Mark POV
I stumbled down the stairs for breakfast, which was being made by Lorraine and Charlie. A pan of eggs was set in front of me. I reached out to take some when Henry stopped me.
"Dude. Those are only like, half made." I looked down. It was true, the eggs were still wet and soggy, and only half as warm as mom normally made them. I shrugged, feeling hungry enough to eat them. Everything was hazy, and it was hard to focus.
"Mark! You'll get food poisoning!" I looked up to see Lorraine snatch the eggs away, and I felt her shove a pop tart in my hand. Jake came down the steps, with a faint trace of a bruise on his cheek. He mumbled something about mom being gone.
"Where'd she go?" He looked at me disbelievingly.
"Dude, she took our sister away, and drove out of town!" I tried to clear my head of the cobwebs. It wasn't working.
"Who? Jess?" Jake now looked like he was about to slap me. Lorraine looked concerned, and Henry and Charlie….they were silent.
"No idiot, Sarah!" Kim retorted running down the stairs.
"Don't call me that!" I yelled, standing up and knocking my chair over.
"Well it's true! You didn't even know Sarah and mom were GONE!" Mike was yelling now too, his face popping up at the head of the stairs.
"Mark, are you alright?" Charlie bent down to my level, feeling my head. I shoved his hand away.
"So now you start to notice me!" I remember stamping out of the kitchen, and slamming the front door behind me, leaving my excuse for a family in my wake.
Lorraine POV
The kitchen was silent, the few of us awake were still stunned. Jake had walked back up to the stairs and Mike joined him in his room. The two had done nothing but sulk the past two days. Mark had been out cold for the past twenty-four hours, dad didn't go to work yesterday, and Kim and Jass do nothing but stare at the phone. Without Sarah and mom, the place seemed too empty, too silent, and too unfamiliar. But I wasn't truly worried about them. I looked at the door as the others began to clean up the first attempt at breakfast. Without a word, A took Charlie's keys and closed the door behind me, muffling any protests from him.
I walked the loop in our neighborhood first, keeping an eye out for red hair, and glasses. I was exhausted coming back, but I jumped in Charlie's car anyways and drove to the pet store. To the school Mark went to. To the rec center. The pool. I drove past his friend's houses, up and down the same streets, for hours. I didn't come back until Henry texted me, telling me it was lunchtime. Three hours of searching, and I found nothing.
"Is Mark here?" I demanded immediately as I walked into the house.
"I dunno. I thought he was in his room."
"He walked out the door hours ago Charlie, how can't you know of he didn't come back?"
"It's called the back door Barbie." I fumed. He only called me that when trying to irritate me, but I didn't want to play the game today. I stomped up to Mark's room, and indeed find him out cold on his bed. He was gripping a shoebox to his chest and as I removed his glasses and rubbed dirt off his face he clutched it tighter. Hus mouth was in a pained expression, and trails of water were running down his cheek. What made my brother fall so hard? I looked at his shoebox, shivering at the thought of dead snails and shells he had in there. I walked out of his room, leaving it open. Why had he changed? What could I do to get him back?
I wanted so hard to let Lorraine find out about Mark, but I just couldn't, because it would mess up the plan for this story. Although it's killing me, writing everyone this way. Especially Tom in the earlier chapters. But don't worry! I have a plan! Hopefully not as much writer's block now! Oh yeah…tell me…how was the chapter? Short? Good? Bad? In need of a total rewrite? TELL ME!
