Page 6

6

Lara

Yesterday, I decided to check out The Golden Light group to see if Rina is with them. Then I had a head full of steam and the confidence I could do this.

This morning is a completely different issue. The group sounds like a cult. I’m not sure what I’m getting into. But what choice do I have? If Rina is with them, with or without her permission, I have to know. It’s not like her to be gone for days without telling me.

It’s just that the sound of that woman sobbing out at that farmhouse the group uses still echoes in my head. Something terrible happened there.

Last night, I remembered Rina mentioning meeting some new people in Wilmington, so that’s where I have to go today. She didn’t specifically mention The Golden Light, but she did say something about how nice these new people were and how they were looking to have people join their group. Hopefully, they know something about where she is.

As I settle in behind the wheel, my phone vibrates and my heart soars. It’s got to be Rina. I’ll listen to her, but she better have a good reason for scaring me like this. What good is calling me her best friend if she doesn’t tell me the important things, like where she’s going for days?

Searching for my phone in the bottom of my purse, I feel around until the cool metal touches my palm. I lift it out and answer it without even looking at the name on the screen.

“You better have a good reason for making me worry these past few days, chickie.”

That’s what we call one another when we’re upset. I listen for her to start explaining herself, but instead, I hear my mother’s voice.

“What do you mean? Who’s making you worry? Are you talking about your sister? I knew you were lying yesterday. You’re a terrible liar, Lara. Now tell me what’s going on.”

I close my eyes and wish to be anywhere doing anything other than this with her. “Mom, it’s no big deal. Rina has just been ignoring my calls for a few days. She’s probably mad at me. You know how she gets.”

Much of that is a lie. While it’s true my sister does have a habit of going inside herself when she’s upset, it’s rare that she pulls that kind of thing on me. We’re too close for that. I just don’t want my mother freaking out and thinking my sister is missing.

Even if she is.

“What did you do? You know your sister is more sensitive than you are, Lara. You probably bullied her into doing something she didn’t want to do. You’ve always done that ever since you were a child.”

Her words sting, and I try to hold back from saying anything in response, but I fail miserably. “I don’t bully anyone, including Rina. Now that you’ve upset me, I have to go, Mom. Don’t worry about her or me. We’re fine. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Don’t be so touchy, Lara.”

“It’s okay for Rina to be sensitive, but when I am, I’m a bad guy? Okay. Got it. I have to go, Mom. Talk to you later.”

Before she can give me any more grief, I end the call and toss my phone back into my purse. Bully my sister? Where does she get this stuff? The only bully in our family is her.

I need to calm down before I make the drive to Wilmington. Why does she call me if she’s going to act that way?

Half an hour later, I park my car and start looking for Rina or anyone with The Golden Light. I still have a hard time believing she’d join their group, even if it is all about positivity. It just doesn’t sound like something she would do.

I search street after street and see no one who might help me. An hour goes by, and all I have to show for it are sore feet and my favorite pink T-shirt with the cherries on it drenched and stuck to my skin. Discouraged, I sit down on a bench near the entrance of a park and wonder what to do next.

It’s a beautiful sunny day, although the shade from the tree nearby is a godsend since it’s nearly ninety out today. Leaning back, I close my eyes. Where could Rina be?

“Have you ever truly known love?” a soft voice asks.

I open my eyes to see a pretty blond girl who looks to be no more than twenty-years-old wearing a pale yellow sundress standing in front of me. Her face looks as innocent as a small child’s, so even though I was irritated at her interrupting my rest, I smile up at her.

“Sure.”

That’s not exactly true since my romantic life has been pretty much a dead zone since my last boyfriend and I parted ways nearly six months ago. She begins to talk about how important love is to the world, and I wonder if someone like her has asked my sister that same question. Rina has been feeling particularly vulnerable after what happened with her ex, and I know how much she wants to meet someone new.

“I’m Melody,” the blond girl says. “Isn’t it a gorgeous day out?”

I nod, curious about her now. “It is. What are you up to today, Melody?”

She smiles, and with the sunlight behind her, she looks like an angel. “I’m out here today talking to people about love. What’s your name?”

For a moment, I consider lying and giving her a fake name, but I dismiss that idea and tell her the truth. “I’m Lara. It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s so nice to meet you. Would you like to hear about true love and how we can all have it in our lives?”

“Sure, but can I ask you a question first?”

This seems to surprise her, but she nods as she continues beaming a smile. “Okay.”

I find a recent picture of my sister on my phone and hold it up for her to look at. “Have you seen this person recently? Her name is Rina. I think she was here in Wilmington recently.”

Melody studies the picture of my sister and me when we went out to celebrate my birthday a few months ago and shakes her head. Looking over my phone at me, she says, “I don’t think I’ve seen her. I’m sorry.”

Crestfallen, I nod and put my phone back in my purse. “Okay. Thanks.”

“Let me ask my friend. I’ll be right back.”

I watch Melody hurry off to the corner where another blond girl in a similar sundress stands talking to a man who looks less than thrilled at what she’s saying. The two females talk for a second, which gives the man a chance to get away, and then they hurry over to where I sit waiting.

“Lara, this is Delilah. She thinks she saw your sister the other day.”

My heart skips a beat as excitement courses through me. “Really? Where? Was she okay? What did she say?”

Delilah smiles and takes my hand in hers. “She was full of bliss after I talked to her. She knows love now.”

What the hell does that mean?

I stand up and ask her, “Can you show me where she is? It’s very important that I find her.”

Her smile dims as she shakes her head. “Only if you know love like we do. Would you like to find utter happiness and see the light?”

I know I probably don’t want to find out what that really means, but if she can take me to where Rina is, I have to tell her what she wants to hear. “Yes, I would. I want to know love like my sister does. Please take me where I can see her and talk to her.”

That makes both Delilah and Melody ecstatic, and they bounce with happiness. “Oh, that’s wonderful! We’re so happy to have you with us, Lara.”

Melody hugs me to her, and I smell the distinct scent of weed on her. No wonder she’s so mellow. She’s probably as high as a kite.

They each take a hand, and we walk down the street with the two of them singing some song I’ve never heard before. A niggling doubt that I shouldn’t be going with them gnaws at me, but I don’t have a choice.

I need to find my sister.