The Cellar

The Cellar - Chapter Four

Chapter Four

 

Lewis

 

 

Saturday 24th July 2010

It was almost three o’clock in the morning and we had been driving around for hours. Henry’s words had been swimming around my head since he received that phone call from his mum, ‘Summer’s missing’. Missing. Summer didn’t go missing. My brother, Theo, was driving slowly through the streets. It was pitch black out and the dim street lights barely lit up the fucking ground below them. We could have missed her a thousand times because we couldn’t see, but I couldn’t go home and do nothing.

“Lewis, you okay?” Theo asked. That stupid question was shot at me about every ten minutes. Of course I’m not fucking okay!

“No,” I mumbled in reply. Where was she? Summer didn’t run off, she wasn’t the type of person to run from anything. She was strong willed and stubborn. She always stayed and sorted any problem out as soon as it happened. That was the reason we never argued for more than a few minutes, she wouldn’t let it go on for long.

“We’ll find her soon, bro.”

“Yeah.” I agreed with him, but I wasn’t so sure. I hoped we would more than anything but there was a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that told me something had happened. I didn’t ever want anything to happen to her. “She could be anywhere by now.” It had been over seven hours since she disappeared and there wasn’t one trace of her so far.

“Summer wouldn’t run off,” Theo said.

My heart dropped. “That’s what I’m afraid of. She wouldn’t run off, so someone must have her.” Or done something to her.

“Don’t do that, Lewis, we don’t know anything yet.” I didn’t know, that was true. But I did know Summer. “Do you want to carry on and go into town or turn back and go the other way?”

“Other way.” Kerri said she had gone left at the social cub. We had checked there before coming this way, but we could have missed something.

The police had people out looking around the area where she was last seen, but because she hadn’t been missing over twenty-four hours they were reluctant to put too many officers into it. Apparently, a load of neighbours had started their own search and were going door to door, hoping that someone would have seen something. Everyone except Summer’s mum, Dawn were out looking for Summer. Dawn was told to stay home in case Summer turned up or called.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked it for the millionth time – no missed calls. I sighed and held down number two, to speed dial Summer’s phone again. It started to ring and I held my breath. Please answer, Sum. My heart dropped when it went through to her voice mail. “Babe, please call me back as soon as you get this. I just need to know you’re okay. I’m going crazy. I love you, Summer.” I hung up and clenched my phone in my hand. This is bad.

We drove through the night and into the next morning. My eyes stung where I was so tired. As soon as the shops opened, Theo bought some food and energy drinks. I hadn’t been home or to Summer’s since we got that call at the nightclub. “I’ll pull over here and we can check the back fields and the park by foot,” I told Theo. He nodded, stuffing the last of his sausage roll into his mouth.

“You sure you don’t want anything to eat?”

I shook my head as I pulled up in the car park beside the church. “Not hungry. Let’s try the park first.” He nodded and got out of the car. I walked off ahead. “Summer,” I called out. Of course, she wasn’t going to be here. If she were she would have been found by now. “Come on, Theo,” I shouted over my shoulder. He didn’t seem to have the urgency I had, but then, he wasn’t in love with her.