Sunflower Lullabies: Bonded by a Field [SAMPLE]

Chapter Nine: Donovan's Apology

April 1st, 2019- Desederia's POV

           "ROASA, RHODES, ROBERMAN, Robert, Roberts..." I mumbled, scrolling with the mouse.

"What is she doing?" Keith asked.

"She's trying to find local news stories about Kennedy Rodger's death." Patience explained.

Keith stuffed a fork full of pasta into his mouth. "Why?" He asked, which was hardly coherent as ricotta cheese fell from his lips and onto the table.

"Keith, would it kill you to have some sense of dignity? Don't talk with your mouth full." Patience scolded.

"Don't hate me cuz you ain't me." He retorted, cheese flying out of his mouth.

I fake gagged and turned back to the computer. "Rock, Rodey, Rodgen, Rodgers! There it is!"

"And, for God's sake, Jesse please tell him to take smaller bites!" Paris begged, getting up from the table and putting her plate in the dishwasher.

"I'm sorry, the dude just doesn't listen to me anymore. I tried to warn y'all that I'm not taken seriously when I'm his friend, and look at what's happened." Jesse explained.

The girls laughed, and I would've too, had I not been captivated by the article. I also didn't realize that Jesse had finished eating, put his plate away, and walked up beside me so fast until he spoke.

"Finding anything juicy?" He asked, earning a startled jump from me.

My hand on my chest, I cursed at his presence. "A warning next time would be great, Jesse."

He laughed. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize I had to announce my presence every time I moved."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course you do, you're supposed to do that."

"Just me?" He asked.

I nodded. "You're the only one with weirdly good stealth. So, yes, just you."

He shook his head and chuckled. I pointed at the screen.

"This is insane; this girl was allegedly missing for four days before it was reported. What the hell is wrong with people?"

Jesse leaned closer. "Hmm, that's weird. When did she go missing again?"

"Last June. Last time anyone heard from her was June 28th, but nobody said anything until her mother finally spoke up."

"I wonder why." He said.

"Patience, did Bailey ever say anything about Kennedy being reckless or running away?" I called out.

"I don't think so. With the way Bailey used to talk about her and from her Instagram, I'd say that she was pretty family-oriented and stable. Probably never even stayed up midnight." She responded, cleaning up dishes in the kitchen.

We had all been hanging out at Paris's house, doing homework when Keith decided we worked too hard and deserved some food. So, to satisfy our dear friend, we pulled out the ingredients and got cooking. Cheese may have ended up in a few peoples' hair, but it was worth it because the dish was amazing.

Once I finished, I moved to my laptop and started doing research on Kennedy Rodgers. There were secrets being hidden about her death, and I wanted to find out what they were. I wasn't sure why, but it was important to me.

"Hm, how weird."

"Maybe it wasn't like that," Jesse suggested. "Maybe she had some shit going on behind closed doors and her parents purposefully didn't report her as missing."