Secrets & Lies

Chapter 11

HEY YOU AWESOME READERS!

Well, I just wanted to say sorry for not uploading sooner :( I've been crazy busy and just haven't had time to write. But I promise to get back to it and make everything a little more suspensful O.O

Anyways, comment/vote if you want! ;) no pressure or anything though...but for all those that will, a GIANT THANK YOU!!! you guys seriously make my day <3

Now on with the reading...

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My sketchbook is gone. The words pounded continuously in Jen’s brain, but it the words didn’t register. My sketchbook is gone. My sketchbook is gone. My sketchbook is gone. Over and over, repeatedly, for what seemed like eternity. The words felt jumbled in her brain, a mosh pit of scrambled letters. How could the book have disappeared? It was on the steps. Jen had watched Kelly put it there, next to the

Shaking her head disapprovingly, Jen snapped out of her reverie. What was she thinking? Lauren was the shy, reserved one, Courtney the one always in charge and Kelly the girl who loved everything big and bold and dramatic, who loved to make nothing into something. Jen prided herself on being the sane one out the group, the realistic one. And though reality seemed to be insanely confusing at the moment, she resolved to solve this matter in a logical, conclusive way. Like a normal person would. She blew out a breath, calming her frazzled nerves that had remained on edge the entire night.

“Okay, Kelly. Calm down,” Jen commanded, seeing her friend’s distraught face. Emotions and semantics would get them nowhere. “It’s so dark out and you probably didn’t get a good look since you probably didn’t turn on the lights, right?”

Kelly sniffled. “I used the high beam on my iPhone. I looked up and down the steps,” she cried, wringing her hands. “It’s just not there!”

Gulping, Jen pushed away her thoughts, coercing herself to focus on the task at hand. A sideways glance told her Lauren was still fast asleep, far away in a dream most likely. Rubbing her bleary eyes, Jen got up and walked towards Kelly whose eyes conveyed her nervous anxiety. “Relax,” she soothed, hoping she sounded calmer than she felt. “It’s probably been misplaced. We’ll find it.”

Kelly shook her head miserably and said nothing, but her body language said it all. Grabbing Kelly’s slim wrist, Jen tugged her distressed friend out into the hallway, flicking off the light and shutting the door quietly. Together, they crept out in the hallway, using the moonlight slanting in from the windows as a guide. Jen paused every few seconds or so, making sure that no one was up. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were, at that moment, the last people she wanted to see, especially since Courtney wasn’t here.

Courtney. Jen’s mind flashed back to the perfect blonde flouncing out of the room, her cocky head held high after her spat with Lauren. Her thoughts swirled around in a giant slush, making her dizzy enough to grab the banister for support. Jen vividly remembered wishing that Courtney would just go and leave poor Lauren alone. And as an answer to her silent plea, Courtney has sashayed out of the room only a moment later, leaving them speechless in her wake. The sound of delicate feet trotting down the stairs along with the conspicuous creak of the back door closing reverberated as clear as a bell.

But that was hours ago. When her friend had left, Jen suspected Courtney was more than a little shaken by their earlier encounter. Jen didn’t blame her one bit. They were hardly freshman, fourteen going on fifteen. That was much too young to be caught up in such a sinister, gory experience. Courtney, always in charge, always unruffled, calm, cool and confident no matter what, hated to back down or show that she was well, human. Emotions to her were simply a weakness.