Pearl had not been able to sleep since her brother's demise, suffering the worst of nightmares when she even attempted to do so. The poor girl had been awake for three days. She stood on the stretch of beach that was on Carrington property, a place she hadn't been in a long time. Her eyes looked faraway as she sat on a rock, so many what ifs running through her thoughts. Her mouth pulled downward in her contemplation, the wind blowing at her and lifting her hair some.

She thought about Joe then. She wouldn't be able to blame him if he wanted to run very far away from her family. So she had sent a message to him, imploring him to come find her. Included was a detailed map on how to get there from the house, so he would be able to find her easily enough...