Vanished Without a Trace

Chapter 7: Empty House

The house was too quiet again. It always was after Mom left for her evening shift. The sound of the door closing had weird feeling about it.

Emmett had already disappeared hours ago, off to night school, chasing the kind of future everyone kept saying I should want. The only sound left was the hum of the fridge and the wind rattling against the thin windows.

I scrolled through my phone. No new notifications. Not from Liam. Not from anyone.

The silence pressed in tighter. I could almost feel it on my skin.

I told myself I didn't care anymore. That I didn't need him. That people vanish all the time, it doesn't mean you weren't enough. But the lie didn't hold. Every shadow, every sound outside felt heavier than it should, like the world was holding its breath for something I didn't know of.

I pulled a blanket around me and sank onto the couch, trying to lose myself in the soft glow of the T.V. Static faces, canned laughter, none of it felt real. 

I thought about texting Katie, maybe asking if she wanted to come over, but she'd see right through me. She'd hear the crack in my voice. She'd know I was still waiting.

The clocked blinked past midnight.

My phone buzzed suddenly, cutting through the stillness.

My heart leapt. 

But it wasn't him. Just an email. A sale I didn't care about. The light from the screen stung my eyes, and I tossed my phone onto the cushion beside me.

"Get over it," I muttered. My voice sounded small in the empty room.

I turned the TV off and let the darkness fill the room. The house felt different tonight, like something was awake that shouldn't be.

My eyes got heavy, and I drifted to sleep, my phone still in my hand.

Outside, the wind carried a sound I didn't notice, a slow, distant engine rumbling its way down the street.