Her hand suddenly slapped on my arm and she pointed to the wall. “Rome, look at the date on Molly’s calendar.”

“Flight to Heathrow. Oxford presentation,” I read out loud.

Shit. She’d gone back to England for the presentation she’d been working on. Of course. Professor Ross would have been the person in the car at the hospital. But the flight was long gone. She was long gone.

I immediately jumped from the bed, planning my next step.

“Where are you going?” Ally asked frantically.

“To Oxford. I need to get her back.”

Ally’s hand gripped my arm. “You can’t, Rome! What about the National Championship? You’d jeopardize the draft! You can’t just leave. It’s your whole future we’re talking about here!”

I let out a guttural scream and swiped the top of Mol’s drawers with my arm, watching all her shit fall to the floor, then turned to face Ally once more. “No, that’s where you’re wrong! Molly’s my f**kin’ life, my f**kin’ future! And right now she’s on a 747 to Heathrow Airport, friggin’ dying inside because of me, because of my psycho mother! Fuck the championship!”

For the first time in our lives, I could see I’d scared Ally. I could see it in her ashen face, her usual olive skin bleached white with shock.

Raking my hands through my hair, I dropped my ass to the edge of the nightstand. “Shit, Al. Sorry. I’m so sorry… I’m just going outta my mind. I don’t know what the hell to do.” It was no good; the tears I was fighting began pouring out of me. My shoulders shook and I buried my face in my hands.

Ally’s arms embraced me while I let it all out. “Here’s what I think, Rome.” She paused, waiting for me to speak, but I couldn’t. “I say we get outta here now and go to my folks’ in Birmingham. We were scheduled to leave in a couple of days for Christmas anyway.” I stiffened and went to argue, but she continued. “Give Molls some time. She’ll come around. I know she will. I’ve never seen a couple like you two. You’re perfect together. Just let her digest everything. She’s sensitive, needs time to heal. Ring Coach. Tell him you’re going to have to take a few days away, then return for training and win the National Championship. If she still hasn’t returned, then do something. Hell, I’ll fly to England with you if needs be.”

I knew she was right, but even spending a day apart from my girl, without hearing her voice, was going to kill me.

Fuck. How did it all go so wrong?

I couldn’t help but think of my folks and what they’d done. Year and years of their abuse flashed before my eyes and I hated myself for never fighting back. I wanted to hurt them, just like they’d hurt me, hurt Mol… our f**king baby! My palms felt like they were on fire and my hands curled into fists.

“Rome?” Ally said nervously.

“I can’t go!” I shouted, Ally cautiously stepping back across the room. “I need to find my folks. They need to be held accountable for what they’ve done!”

“And where you gonna look?”

“I don’t know. Everywhere. I can’t just do nothing. They’ve taken everything from me… Everything!”

Ally moved right in front of me, panic all over her features. “Rome, I understand the need for justice, I really do, but be logical. Let the police do their job. They’ll be found and dealt with in the right way.”

“Al…” I whispered, unable to find my voice.

“Promise me. Don’t let them ruin your life anymore. You go after them, and you’ll end up in trouble. I know you Rome, you’ll lose it.”

“Goddamn it, Al!” I complained, but slumping my shoulders, I reluctantly nodded my head. “Okay, we’ll go to Birmingham but… let’s go now, before I change my mind.”

Ally tentatively placed her hand on my shoulder. “We’ll get our bags packed and get straight on the road. I’ll drive.”

I stood numbly and reluctantly left Mol’s bedroom, following Ally to her room while she got her stuff together. Everywhere I stood felt suffocating, so I stepped out on the balcony to think. It was the wrong choice; it was out here where Mol and I had really hit it off. It was the beginning of us.

After about ten minutes, there was a panicked knock on the door, and Lexi and Cass ran in, their faces dropping when they saw me standing outside, looking at them blankly.

“Hey, Rome. We’re sorry. We didn’t know you’d be in here,” Lexi said. I didn’t reply, just turned away again to stare out at the trees once more.

“Where’s Molls?” Cass whispered, trying to be discreet, but her thick Texan accent sounded like a foghorn in the quiet room.

“Gone,” Ally whispered back, causing all my muscles to tense.

“Jesus! Gone where?” Cass asked, her own anger seeping through her words. “Wherever it is, we need to go and get her! Now!”

“Too late, Cass. Looks like she’s gone back to Oxford, caught a flight outta here earlier tonight, hitched a ride from the hospital with the professor,” Ally informed her, and for the first time that night, I heard her own tired sadness leak through.

Someone sniffed, and then Lexi’s soft, broken voice cut in. “Poor Molly, what must she be feeling? I want her back where she has friends. I want to hold her, comfort her, and tell her everything will be okay. No wonder she left. How’s she expected to cope with everything that happened?”