Emma took a deep breath and forced herself to look around the corner. She wondered what waited there. More of them? Her heart hammered inside her. How could she possibly-
“Riley! Riley c’mon, it’s time to leave! Let’s gooooo!”
Ugh. The feeling of being jolted back to the present while reading a good book was not a pleasant one. Hastily, Riley grabbed her favorite bag and stuffed Missing inside it, along with her phone and headphones for music, and her notebook. If she was going to be dragged along to her little sister’s friend’s birthday party, the least she could do was bring some of her favorite things. “Coming, Holly!” Riley walked out her bedroom and to the front door of their basement apartment, carefully avoiding her mom as she asked her little sister, “Are you excited?”
“Yes! You won’t believe it-Dora has a trampoline in her yard. A trampoline! And she told me she invited all of the girls in our class, and her mom made a huge cake decorated like the Little Mermaid’s castle, and…”
Holly talked and talked all the way out the door, down the block, and to the bus stop. Riley nodded her head every once and a while, offering her sister a smile. When they got on the bus, her mom cleared her throat.
“So Riley, what would you want to do on your birthday?”
Riley said nothing.
“Your birthday, Riley.”
“I don’t know,” Riley snapped sarcastically. “Maybe have some questions answered.” Riley could hear her mom sigh.
After a while, the bus arrived in the suburbs of Chicago. When Riley saw Dora’s front yard, she had to admit that if she had gotten to go to this party when she was eight, she probably would have been ecstatic too. There was the trampoline, as promised, and about twenty other little girls running around.
“Hey Riley, c’mon inside with me.” Riley looked over her shoulder and saw her mom beckoning. She turned her back.
Riley had been growing farther and farther apart from her mom ever since her mom and dad had gotten divorced. It had been so sudden too- her mom had just kicked her dad out of the house with no explanation. They hadn’t been fighting regularly or anything. By now, her mom was practically pretending her dad had never even existed. That he’d never been in their lives at all. She wouldn’t answer any of Riley’s questions, so Riley gave her the cold shoulder in return. Even though it had been almost a month since they had split up, instead of getting better it just got worse and worse. There were things that needed to be resolved.
Although Riley still wanted to feel angry at her mom, sometimes she could hear her crying in her room, and instantly felt guilty. If only she could just tell her what had happened, why she was withholding so much, they could talk about it…
Riley looked around the yard for a good reading spot, and after a while she decided on a grassy corner by the fence. Putting all of her troubles and worries out of her mind, she put her nose in her book and began to read.
. . .
A few hours later, Riley looked up. She hadn’t really realized how much time had passed. It was something that happened to her a lot when she was reading a good book. Now more than ever, she often needed another world to escape t
It was almost dark now, with the sun setting on the horizon. All of the party guests were inside watching a movie.
Riley briefly considered jumping on the trampoline, then laughed at herself.
She stood up off the grass and looked around. Maybe she’d go for a quick walk. After all, it was a safe neighborhood, and Riley would only be gone for a few minutes. No one would even notice, and she really needed to move.
Riley opened the gate very quietly and stepped out. See, this is all fine, she thought. But her heart was beating very fast. She had never gone out of her house at home without telling an adult, and while her neighborhood in the city wasn’t exactly dangerous, there were still some scary people who lived near to it.
Riley started walking down the block. Nobody’s out. She thought. Nobody’s going to hurt you. She was almost to the end of the block, about to turn back, when she heard a twig snap behind her and practically jumped out of her skin. She whipped around.
No one.
Riley decided this really wasn’t a good idea after all, and started bolting back towards the house. The more she ran, the more her fear escalated, until she was sprinting as fast as she could. Now she could swear there were footsteps behind her. Sweating, she looked over her shoulder as she continued to run…
Slam!
Riley heard a startled shriek as she hit the cement. She lay there for a while, completely disoriented and terrified, her head throbbing. After a while, she gathered herself and sat up. Then she gasped.
Lying on the ground in front of her was a beautiful girl with long dark hair… completely unconscious.
No no no no no no. No. This cannot be happening. What was she going to do? She tried to take a walk in a relatively safe area, then got chased by a random creep and knocked somebody else out cold. Riley had to get her to safety immediately.
Riley leaned over the girl and picked her up. She could feel her breathing, that was good. Now that she was closer, Riley could see a small trickle of blood on her forehead, and the girl’s glasses were cracked. She felt so awful. Riley started walking as fast as possible back towards the house.
About halfway there, Riley heard footsteps again. She started running, so terrified she almost didn’t even feel the girl’s weight. Finally, she reached the house. She bounded in, swinging the gate open, then ran up the front steps and threw open the door.
“Excuse me, this girl is unconscious and seriously injured, and there is someone dangerous out there, and I really need somebody to help-”
But there was nobody to help.
Because the house was completely empty.
(to be continued)