Hullo, everyone! I hope you’ve had an enjoyable weekend! As you may have noticed from the title, I’m actually posting TWO parts today. This is happening for two reasons. First, yesterday was the one-year anniversary of the publication of Paralyzed Dreams!!!!! If you haven’t bought it yet, you should definitely go check it out and leave a review on Amazon or on Goodreads! The second reason is that Part 30 has a terrible cliffhanger… So my apologies. đ If you missed the part posted on Friday, you can see it here, and if you’re new, start at the beginning! đ
—-29—-
My fingers fly over the keyboard as I search for Keller Stone. There are a few options, but now that I know that Keller is a girl, Iâm able to find the right one. And Iâm astonished to find that she lives right here in town.
Perfect.
Iâm about to hurry downstairs to get Denver when I realize heâs not here. No. I donât want to let anyone else in on this, so how am I going to get there? I check the address. It looks like itâs within walking distance, but I need to check. I pull up a map and enter the address. Good, itâs pretty close, just past where I think the Lava Java cafĂ© is. Perfect. Now I just have to get out of the house without getting stopped. I grab my shoes and wrack my brain for a good excuse.
âWhere are you going?â Maddie asks, watching me in her perceptive way.
I pause. Again, Maddie can be my perfect excuse. âWould you like to do some shopping?â I ask.
She glances towards the door, towards Brooklyn. I donât think I need anymore clothes.â
I grin. âNot that kind of shopping. I was thinking more like books or something. Whatever you want to look at.â
Maddieâs face lights up. âSure, that would be nice.â
âCool. Then go ahead and get ready to go. Iâve got a place we can walk to.â I grab my wallet. I can probably delay my investigation a little for a trip to the bookstore. And itâs a much better reason than just âgoing for a walk.â
After Maddieâs ready, I motion toward the door. âLetâs go, then.â
âWe arenât going to wait for Brooklyn?â Maddie asks.
I shake my head. âSheâll be in the shower for ages. And if she comes, youâll probably end up with more clothes.â
Maddie smiles and follows me downstairs. Mom greets us as we pass through the living room. Sheâs doing something on the TV, probably setting one of her shows to record. âGoing somewhere?â
âJust a little shopping,â I tell her.
âWithout Brooklyn?â Mom asks, surprised.
I nod. âWeâre not getting clothes, and sheâs in the shower, anyway.â
âWell, be careful,â Mom says. âMake sure your phoneâs on.â
I smile. âGot it. Donât worry, Mom, weâll be fine.â Weâll be fine while weâre shopping, but Iâm a lot more worried about the meeting with Keller. What am I expecting to learn, anyway? Sheâs just a friend of Genesis. What would she know that could be helpful?
I shrug off my doubt and wave goodbye to Mom as Maddie and I leave. I donât know what Iâm doing, but itâs all I have to go on right now, and I canât let all my hard work go to waste, right?
—-30—-
Maddie and I have a lot of fun in my favorite bookstore. I point out some of my favorite books from when I was younger to Maddie, ad she gets a couple of them. I pick up a few for myself, too. After we pay, we go out and start walking towards Kellerâs house.
âWhere are we going?â Maddie asks.
I search for a non-dangerous answer. âI thought weâd stop at Lava Java,â I say, pointing at the building ahead. Iâd never been there before Jen showed us â in fact, Iâd never noticed it before.
âSure,â Maddie agrees. We pick up the pace a little as we near the shop. I reach for the door handle, frowning at how dark the shop is. But when I tug on the handle, the door doesnât budge.
âItâs closed!â I exclaim. I step back and notice thereâs no sign. âThatâs weirdâŠâ Thatâs something I will definitely be asking Jen about.
âI guess we wonât do that, then,â Maddie remarks. She looks curiously at the shop, then around the street.
I nod. âGuess not.â I pause, trying to find the best way to put this. âWe can go visit someone I know while weâre in the area. I think she might like to meet you.â Probably a dead lie. But I can hope, canât I?
Maddie looks up at me. âWhat are we really going to do, Albany?â
Caught. Maddieâs really perceptive for a little girl and an amnesia victim. Or maybe itâs because sheâs a little girl and an amnesia victim. I sigh. âIâm trying to find the person who hurt Brooklyn.â
Maddie frowns. âBut isnât that what Jen is doing? Canât you just let her find the person?â
I sigh again. âI could, I guess. But I donât want to sit around doing nothing! I want to help.â
âYou are helping,â Maddie says thoughtfully. âBut anyway, I guess if youâve gotten this far, you might as well keep going.â
I reach down and squeeze her little hand. Sheâs so young to be caught up in all of this. Iâm so young to be caught up in all of this! âThanks, Maddie. Letâs go.â
We head off down the street, our pace slowing as we get nearer to Kellerâs house. What are we doing? Everything in me screams Run! Finally, we come to a stop in front of the house. Itâs small, fairly nice, but plain. The most eye-catching feature is the motorcycle parked out front. Why does that scare me even more?
We walk up to the front door together, and Maddie grabs my hand. Somehow that gives me extra strength, and I reach up and push the doorbell.
Thereâs some shuffling noises inside, and the door is opened by a woman, who is clearly an older version of the Keller in the picture, right down to the bright red hair.
She starts when she sees me, surprised. âWell. Youâre not Genesis.â Then here eyes flash down to Maddie and double in size. âLila!â she cries before bending down and enveloping Maddie in a hug.