Finding Allie Read Online Free Page B

as well be the moon. Where I live, nobody leaves town. Nobody except Marissa and, soon, David. But that’s it. Every other person I know who was born here is still here. 
    I’ve never even left our county. Whenever someone’s heading west I dream about hitching a ride and just disappearing. I could do it so easily. I could take the money I have saved and just pay some nice driver a little gas money to take me to Los Angeles. Marissa would help me find a job. I really could do it. I’m getting closer. So close. 
    Touching the ocean is a lifelong dream. Right before Mom died, Marissa turned eighteen and with Mom’s blessing, moved to Los Angeles to study fashion design. She’s seen the ocean. Swam in it. Tasted it. I want to float and splash and laugh and be free. 
    “It is fun! And I can’t wait until you come.” She goes quiet. I swallow, hard, because I know what she’s about to say. She always says it when we talk. “I wish I could help you, Allie.”
    All the joy in her voice is gone. The partiers in the background keep going on. I want more than anything to be there, to smile and cheer and dance and live.
    “I know you do, sis. And even if you could help me, you know...” I reply. She tried, once. Jeff found the money she sent and never said a word. It just disappeared.
    “You saving your tips?” she whispers. A creepy-crawly feeling shoots up my back. Between her words and being alone in the house at night, I feel weird. On alert. Like someone is watching me. 
    “Yes. And something exciting happened here today!” I say in an airy voice that doesn’t sound like me. Just the thought of Chase takes my breath away.
    “Another bar fight?” She sounds cynical. That’s not the Marissa I know.
    “How’d you guess?” 
    “Because that’s the only exciting thing that ever happens there,” she says with a bitter laugh.
    She’s right. “Yes,” I say with a sigh. “A motorcycle club.”
    She groans.
    “But there was this one guy,” I murmur, my mind taken over by the memory of Chase.
    “A guy? A GUY? Someone other than David, right?” she screams, the phone filled with happy little noises from her.
    “Of course not David. David is like a brother,” I say, laughing. I feel a flush creep across my cheeks when I think of Chase’s arms around me, his body pinning me under him as he protected me. How he watched me when I sucked my finger. 
    “Whew!” Marissa says. We share a laugh. It feels good to laugh, to be accepted. To have someone to talk to. I miss her. I don’t wish she were here, though. I wish I were with her in LA.  
    I will be. Soon.
    “What’s his name?” she asks, urging me on.
    “Chase Halloway,” I say. “He came into the bar today.”
    “Chase? Never heard of him.” The song in the background changes to an old Rolling Stones number. The beat is strong and I find myself moving in rhythm to the music. My hips sway in rhythm and it feels so good to move. 
    “He’s awesome. Interesting and nice.” Nice is probably the wrong word, but my mouth is dry and my heart flutters in my chest suddenly. Talking about Chase really does make him more real. If I keep going, I wonder if I could make him appear. I close my eyes and see him, clear as day.  
    He’s right on the tip of my mind.
    “Interesting and nice? Sounds boring. What’s he look like?” she asks.
    I keep my eyes closed. My memory is crystal clear. A sly smile twists one side of my mouth. It feels good to share my story. “Blonde hair. Amber-speckled brown eyes. Tan. Really tan, with thick, muscled arms and long legs that—”
    “Allie!” she yells. “You got yourself a boyfriend! I’ve never heard you talk about a guy like this. Ever!” I hear her turn away from her phone and shout to the crowd that her little sister finally got herself a man. People clap and wolf whistle. It seems kind of lame, but feels really good. Even a crowd of strangers hundreds of miles away can cheer me up right now and make my