October 16th 2006 around 11pm
Story of my life
Searching for the right
But it keeps avoiding me
Sorrow in my soul
'Cause it seems that wrong
Really loves my company
Twelve year old Clarke is standing in their living room singing Unfaithful by Rihanna, it's karaoke night and Clarke is currently the one singing. Her parents are sitting on the couch smiling widely. Clarke was a good singer, not just good, she was great. Her parents just couldn't stop smiling. Of course Jake is currently videotaping her performance, karaoke night is always filmed, they already have a tape with him singing Crazy by Gnarls Barkley, he couldn't sing, at all, but they had fun and karaoke night was all about having fun,
I don't wanna do this anymore
I don't wanna be the reason why
Every time I walk out the door
I see him die a little more inside
I don't wanna hurt him anymore
I don't wanna take away his life
I don't wanna be
A murderer
She finished the song to what could only be described as thunderous applause by her parents, especially Jake, he's clapping his hands even though he's still holding the camera and it's still filming.
"That was amazing Clarke, you are so good at this, your old papa's feeling very untalented compared to you" He laughs, the camera now safely turned off and placed on the table in front of the couch. "So tell me kiddo, are you going to be an artist or are you going to be a singer? "
"I'm going to be both dad! Why just be one thing when you can do both." The young blonde smiles and jumps in between her parents on the couch. Abby puts her arm around her daughters shoulder. "Not that it's not sad to end this lovely evening sweetheart but it's way past your bedtime." Clarke sighs but stands up giving her father a hug and a kiss on the cheek "Goodnight dad." She says before giving her mother a hug and a kiss as well "Goodnight mom!"
Clarke walks upstairs and gets ready for bed. Brushing her teeth and changing into her turquoise pyjamas with black stars on. She yawns and jumps into bed, falling asleep almost immediately.
Abby and Jake are still sitting on the couch in their living room, the TV is turned off and the only sound is the soft music coming from the radio on the kitchen counter that Abby turned on when Clarke walked upstairs. Neither is saying anything but Jake can tell that his wife is in deep thought. He turns to his wife and says "So my dear chancellor, what's got you thinking so loudly?" Abby sighs and moves to sit closer to her husband, laying her head on his shoulder, Jakes arm goes over Abbys shoulder instinctively. "I'm just thinking about how big she's gotten, I mean it feels like just yesterday she was crawling around, with her blue eyes, blonde hair and chubby cheeks. She was always smiling when she was a kid, she still does. Can you believe that she's already twelve years old?" Jake kisses Abbys forehead. "Well it's like they say, time flies. We'll just have to appreciate the times we've had and they times that have yet to come."
October 17th 2006 after 1 am
Clarke wakes because of a creaking noise, she's always been a light sleeper. "Dad? Mom?" But she gets no answer, a weird tingling creeps between her shoulder blades up to her neck. The hairs on her neck rise when she hears the noise again. Confused about the noise she walks out of her room and looks around, but there's nothing special, it's pitch black outside, it must still be late. "Dad?" still no answer, a shiver rushes through her body, leaving her slightly scared, something doesn't feel right.
The blonde starts taking quick hurried steps towards her parents' bedroom when she hears the creaking noise again, but this time it comes from behind. Before she is able to react, something has grabbed her from behind, a cloth is cowering her mouth and nose, her eyes are open and she has a deer in the headlights look on her face. Clarke lets out a startled shriek but it's muffled by the cloth and the drugs on the cloth is now making her feel dizzy. She can no longer hold back the darkness and she falls unconscious.
Abby is startled awake. She tries to rub the sleep out of her eyes. She thinks she heard something but, she must be imagining things, so she lays back down and tries to fall back asleep. After a few minutes she gives up, she can't shake the feeling that something isn't quite right. So she gets out of bed and walks out of her and Jakes room. Jake is still fast asleep. Outside their bedroom door the strange feeling gets stronger and a shiver runs through her spine. Abby continues down the hall towards her daughters bedroom, when she gets there she notices that the door is slightly open, Clarke never sleeps with the door open, not since Wells showed her that scary movie when she was 11. She takes a deep breath and opens the door fully, walking into her daughters room. Like if someone poured a bucket of cold water over her head a numb feeling once again runs through Abbys body, starting from her toes to and ending on her fingertips. Clarke is not there. The bed has clearly been used, the sheets are wrinkled. Something is not right.
"Clarke?" She softly asks out loud, hoping for an answer that never comes. Abby walks out of Clarkes bedroom and to the bathroom, maybe she just needed to go during the night. She knocks on the bathroom door "Clarke?", but instead of an answer she receives silence. Opening the door she notices that Clarke is not in the bathroom either. Abby is now getting anxious, this is not like Clarke. She swallows her anxiousness and takes a deep breath, walks out the bathroom and down the stairs into the living room. Still no sign of her daughter. She checks the kitchen and the bathroom next to the laundry room, still no Clarke. "Clarke" "CLARKE" Abby starts running around the house, now calling out full blown screams for her daughter, praying for an answer she knows she will not receive. "PLEASE CLARKE WHERE ARE YOU?!" "CLARKE PLEASE!". She's running around their house looking into every room, through every door. She even looks into the closet where Clarke used to hide as a child when they played hide and seek.
Hearing Abbys desperate screams Jake jolts awake, and is up and running down the stairs where his desperate wife is currently pacing quickly, looking through every little space their daughter possibly could hide. "Abby what is going on?" Jake worriedly asks his wife. "I can't find Clarke, I've looked through the entire house at least five times and I can't find her. Where is my baby?" Abby can't hold back anymore, and she sinks to her knees letting out desperate wails while her cheeks gets drenched by her river of tears.
Jake could feel his heart stop, Clarke is gone, Clarke is gone, Clarke is not here, Clarke is gone, where is Clarke. He runs his hands through his hair and runs back to their bedroom and gets his phone. While walking downstairs to where his wife is on the floor crying, he calls the police.
"911 what's your emergency?"
"My... My daug... I can't find my daughter." Jake manages to get out, his own tears filling with tears. "She's gone, I don... She disappeared."
"Okay sir, I will send a patrol to your location, just stay put." Jake is now sitting next to his wife, holding on to her and she holds on to him. Whispering into her ear. "She'll come back to us Abby, I swear it on my life, we'll get our baby back, I swear it."
