reach her.
“This is such good news!” Aunt Patricia said, snapping me out of it and making me stir the onions again. “Oh, my dear Anna. I can only imagine what it would have been like had Maddox been able to stop her on time and you spoke to her. Why not just call or send her a message?”
I froze mid–stir, the wooden spoon hovering over the pan.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” My voice was hesitant and it was more to myself than it was to her.
“Harper, dear, we both know how much you want to do this, so why not just go for it? And don’t give me some silly excuse about how you don’t want to bother her when she wants to be left alone. You’re the one who pushed Maddox to follow her and get her to stop. How is that any different from you reaching out to her?”
My hand tightened around the wooden spoon at how her words hit me hard, the sizzling pan filling the silence.
“You’re absolutely right.” I leaned against the counter.
“Then do it!” She cheered me on, her voice strained with encouragement.
“I will. I just need to finish making this meal.”
“Sounds like someone’s stalling.”
“Wha- I’m not…” I sighed, briefly pressing the palm of my hand on my forehead. “I’ll do it. I promise.”
“I’ll be waiting for you to call me back and tell me. Just don’t make me wait too long.”
“Yeah…”
“No matter what, Anna’s your sister. This won’t go on forever. Maybe she just needs a little more push.”
When the call came to an end, I immediately called E and Zoey, who said the same thing my Aunt did. It was for this reason that I set the spoon down and switched off the stove. The urge to contact my sister was now <b>so </b>strong that I didn’t feel like eating anymore.
I paced for a few seconds, thinking about what I was going to say to her, but I couldn’t quite get the words right. It took me a while to realize that I was using that as an excuse to stall. It was as if I wasn’t going to contact her as long as I hadn’t perfected what I wanted to say.
I knew I wouldn’t be at peace if I kept doing that to myself, so I finally went for it and dialed her number, but she didn’t pick up. Just as I had expected. I called a few times more but it was still the same thing. Instead, I typed what I wanted to tell her, even clenching my teeth as I read it a few times.
“Hey, I saw you in London. Your purple hair looks cool! I miss you.”
My thumb hovered over the send button, my heart pounding hard as I tried to talk myself out of it. But this time, I wanted her to know how I felt, so I finally sent the message.