Taken

Chapter 11

Mother and Father are onto me.

            For the past few nights I have been reading the red journal. Every girl's story ends the same way with what feels like the most important part of their story torn out. I spent a couple of hours each night reading the journal and trying to piece together the seemingly endless jigsaw puzzle that I am forced to try and put together.

            But all the while, I felt like I was being watched, like right now.

            I just heard a creak in the hallway and the sound of a door opening. Once again I click off my flashlight and hide it and the journal underneath my pillow. I flop down and pull the blankets up to my chin. Turning onto my side, I face the wall, trying to slow my breaths enough so that I appear to be asleep.

            For a moment I am met by silence, but then there is another creak and the sound of a door closing.

            I wait.

            Minutes pass without a sound. I glance at my clock. It's two-fifteen in the morning, the same time that I heard someone in the hall last night and the night before that.

            I know that Charlie could never be up at this hour, and I thought that I was quiet enough for my parents not to notice, but I could be wrong.

            Just to be safe, I wait an extra few minutes, being sure that the house is silent before I sit up and pull out the journal once more. Flipping through the pages, I find where I left off at; a girl by the name of Cassandra.

            The name seems familiar, but no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to remember where I heard it before.

            I push this thought to the back of my mind as I shine the flashlight onto the page and begin to read

June 26

        The voices have come again. I heard them the night before, calling me to them. My mother is not around to confess to, and my Aunt Lucinda would only laugh at me. My younger siblings are of no help.

        I guess the only one I can confide in is you.

        I do not know why, but I feel as if I am not the only one who has written in here. You hold many secrets, dear journal, why are you hiding them from me? I do not know how you are doing it or where you could possibly be keeping whatever it is you are hiding, but I will find out. I have never liked secrets, and I will not be starting now.

I pause from my reading. I don't understand. Why can't Cassandra see the past entries?

            I flip through the journal.

            There are entries from multiple girls. Why can't she read the past ones? The journal is too thick for her to miss them that easily. Everything about this is so confusing. Why can't I get a clear answer for once?

            With a frustrated sigh, I start to close the journal when an entry catches my eye. I notice that I am on the last few pages of the journal. I study the handwriting for a few moments, my eyes widening when I realize where I have seen that perfect and neat script before.

            It's Nina's.

            Curiosity erupts inside of me. Nina has written in here. What did she right about? Did she have all of the same occurrences as the other girls? When did she even get this journal? Was she able to read the past entries like me? Or was she tricked into believing that the journal was brand new?