~ANNA'S POV~
Too tired. I am way too tired. The kind of tired where you know you need to wear makeup to hide the bags under your eyes, but you're too exhausted to do it. Therefore, baggy eyes it is for the world to see. And from the way my sister and cousin look, they had the same idea. We all have a lot going in, with Hans still not being in police custody and of course school. Mainly Hans though.
Since he's still out there, the fear of him coming back, possibly breaking into our home, possibly harming us, is high. We're all on edge.
And mama and papa not answering any of our calls is even more worrisome.
"God," says Moana when my sister, cousin, and I make it to our table in the cafeteria, waiting for the day to start. "You three look like zombies. Did none of you get any sleep?" It was only her and Merida. Where are the others?
"It's hard to do when you have nightmares," my sister says bluntly, sighing in exhaustion as she takes a seat. "But don't worry. I'll get through it."
I put a hand on her shoulder, trying my best to comfort her, and hating that she has to endure such dreams. "We will get through it. I haven't had any nightmares, but I do find it hard to sleep. I'm just so...paranoid."
My sister nods, understanding, when Merida cuts in. "I don't blame you for being paranoid. Just try to be brave enough to not let him control you. He's not here, don't let him take more from you. Don't give him that power."
"But that's the problem," Elsa says, her voice so hopeless. "He's not here, Merida. We don't know where he is. I'd feel so much better if the police had him."
So would I, I think loudly to myself, but my mind goes blank when the cafeteria doors open, revealing Jack, Tooth, Bunny, Hiccup, and Astrid. And the first thing I noticed is that none of them seem to be having a good time.
"Hey," I say to them once they all approach the table, neither one sitting down, "What's up with you guys? You seem off. Did something happen?"
They all eye each other, giving a look that said "so who's going to tell them?", and an uneasy knot forms in my stomach.
"Jack," Elsa says, her voice soft, but serious. "What is it?"
Jack rubs the back of his neck nervously. "Um...my grandfather needs to speak with you. All three of you." He points to Rapunzel and I.
Astrid scoffs. "Stop being so suspicious, Jack, and get to the point. You're making them nervous."
I laugh, nervously. "Me? Nervous? Ha!" I wave the idea off. "That's absurd." I bite my lip, hoping that would control my blabbering mouth, but it only lasted for a split second. "Okay, fine. I'm petrified! You guys are giving off weird vibes. What is it?"
"My dad sent Astrid's aunt here," Hiccup spoke up. "She's waiting with Principal North in his office for you three," he points to my sister, cousin, and I. "She has news about Hans-"
"But won't tell us what it is until she tells you three and Rapunzel's parents first," Astrid interrupts grumpily. "We have no idea if it's good news or bad news."
"So..." Elsa starts, her eyes a bit clouded over, like she's thinking out loud to herself, "she'll either tell us that they caught him or...or that they can't find him."
"God," I hear my cousin mumble, speaking for the first time since we left her house. She was staring blankly at the table. "It would...It would be a real shame if they can't...find him. Ya know? That's...awful."
"If they can't find him then..." Elsa starts, but trails off. It didn't take a genius to know what she's thinking.
Then the nightmares will never stop. The paranoia will never stop. The constant watching behind your shoulder will never stop.
I have yet to comfort my sister whenever she has a nightmare, mainly because I sleep in my own room and never hear her wake from her haunted slumber, which must leave her waking in quiet gasps rather then hair-raising screams. Screams will definitely get me awake and ready to fight. Ready to protect her and my cousin and my aunt and uncle and whoever else. I will always be ready to attack when necessary.
Maybe...maybe if I stayed in her room for a few days, like when we were kids, the scary dreams will stop for her. Because she'll know she has a protector, someone to watch over her. Someone who will keep her safe.
God, why haven't I already been doing that? It's genius!
And it's sure to work since she no longer has to worry about me finding out her really lame secret. We can fully bond now. Officially bond. Like the real deal stuff ya know? Because now we don't have any secrets from each other at all. At least I hope not. I understand why she kept the night of the accident away from me, but shutting me out and causing me a lot of emotional pain? That freaking sucked. I mean, I know she didn't mean for that to happen, she was a kid too when she decided that, so she didn't really know any better, and I know she endured a lot of emotional pain too, but...ugh I just wish things had gone differently.
I wish we were smarter. I wish it didn't happen. Maybe growing up would have been happier. I would have had happy memories of my sister and Jack would have his dad...God, I feel so guilty.
Which is exactly why Elsa didn't want to tell me. She didn't want the guilt to overwhelm me. So for her, I'll try to not let it consume me.
We can't change the past. We can only right the wrongs that were made.
Jack moves to stand closer to my sister, and puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's gonna be okay, Snowflake. I promise."
Elsa smiles a little bit and brings her hand up to grasp his on her shoulder. "Yeah, you're right. I gotta stay positive." She caresses his hand and my eyes go wide.
Oh?
"That's right," Bunny adds, "Always have hope."
Tooth nods. "Agreed." She then links her arm through Bunny's, barely reaching his shoulder, and oh my god the height difference between the two of them is so cute. "Even if what Deputy Calhoun has to say is bad," she went on, "we can't lose our hope."
"So for the love of all the Gods," Astrid jumps in, "go get it over with and tell us what my aunt has to say. The anticipation is making me want to hit something."
Hiccup, who stood right next to her, steps away.
I would have giggled had the situation been different.
"Well," Elsa looks to Rapunzel and I, "Let's go then." She gets up and Rapunzel and I do the same.
"I'll lead the way," Jack offers, speaking more to Elsa. "You need me since I'm your emotional support person."
And for some reason instead of that getting my hopes up about them being a couple, I'm hit with jealousy. Jealousy because, I'm supposed to be her emotional support person, and jealousy because...because...because I wish I had a potential love interest who stuck by me like that.
Kristoff suddenly flashes through my mind and my heart jolts.
Whoa, that was weird. Am I having a stroke?
My sister rolls her eyes. "And who gave you that title? Yourself?"
He nods, curtly. "Of course." Then he winks before turning to his adopted family members, Tooth and Bunny. "We'll be back. I'd invite you all along, but I doubt my grandpa and Astrid's aunt would like that."
"Yeah, well, Hiccup and I are coming anyway," Astrid jumps in. "So they can deal with it."
"I am?" Hiccup questions, confused. "Why?"
"Well if you don't want to-"
"No, I want you-I mean to! I want to...ugh..." His face gets red, a great contrast to his green eyes, and his little slip up does make me giggle. His crush on Astrid is just too adorable. "We should really go. Don't want to keep your aunt waiting. You know she's crazy."
Astrid gives a genuine laugh rather than being offended. "Oh yeah, I know that too well."
Jack throws his head back and groans. "Then stop stalling. Let's gooo."
I then realized that they're all more eager to hear the news more than my sister, cousin, and I are. Because the three of us are silent, and doing our nervous ticks-Elsa hugging herself, Rapunzel holding onto her braid, and me...twiddling with my hands. I didn't even realize until now.
"Give us the details as soon as possible," says Moana.
And a promise later, the six of us, Elsa, Rapunzel, me, Jack, Hiccup, and Astrid, finally left the cafeteria and made our way to the office. The walk there was silent, the only noise being our footsteps and maybe my heartbeat. It was agonizing, but that uncomfortable feeling only got worse when my sister, cousin, and I walk into the office, the other three waiting outside.
I like both North and Tamora, but oh my god are they both intimidating.
"Ah, good morning ladies," North greets, positively, trying to brighten the mood maybe. Because he knows we're nervous as hell. "Please take a seat."
The three of us say our good mornings in response, and take a seat like he offered, gluing our eyes to the tall, blonde woman that's related to our friend a moment later. Surprisingly, Rapunzel spoke up first, asking something that is definitely not optimistic.
"You didn't catch him, did you?" She says. "That's what you came to tell us. He's missing."
Deputy Calhoun doesn't even look surprised at my cousin's accusation, probably because she expected us all to think like that. "You're a bright one, aren't you?" She then sighs. "Yes, he's missing. And because of that...we have to take in every possibility that might be the cause of it."
Um...what?
"What do you mean by that?" Asks my sister, the worry in her eyes telling me that she has an idea on what is meant. I think I do too...
Astrid's aunt looks over at North, probably for support, because with him looking like Santa, who wouldn't look at him for emotional support? Shoot, Jack's over there talking about being an emotional support person, when obviously the most qualified person is his grandpa.
"What I mean by that," Deputy Calhoun starts, cautiously, "is that I'm taking you in to the station for questioning."
WAIT WHAT?!
"Wait, what?" Says my sister, frantically, leaning forward in her seat. "Whatever for?"
And the cop's next words left me wanting to throw up.
"For being the suspects in the disappearance of Hans Westergaard."
.
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Author's Note: Dun dun duuuunnnn! What a horrible morning they're having haha. But anyway, surprise! I updated early! That is a shocker for sure. I've decided to start making my chapters shorter so I can not only have more chapters in this story, but also so I can update faster and to go back and track certain details easier. Also I know nothing about what goes on in the Police world so...oops. I'll do some more research on that later. Hope you enjoyed and stay tuned!
P.S. I wrote this chapter in a rush, so I'll go back and edit later.