Again?
Holy shit.
The screen shifted to a yearbook photo of a girl with straightened sunny-blonde hair, a bright smile, and sky-blue eyes. She looked like so many other girls at school, but the difference was that their face wasn’t plastered on the evening news.
A ticker scrolled along the bottom in insistent yellow letters, a hotline to contact if anyone had information on her disappearance.
I snuck a glance at Mom.
She no longer leaned over the counter. Her spine had gone straight, and her deep blue eyes hardened. The easy, teasing curve of her mouth was gone, lips pressing into a thin line.
This was bad.
Really bad.
I’d been stupidly hoping Mom wouldn’t hear about the missing girls. That whatever rot lived under this town’s pretty surface, whatever darkness festered beneath the carefully maintained lawns and historic buildings, would keep itself hidden.
But this?
This was a spark in a room full of gasoline.
Once Mom got something in her head, she was like a dog with a bone. Relentless. Unstoppable.
“It looks like our kidnapper has returned to Elmwood,” the anchor said. “Police are urging parents to be vigilant?—”
Mom muted the TV with a forceful jab of her thumb against the remote. She stood there with her arms folded across her chest, creating a barrier, eyes still fixed on the frozen image of the girl’s face.
I knew that look.
I set my fork down. “Mom…”
“I’m fine. Finish your cake. I’m going to shower and get to bed. Don’t stay up too late.”
My stomach sank as I watched her leave. I didn’t have an appetite. In fact, all I just wanted was to get out of these clothes and hop into bed myself.
I quickly put the cake away and went to my room. Stripping off my clothes, I slipped Maddox’s hoodie back on before crawling into bed, but I couldn’t get the picture of the missing girl out of my head. I needed to talk to Paisley.
Shit!
Paisley!
I’d completely forgotten about her. I grabbed my phone, noticing I had about a dozen missed messages. She’d been worried, and guilt pressed into my stomach. My fingers tapped over the keys hurriedly.
Me:
Sorry! They took my phone at the door.
Maddox drove me home a few minutes ago. Long story.
Let me know that you’re okay.
I waited impatiently for her to text me back, worried now after hearing she had tried to get into Raven Night to check on me. I couldn’t go to bed until I knew she was safe.
My phone buzzed.
Paisley:
Oh, thank God.
