The rest of the evening consisted of dinner as family and bombarding me with questions about my life since our last visit.

I had saved every penny I earned in high school. After that summer I packed a bag and headed to the bus station with no real destination in mind. I made my way through small towns and large city's. I finally decided I wanted to get as far away as I could. Hawaii turned out to be a good option. Its an island for God sake. When I landed in Hawaii the first time I knew I had found my home. The smell of salt in the air, the amazing feeling of the sun shining against your skin. Dustin.

The feeling of my mother's hands on my arm pulled me from my thoughts.

"Allie, you ok hunny?" She had a concerned look on her face as she held my arm.

"Yeah mom I'm fine. Just exhausted from the trip. I think I'm going to go get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow."

Sleep came much easier than I assumed it would. I almost instantly fell asleep. When I opened my eyes it was still dark outside. I glanced at the clock that flashed 4:07am.  I knew that coming here was going to bring back all the shit I had been running from all these years.

I was already dressed and out the front door before anyone else was awake. I walked down street after street until I made my way to the lake. The water is murky, not like the crystal clear water I'm used to. I sat at the edge of the dock and dipped my feet into the water.

I grabbed my phone and sent Dustin a text.

-Hey. I made it. I'm sitting with my feet in the water. Only it's brown.....

I hadn't spoken to him since he dropped my off at the air port and I knew he would be worried.

I laid back thinking about the last time I had been here. How much my life had changed since that time. It was never my intention to run away. I just wanted to start over. Somewhere no one knew who I was.

I pulled the letter out of my pocket and read it again.

Allie, how long did you think you could hide? Things like this don't simply go away. I tried to move forward with my life. I tried to forget what we did. I can't. Did you know they are having a memorial in three weeks, marking ten years since she went missing. Come home. I need you here for this and we have to make this right. I can't keep living like this.
-E

What am I going to do.