I turn my head, phone still pressed to my right ear. A familiar figure approaches. "Matthew?" I watch as he steps closer, hands in his hoodie pocket. One backpack strap is slung over his left shoulder. He takes one hand out of his pocket and scratches the back of his neck, ocean coloured eyes roaming around like he can't bring himself to look straight into my eyes. As I wait for him to say anything I focus on the way his blond hair contrasts with the black car behind him.
He starts off with an almost shy tone, and suddenly I cannot bring myself to believe that he used to be one of Hunter's many closest friends. "Hey, Leah. What are you doing out here alone?"
I pull the phone away from my ear and end the call, not knowing whether to be disappointed or concerned that Hunter didn't pick up. "Just getting some fresh air," I lie, shoving my phone inside my pants pocket. "Where are you going?"
"Hannah Fray's. She tutors me. I've been failing maths and science."
"Right. That sucks. Good luck with that." My voice lacks sympathy because my mind is still hazy with the thought of Hunter's disappearance.
"Thanks. Do you live in this area? This is Hunter's house." He points toward the house behind him.
"I know. My house is a few minutes drive from here," I reply dryly.
His face lights up with realization. "Oh, you're here for Emily, aren't you?"
I nod.
"Cool." Pause. "I should probably go. Don't wanna be late. I'll see you at school, though."
I give him a small smile as he starts to walk away, and it's only when he rounds the corner when I reply back with a 'bye'. He's too nice. The complete opposite of Hunter. Matthew doesn't seem so problematic. I might consider starting a friendship with him.
"Leah, can you come in now? It's gonna rain soon." Just as soon as Kaylin calls out for me, the sky rumbles so loudly the ground seems to vibrate underneath my feet.
"Coming!" I call back, walking towards the patio where Kaylin stands, arms folded and shoulders raised like she wants to shield her ears from the stinging cold.
She grabs my arm and pulls me inside when I'm in her reach. "Why were you talking to Matthew Dibble?"
"He was just passing by?"
"He's cute. I would date him."
I stand back as she closes the front door, locking the door just as soon as the rain starts pouring. I immediately think of Matthew. I hope he's already at Hannah's place. "Go and try," I suggest.
She ignores me, ushering me to walk up the stairs. "God, the weather is so damn gloomy, I can't handle this. I'm moving as soon as I graduate. I'm gonna fly off somewhere tropical. I don't know. I might as well live in Hawaii or Bali or something."
"You're gonna go to college in Hawaii?"
Cain clicks his tongue as we enter Emily's room. "One of our friend is missing and you ladies are talking about going to Hawaii?"
Emily's sitting on the floor with her back leaning on the side of her bed. Her legs are tucked in close to her body and her chin rests on her knees. Her hair is tied up in a ponytail but it looks like she's been pulling on it several times. There are strands poking out all over the place.
Cain is laying on his stomach beside her, sketching on a piece of paper with Emily's colouring pencil. Kaylin sits beside Emily, resting her head on Emily's shoulder. "He's alright, Em. He'll come back."
"You don't know that," she mutters. "I just can't understand why he left so suddenly like that. He didn't even give us an explanation or a reason. Nothing."
I shrug, plopping myself on Emily's baby blue vanity chair. "Maybe we could track his IP address or something."
Cain lifts his head, turning his head to look up at me. "You know how to do that?" They all wait for my answer. I sigh, shaking my head. Emily's shoulder slump.
Kaylin is rubbing Emily's arm, but her focus is outside the window, glaring at the rain that's pouring endlessly. We're all quiet, just listening to the rain pattering on the roof above. I am racking my brain for ideas, and I can see that we all are. There's an unpleasant atmosphere that lingers in the air, but I try to ignore it as much as I can. Emily, on the other hand, looks like she's going to either break a dog's neck in half or wail with despair.
The sound of my phone ringing cuts through the air and I hastily read the caller. Emily looks at me hopefully, but I turn my phone around so she can see the screen. "It's just my mum." Her shoulder slumps as she nods and looks back down at the floor.
I push myself up from the chair, walking towards the window as I pick up the call. I lean against the window frame, resting my head against the cool glass, watching as it fogs up when I exhale a warm breath. "Hey, Mum."
"Hey, where are you?"
"Emily's. Why?"
"Oh." I hear her shift some things around. She must have me on speaker. "It's raining and you didn't bring an umbrella."
I trail my finger across the fogged up glass, "I am fine. I am at Emily's place."
"Okay, I'll come and pick you up now. Your father wants to talk to you."
"Okay. I'll be waiting."
I turn on my heels. "Em, I am really sorry. Mum's picking me up now." I huff, feeling like an awful friend.
I purse my lips, listening to the sound of the clock ticking in the living room. My dad has his arms folded and resting in front of him on the dining table. My mum is in the back, wiping the grease off the stove and putting the dry dishes back in the cabinet. We stay soaking each other's presence for what feels like hours until my dad reaches one of his hand up to scratch his cheeks. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"About what?"
My mum turns to look at me scoldingly. "Don't act stupid, Leah."
I scowl. "I don't even know what you're talking about."
"It's about Hunter." My heart leaps up to the back of my throat. My dad urges her to stop talking. I am grateful when she turns back around and actually continues on with cleaning the stove.
"What about him?"
"Elliot told me about how you've been sneaking out with him."
I lean forward, feeling completely betrayed even though it isn't completely true. "I haven't been sneaking out with him!" I counter.
"Leah, don't lie to me. What have you been doing with him?"
"Dad, seriously! I haven't been sneaking out with him."
"Why would your brother say that, then? Honey, you can talk to me about this. Your brothers aren't home so don't worry about anyone eavesdropping."
"Okay, fine. I sneaked out with him once. Once. And that was because he forced me to."
My mother dropped the cleaning towel and rotated sharply, her mouth gaped. "I knew it."
"Hold up. He forced you? Did he threaten you?"
"Only harmless threatening. Said he would wake Elliot and Liam up if I don't come."
My father's face morphs into anger, jaw gritting and fists clenching like he's holding himself back from throwing his chair across the kitchen. My mother is leaning on the stove with her arms crossed, obviously in disbelief. "I cannot believe that you actually went with him. If he woke Elliot and Liam up, you could've avoided going with him, and you wouldn't be in this position. Your brothers would've woken me up, and I could've dealt with him myself."
"I promise I won't do it again."
"Where did he take you?"
"McDonald's. Why aren't you mad at Elliot and Liam? They didn't even wake you up when that happened. They just waited for him to drop me back home."
"I've already spoken to them about this. They're not going to make the same mistake again. If there is ever any problem, your mother and I should be the first to know."
"This is just out of line. You have to do something about this, Logan." My mother is now standing beside my father, looking even more furious.
There's a long pause before my father decides to talk, his eyes still burning into mine. Suddenly I start to realise I've been completely stupid this whole time. If I had just let him wake Elliot and Liam up that night, I wouldn't have gotten into any trouble. I guess I was too afraid they would believe him over me, but that's a ridiculous thought. Why would they believe him over their own sister?
I mentally punch myself in the head. How could I have been so ignorant? Was I too sleepy to think properly? Was I just too foolish to think it through? Did I actually want to go with him?
"I am going to ground you for one week. From today until next week on Saturday."
"Two weeks, Logan." I glare at my mother.
My father turns to her, shaking his head. "No." He turns back to me. "I am grounding you for one week, but if I ever find you sneaking out or skipping school again, I am grounding you for two, and then three. It will continue to add on like that. Now, I am going to be nice to you. I will let you keep your phone, but you're not allowed to get out of this house except for school or when you're with me or your mother. Do you understand?"
I nod solemnly. They didn't ground me for skipping school but instead ground me because I 'snuck out' with Hunter.
"Go sleep."
"Night." I stand, exiting the kitchen and taking slow steps up the stairs. It feels as though all my energy has been sucked out of me. Elliot will have to thank me for this. I could've very easily snitched on him about slapping me, but I decide I am not going to do that until I have a proper talk with him. I might regret it later, but I am too mentally exhausted to even explain it to my parents.
That night as I stare at the ceiling of my bedroom I don't think of anything else but Hunter. I think about the way he smells like lemon and the way he carries himself through the school hallway. No matter how much I try, he's always there. Always in the back of my mind. The current situation doesn't make it any better. Where could he be? What is he doing right now?
My parents check on me twice, poking their head into my room to check that I am still in my room. I turn my back to the door, too drained to care about anything. I sleep, knowing full well I am going to help Emily find Hunter.
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s h i t i s u c k a t m a k i n g b o o k s : ) btw, the song I linked is eargasmic so lock your door and put on your earphones cause you're about to experience some good shit