Ashley yanked off her headphones then leaped out of bed.  Struggling to pull on her shoes, she heard her mother scream from the hallway.

            “Ashley!  I know you can hear that!  Ashley!”

            “Mom, I know!”  Ashley flung her door open, pulling her hoodie over her tank top.  “It’s pouring out.  I’m not going out in pajamas.”  Her mother’s door slammed shut in response and rattled the clock on the wall – 3:15 a.m.  Lovely.

            Ashley grabbed the keys out of the dish next to the door and ran outside.  Ever since she’d lost her remote car alarm, she’d had to turn it off manually with the key.  A task all that more exciting during a downpour.  At three in the morning.

            She rushed to the car, throwing her hood up.  But before she got to the car, the alarm stopped.  And then the doors unlocked.  Ashley stopped, whipping around, but seeing no one behind her.  She peered into the darkness, shielding her eyes from the storm.  The crack of thunder directly above her head made her turn to the car and dive in.

The envelope on the dashboard was plain, not even licked shut.  Ashley pulled the small card out of it; the words “meet me there” were written in small, delicate script. Instinctively, Ashley lifted it to her face.  It smelled faintly of Burberry.  Ashley leaned against the seat, turning her head towards the house.  Her mother’s light blinked out; no one would miss her.  She put her keys in the ignition, took one last look into the darkness as her lights illuminated the hedges lining the driveway.  She threw the car into drive and pealed out into the storm, a ripple of thunder echoing across her windshield.

            Spencer stepped around the side of the house, putting the car remote into her pocket, and running down the driveway to her car which was parked under a burnt out streetlight.  She saw Ashley’s taillights disappear around the corner, knowing she had not seen the vehicle.  She jumped in and headed in the opposite direction, knowing she’d reach the lighthouse before Ashley.

 ********************

            She saw the car upon pulling into the now-muddy parking lot.  It was the only one there; no one would be building bonfires or skinny-dipping in this storm.  Her clock read 3:35.  She could see Spencer sitting under the picnic alcove before turning her lights off.