Gone (Gone #1) by Stacy Claflin

moved some of her hair behind her ear. Looking at her ear, he remembered how much he used to love nibbling on it and making her giggle. He ran a finger along it. He looked back to her face, surprised to see her looking directly into his eyes.
    "What are we going to do, Chad?" Tears shone in her eyes.
    His heart nearly leapt out of his chest. He felt like he was young again, when he would have done anything to keep her from hurting. He pulled her up and held her in his arms. She shook and he rubbed her back, whispering that everything would be okay. He expected her to snap at him that he didn't know that, but she didn't.
    Chad knew he should say something. If only his parents were alive. Oh how he missed being able to talk to them. His dad always knew the right thing to say.
    Finally, she leaned back and looked at him again. "I don't know what I'll do if—"
    Chad put a finger to her lips. "We can't think like that. We can't let ourselves go there. She just ran away, like her status update says, and then she'll be back."
    "We don't know that. Don't we need to prepare ourselves in case…?"
    "Remember those CDs you used to make us listen to? We have to think positive."
    Alyssa frowned.
    "If the cops are right and Macy is in trouble—which I don't think is the case—then we need to do what we can to help her."
    "Do you really believe that?" Alyssa asked.
    "You don't?"
    "Haven't you noticed I threw those CDs out?"
    "Of course. You still know what was on them. We all do."
    Alyssa's cell phone rang, and she glanced at it. "It looks like Sherry from down the street. I'm so tired of talking on the phone. I only want to leave it on in case Macy tries to call." She pushed ignore.
    Chad nodded. "Between my phone and the land line, I'm ready to smash them all."
    "If it weren't for the chance of Macy calling, I would join you."
    He smiled. "Could you imagine that? Us running around, destroying the phones?"
    One corner of Alyssa's mouth curled up. "That would be quite a sight."
    Chad's phone rang. "We could always start now. I've been wanting to upgrade anyway."
    She shook her head. "Who's calling now?"
    He looked at his phone. "Sherry again."
    "Maybe we should answer. What if it's important?"
    Chad handed her his phone.
    Alyssa rolled her eyes, but took it anyway. "Sherry?"
    "Hi, Alyssa. I'm sorry to bother you, and I won't keep you. I want to let you know that a bunch of the kids from the high school put together a candlelight service at the park near your house. It's supposed to start around seven. Then in the morning, there's going to be a rally. Missing posters have been printing all day and people are going to hand them out."
    Alyssa stared into space, trying to take it all in. "I'm a terrible mother."
    Chad gave her a questioning look.
    "What do you mean?" Sherry asked. "Of course you're a wonderful mom."
    "I should have been the one to put all that stuff together. I've been sitting around feeling sorry for myself."
    "You're doing everything you can. You've been talking with the police and everything, dear. The community wants to rally around you. The news keeps talking about the worst, but the good news is that everyone is banding together. Everyone wants to help Macy return safely."
    "Thanks, Sherry. Where's the rally?"
    "Everyone is meeting at the high school around eight in the morning. You guys don't need to show up, but I think the support would really help."
    "Of course we'll help. We'll be at the front of the line."
    "We'll see you tonight. Just to let you know, the news media will probably be there."
    "Good. The more coverage, the better. Thanks, Sherry." Alyssa ended the call and looked at Chad.
    "What's going on?"
    She repeated everything Sherry had told her, barely getting through without tears.
    Chad held her again. "We'll get through all of this—and of course you're not a bad mom. How could you say that? You're the best mom around."
    Alyssa couldn't hold the tears in any longer. She buried her face in his chest and