I'm so sorry for not posting! I've been horribly sick and overwhelmed with homework! So if I don't get another chapter on for a few days don't hate me!
Grace's POV
"-" The line had gone dead. I practically started pacing. Where was she? What or where is Bando? Is Kim ok? Somehow, from the way she was whisper-shouting at me, I didn't think she was.
"Ouch!" Pain tingled up my leg. Of course pacing in my very cluttered room would prove to be difficult.
How to find her, how to find her, how to find her?!
If I had an inkling of an idea where she was, I'd be out that door, in the car, and driving towards her. I couldn't imagine life without her! She'd been my BFF ever since I moved here from Kansas in 5th grade! We've been through cheer-tryouts, boy drama, and petty cat-fights together, and much more.
I plopped down on my bed in frustration, slapping my face into my hands. After a few minutes of brainstorming, the only thing I could come up with is to try and get a hold of Mrs. Crawford and tell her I'd talked to her daughter. But of course, Kim's mom has been a mess the last week. She blamed herself for Kim's disappearance for simply not being home. But she had a right to know that I'd talked to Kim.
I flipped out my phone. My finger instinctively hovered above the six. Kim. An old habit, I suppose. I went to contacts and picked Chelsea Crawford.
Ring
Ring
Ring
Ring
Ring
Ring
You have reached the mail box of-
I snapped the phone shut.
Dang it! I threw my phone on the bed and plopped down after it. Then, inspiration struck. If she wouldn't answer me, I would come to her! Excited, I sprung up, grabbed my jacket and keys, and almost flew to the car.
I slowed down as I neared the long, dirt road that led to the big house. Police officers had blocked off the road. I smirked to myself and made a U-turn. After a few minutes I turned onto another dirt road that sloped downwards and to the left. The back way.
I pulled up a little ways away from the yellow tape that was plastered around the house. In the doorway police officers were letting their dogs roam on the porch. Kim's mom was huddled into a miserable ball of tears, hanging onto Kim's little sister Hanna for dear life. They were both sobbing. Kim's father was pleading with the police chief, who was looking more exasperated by the second.
I sighed and walked under the tape, ignoring the police officer that was trying to get me to stop. I walked over to Kim's dad, but the police chief talked to me first.
"Gracie!" He sounded tense, so I walked over and gave him a hug.
"Uncle Ray!" I smiled up at him. It made his brown eyes sparkle. I was glad that he had some happiness left. He used to be a goofy, slightly chubby, middle-aged man who would only be a phone call away. But since he had gotten promoted to chief, we hardly ever saw him. He was always busy. And the stress caused him to become thin and his eyes became haggard. He looked especially worried now, which was understandable. He never really knew Kim. I mean, he had met her a few times when I had drug her to my family reunions, but he wasn't close to her. But he knew that she was a nice, academic girl who was head of the cheer squad, and that her going missing was a deep wound to the little town of Seaford.
"Grace, you're interrupting our discussion." His brown eyes flashed. I'd never seen Kim's dad so annoyed, so I retraced my steps back to Kim's mother. By now Hanna was sitting away from her mother, who was still lying there, hyperventilating. Hanna's expression worried me. She was just sitting there, staring off into space. She looked so small and frail. I mean, she was small, but she always had Kim's strong attitude. But now she just looked delicate. I slowly sat down on the step beside her.
"How's it going sweetie?" I said softly. She lethargically turned to look at me. I held my arms out. She went into them wordlessly and sobbed. I stroked her honey colored hair. I hushed her and slowly she stopped shaking.
I meant to tell her about Kim, but I never got the chance since two police officers ran over to my uncle Ray. I tried to get up to see what all the commotion was about, but Hanna was clinging to me like a monkey, so I picked the 7-year-old up and walked over.
"-and it goes down the road." A police officer with sandy hair said. His colleague nodded in agreement.
"Alright." My uncle sighed. "Let's go check it out." He started walking towards his police car. I fell in pace with him.
"What's happening?"
"We found some unusual tire tracks on the dirt road going away from the highway. There were some that went to the highway, but obviously you can't track tires on asphalt. So we're following the tracks down the dirt road."
I opened the passenger door, but my uncle motioned towards the crying girl in my arms. I glared at him.
"I know you want to go, so go give Hanna to her mom! Hurry!"
I fast-walked back to the steps and tapped on Mrs. Crawford's shoulder. She looked up at me with puffy teal eyes. I gently sat Hanna on her lap and sprinted back to the car, a few tears finding their way onto my cheeks.
I got in and slapped my seatbelt on. I sniffled as we pulled onto the bumpy road. My uncle patted my knee awkwardly.
I looked at the endless cornfields flitting by. My eyes slowly shut.
Jack's POV
"I said, who are you talking too?" I kept my tone cheery and smirked, as she was obviously scared stiff. I slightly pulled the gun back and tapped her shoulder with it. "Breathe."
Her hazel eyes flashed to mine at the touch. The fear in them told me everything. She was hiding something.
"I-I was singing to myself." She was almost a good liar.
"Oh yeah? Then sing for me." I lounged on the door frame and smirked again at her discomfort.
Her gaze hardened.
I'm stuck in your head,
I'm back from the dead,
Got you running scared,
I'm fearless
I'm calling you out
I'm taking you down
Don't you come around
I'm fearless
I'm fearless
Wow. She's pretty good. I raised an eyebrow, sending a faint blush of embarrassment to appear on her cheeks. Immediately, her faced flushed red with anger. She looked me in the eye again. Man, she's really got to stop doing that…
"I proved to you I can sing. Can I go now?" I raised my hands slightly. She stormed out, hitting my shoulder with her own quite forcefully. That crosses the line. I need to show that girl that she's not the boss here. I am.
"Go to bed." She was already sitting on the bed, but when she heard my words, she immediately stood up.
"No."
I raised an eyebrow again, annoyed.
"I said, go. To. Bed." I slightly raised the gun barrel towards her again.
She glared at me, but I could tell I had won this battle. She was slightly shaking. But she just stood there with her arms crossed. I took a step forward and she unwillingly melted into the covers.
Grace's POV
BAM!
I jerked up, hitting my head on the ceiling of the little car. I glared at the door my uncle had just shut resentfully and rubbed my head a little. Then I looked out the window. What I saw shocked me.
When Kim and I were little, they had this beautiful, charming, red stereotype barn that we had sleepovers in. We would take the Crawford's four wheelers and drive out to it, jump on the hay, and eventually lay our sleeping bags out in the loft. Not like we got any sleep, but still. We hadn't been out there in ages, but I still remembered every detail.
It looked nothing like what was standing in front of me. A mess of charred wood and black walls was all that was left. The only way that I could tell that it was the same barn was the white oak door that had somehow partially survived the flames. It was a disaster. I had to choke down tears.
I shut my eyes and turned away, deciding that I would mess with one tragedy at a time. I pulled my phone out and called Julie.
"Hello? Grace? Have they found Kim yet? Is she alright?!"
"Woah Julie. Calm down. No they haven't found Kim yet."
"Then why are you calling!?"
"Well, I have a que-" I got cut off by an idiot police officer who accidently hit his panic button. Even though he didn't see me, I glared at him.
"Where are you Grace?"
"I'm at the Crawford's barn. It looks like it burned down. They're going to bring in a crane to help clean it up. But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."
"Well, may I ask what you did call me about?"
"So this morning I talked to Kim."
"…"
"Julie? You still there?"
"EEEEEEEE!" I pulled the phone away from my ear. "Where is she? Is she ok?"
"Well, I'm not sure. She said she was somewhere called Bando, but I don't know where that is. I was hoping you maybe knew."
"No, but have you told the police yet?"
"I was going to but they're busy with the barn."
"Well, why don't you ask Milton?"
"Why would I call him?" I was genuinely confused.
"Because he could probably trace the phone!"
"Oh!" Well now I feel stupid… "Thanks Julie. I'll have Milton update you, k?"
"Ok, see you!"
I snapped the off button and looked up Milton's name in my contacts. I didn't have him in speed dial because, well, he might be my best friend's friend and my other best friend's boyfriend, but that didn't mean we were really close. At all. I hit his name and heard it ring.
"Hello?"
"Milton?"
"Grace? Why are you calling me? Is something wrong? Something to do with Kim?"
"Well, nothing. But, umm, do you by any chance know how to trace calls?"
"Yeah…"
"Good! Julie said you could! So KimcalledmeandwasallI'minbandoandIdon'tknowwhatthatmeansbutyoudo?" My excitement got the best of me.
"What?"
"Kim called me and said she was in Bando but the phone call got cut off and I don't know what or where Bando is. So I was hoping that you could call her cell and trace her phone…"
"Of course!" He sounded strangely excited. "Why didn't I think of it before?! Julie's a genius! I'll call you later when I have the detes, bye!"
Did he really just say detes? I cringed a little. Nerds are just weird.
I know, not very eventful. I promise we'll get a little more surprise/shock in the next chapter. Review!