Loyalynne laughed again.“I can't do all your thinking for you.Surely you can figure that out yourself.”
Piper's thoughts drifted, sluggish and disjointed.If she took the car, her mother would surely hear …Then a flash of inspiration—the old bicycle in the garage.Her mother had kept it all these years, unable to part with anything that had belonged to her missing daughter.
“I could ride there,” she said slowly.“Use my old bike.It would take maybe an hour.”
“Perfect.”Loyalynne clapped her hands in delight.“And after, we'll just keep going.No more pretending to be Piper Graves.No more letting these dream people suffer because of you.”
Piper—no, Emma—slipped out of bed.With mechanical movements, she pulled on jeans and a sweater, then stuffed a few essentials into a small backpack.The brooch she wrapped in a tissue and tucked into her pocket.
The flames still licked at the walls, but they parted to reveal the bedroom door.Loyalynne glided ahead, leading the way through the darkened house.Emma followed, her footsteps silent on the carpet.
She passed her mother's room without a backward glance.What was there to look back at?A figment, a ghost, a woman she'd invented to fill the hole in her heart.
The night air hit her face as she eased the front door closed behind her.Stars winked overhead, witnesses to her escape.The garage door squeaked slightly as she raised it, revealing the dusty blue bicycle leaning against the far wall.
Emma pulled it out, the familiar shape of the handlebars fitting her grip like they'd been waiting for her all these years.Even the tires look okay.Loyalynne stood beside her, radiant in the moonlight.
“They'll be better off without you,” Loyalynne assured her.“And you'll be free.”
“Where will we go after the well?”Emma asked, straddling the bicycle.
Loyalynne's smile was dazzling, full of impossible promises.“Everywhere.Anywhere.We'll wander the world together, just you and me.I'll keep you safe, Emma.I'll be the only voice you ever need to hear again.”
Emma heart felt lighter than it had been in years.With Loyalynne beside her, she pushed off into the night, leaving Piper Graves and all her burdens behind.