Chapter 3

That night, I dropped off some medicine for Olivia at the suburban vacation villa, only to find that Alex, Will, and Lucas were the only ones there.

It didn't take long for us to realize our parents had totally tricked us into coming here.

To make things worse, someone had driven off with our cars, so we were stuck out here with no way to get back to the city in the middle of the night.

Olivia called and said she hoped we could relive our childhood memories and patch things up in this place where we used to hang out as kids.

Lucas snorted. "This is so boring and such a waste of time. Who knows if Emily's alright on her own? What if she needs something from us?"

Alex and Will both frowned, clearly worried.

I thought it was a waste of time too, but seeing this place again made me feel strangely nostalgic.

I walked up to the piano. It must have been here for more than ten years now.

I remembered how we used to squeeze around this piano, all eight hands playing at once. Lucas was always the one causing trouble, making us argue and laugh, while the adults watched and snapped tons of photos of us gathered here.

"Emily's been learning piano lately. Check out this video I took of her," Lucas said.

He pulled out his phone and played the video.

Alex and Will eagerly leaned in to watch.

The piano notes were a bit un, but Emily's playful voice came through, and everyone watched intently, their faces lit up with warm smiles.

I stepped outside the villa, and the lights illuminated the pool.

I suddenly remembered that summer when the three of them were having a breath-holding contest in the pool. I was a clueless little kid, and thought they were actually drowning. So I panicked and jumped in to save them.

"Alex, Will, Lucas, don't be scared. I'm coming to rescue you," I yelled.

But as soon as I dove in, I ended up choking on water and nearly drowned myself.

The three of them pulled me out together, wanting to laugh but shaking their heads at me.

"Charlotte, you're so cute and a bit of a klutz. We'll always look out for you," they said.

Those words still echoed in my mind. They did have my back all the way as I grew up.

They shielded me from every danger I faced as a kid, took me out for all the best snacks, and dragged me along to every fun adventure.

It was like I could see all those happy times right in front of me again, filled with laughter and joy.

Suddenly, a real voice snapped me out of my memories.

"Emily, don't be scared. We're coming to be with you right now." Alex sounded worried.

He had answered Emily's call, and he looked stressed.

"There's thunder in the city, and Emily's so freaked out she's crying. We have to go be with her," Alex said, looking at the other two, who were as worried.

Alex anxiously explained the situation to the other two, and they were as stressed out.

They rushed out of the villa, looking around frantically.

"There's not a single car here," Will said.

"I can't wait any longer. I'm going to walk back." Lucas gritted his teeth and stormed out into the night.

The other two charged after him, disappearing into the darkness, as anxious.

"Wait." I called out, stopping them.

Lucas spun around and glared at me. "Charlotte, Emily's freaking out and crying her eyes out, and you're still here acting jealous and trying to hold us back?"

Alex and Will gave me dirty looks too.

I kept my face blank. "If you walk back now, the thunder will probably be over by the time you get there, and Emily will have already cried herself out."

"Then what are we supposed to do? We can't sit around and do nothing." Lucas snapped, his jaw clenched.

He gritted his teeth and was about to storm off again.

Will kept his cool and stopped Lucas. "Let's call someone to pick us up, and meanwhile, let's see if there's anything around here we can use to get out of this place."

They grabbed flashlights and started scouring the villa grounds, frantically searching for anything that could help them.

We knew every inch of this place. We'd played hide-and-seek here so many times that we could probably navigate it with our eyes closed.

"Hey, there's a golf cart over here. Maybe we can use that," I said, shining my phone's flashlight on a golf cart tucked away in the corner.

They rushed over right away.

They pushed the golf cart out, and Alex hopped behind the wheel.

Will and Lucas squeezed into the back, but with their big frames, there was no way a third person could fit.

They all hesitated, glancing at me.