Cloud Walking (A Find You in the Dark novella) (15 page)

    And when we were finished, we laid there together, wrapped up in each other and I knew there was nowhere else on this earth that I ever wanted to be.  This girl was it.  She was my forever.  And I was on top of the clouds.

     I was jarred awake by the sound of Rachel's phone ringing.  We both blinked sleepily and I looked at her alarm clock and saw that it was five in the morning. 

     Crap!  It was five in the morning!  Rachel's mom would be home any minute!

     “Rachel!  Get that!  I have to get going!  Your mom will be here soon!” I said in a near panic.  Rachel hopped out of bed and grabbed her phone.

     “Hello?” she said in a rush.  I hurried to pull on my clothes.  I was tugging on my socks when Rachel's words made me stop.

     “What do you mean she's gone?  Please, Mrs. Young, calm down.  I don't understand.”  I sat down on the bed beside Rachel.  Her face had gone pale and she was gripping the bed sheets in a death grip. 

     “I swear I haven't heard from her!”  My stomach was in knots.  This was obviously about Maggie.  What the hell had our friend done?

     “I promise!  The second I hear from her, I'll call you!”  Rachel's voice rose in anxiety.  I put my arm around her and she leaned into me.  “I know.  Mrs. Young, please, that will only make it worse.  Give it until this evening.  I know Maggie.  She will call one of us.  I'll let you know as soon as I hear something.”  I waited on pins and needles as Rachel hung up. 

     She looked up at me, her eyes wide and panicked.  “What is it, Rach?” I asked.

     “She's gone.  Maggie.  She's run off.  Apparently Ruby, Clay's aunt called the house this morning looking for Clay.  He and his parents had an altercation last night and he took off.  When Mrs. Young went to get Maggie, she wasn't there.  No note, nothing.  She had just taken off.  So it's pretty obvious who she ran off with.”  Rachel ran her hands through her hair. 

     I let out a breath.  “Well, hell,” I muttered, not sure what to say. 

     Rachel got to her feet and started pulling on her clothes.  “Get your phone.  Let's start harassing the shit out of her until she freaking answers!  I can't believe she pulled a stunt like this!  She is so dead!” Rachel seethed.  She was really angry.

     She was furiously dialing Maggie's number when I stopped her.  “Calm down, Rach.  Seriously.  You know Maggie.  And you know how she is about Clay.  You can't go all guns blazing on her.  You have to hear her out.  Listen.  Otherwise she'll shut us out again,” I told her.  Huh.  When did I become the voice of reason in our relationship?

     Rachel's lips quirked into a small smile.  Obviously the irony wasn't lost on her either. 

     So together, we spent the next three hours blowing up Maggie's phone.  We sent a dozen texts between us, left her countless voice mails. 

     Rachel's mom had come home.  After explaining what was going on with Maggie, she didn't question why I was there at such an early time of the morning.  So we clearly dodged that bullet.  But what a crappy way to do it.

     Time seemed to slow down and speed up all at the same time.  Rachel heard from Maggie.  She
had
run away with Clay.  She claimed to be fine.  But Rachel revealed later that Maggie had told her Clay was suffering from some major mental issues.  Not that I was surprised.  I knew there was something off about him.  But after hearing about everything the guy was going through, even I could feel some sympathy for him.

     I still wanted to kick his ass for taking off with Maggie like that.  But looking at Rachel, I think I understood where he was coming from. 

     Love has a way of consuming you.  Making you lose all focus.  But it could also lift you up and make your life that much better.  Make you feel like it was the only thing in the world you needed.

     So I connected with Clay for a moment, knowing that was how he felt about Maggie.

     Then came the call that we had to go get our best friend.  Because she was stranded five hours away in some small town in North Carolina.  That Clay had tried to kill himself. 

     And it was obvious that Clay and Maggie's love wasn't going to make things better for either of them.  In fact, it had damn near destroyed them.

     So Rachel and I went with Mr. and Mrs. Young to get her.  Maggie looked so young in that hospital waiting room.  As though she had been to hell and back.  I worried like crazy that she would never come back from it. 

     But Rachel and I held her together as best we could.  As only friends can.  And together we helped Maggie pick up the pieces of her life. 

     And we would continue to be there.  Every step of the way down that long and painful road.  We would show Maggie that love didn't have to hurt.  That it could be the most amazing and brilliant thing in your life.  We would help her discover herself again. 

     And Rachel and I would continue to love each other.  Support each other.  Remind each other every day that love
does
make things better when it was done right. 

     And Rachel and I were doing it right, every single day.

     I never wanted my feet to touch the ground again.

Acknowledgments

     This one is for my awesome readers.  If it wasn't for your love and support for Find You in the Dark, this novella would never have been written and Rachel and Daniel's story wouldn't have been told.    I hope you enjoyed their love story and will come back for the conclusion of Maggie and Clay's journey in Light in the Shadows.

     Each and every one of you rock!  Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart!

     
Coming in March 2013- Light in the Shadows (Find You in the Dark)

How do you keep going when you feel like your life is over?
Maggie never thought she’d see Clay again. So, she attempts to put her life back together after her heart has been shattered to pieces. Moving on and moving forward, just as Clay wanted her to.
Clay never stopped thinking of Maggie. Even after ripping their lives apart and leaving her behind to get the help he so desperately needed. He is healing...slowly.  But his heart still belongs to the girl who tried to save him.
When a sudden tragedy brings Maggie and Clay face to face again, nothing is the same. Yet some things never change. Can the darkness that threatened to consume them be transformed into something else and finally give them what they always wanted? And can two people who fought so hard to be together, finally find their happiness? Or will their demons and fear drive them apart for good?
The thing about love, is even when it destroys you, it has a way of mending what is broken. And in the shadows, you can still see the light.

 
The conclusion to Maggie and Clay's journey of heartbreak and redemption by A. Meredith Walters.