Chapter 4
I do not own the series 1800-Where-Are-You and the characters Jess Wilkins, Rob Wilkins and Mr Goodhart they are entirely the work of Meg Cabot.
As Josh opened the front door, my Mum rushed up to us to ask how the party was. When she saw me crying in Josh's arms she realised something was wrong. That is when my Dad joined Mum in the hallway. Realising that something was wrong he immediately went to comfort me. About an hour later after Josh and I explained what happened, Mum broke down. Taking control of the situation Dad thanked Josh for bringing me home and told him to go home.
I couldn't sleep so I went out into the town to see if anyone had seen Belle, but I had no luck. Deciding I could do no more I went back home. As I was walking past the kitchen door I heard Mum mumbling words between sobs.
"I couldn't… find her… Rob. I tried… so hard… but I… can't do… it." Mum sobbed.
"It's okay Jess, I know you tried really hard maybe she went off with a friend or something." Dad soothed.
I was too tired to listen any longer so I walked up the stairs to my room. As I was walking to my room I passed Belle's door. It was cracked slightly open, so when I nudged the door it opened. As the door was opening it creaked. That tiny noise seemed so loud in the quiet house. Belle has a very girlish room with pink walls and lots and lots of teddy bears. Our rooms are like complete opposites seeing as my room was covered with posters of motorbikes and bands like Bullet For My Valentine and All Time Low. I walked over to Belle's bed and started to lay down on her bed. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.
When I woke up at 11pm the next night I knew two things: one, I had failed to study for my history test the next day and two, I knew where Belle was. I can't explain how I knew where she was, I just knew. I also knew that she was scared and in pain. I decided right then that I had to go get her and I couldn't waste time explaining information to my parents so I called the only person I knew would trust my instincts, Josh.
I snuck out of the house making sure not to wake Mum and Dad up. When I was half way down the street I saw Josh leaning against his car waiting for me. When I reached Josh he gave me a hug and opened the passenger door of his car for me. As soon as he had started the car I told him to drive towards The Pike. During the drive I explained that while I was sleeping I dreamt about where Belle was and how scared she was. I was so close to breaking down again but I knew that I had to stay strong for Belle. When we were getting close to The Pike I turned my full attention to the roads to make sure we turned off at the right street.
Two minutes later I had Josh stop the car about a kilometre away from the house Belle was being held captive in. I turned towards Josh and said,
"Okay I know that this is going to be difficult, and possibly dangerous, but I need you to trust me and stay in the car," Josh looked a little surprised and mad at what I was saying, so I rushed through the last part, "don't argue with me, please just this once listen to me and wait in the car. If I don't come back in 20 minutes I want you call my parents and the police."
With that I got out of the car and ran towards the house.
When I was getting close to the house I noticed that it was really old and looked like it hadn't been used in 50 years. I also noticed that in the entire three-story house there was only one light on. I didn't know how many people were in that house but I knew I had to somehow reach the second level.
I crept around the back of the house and snuck in through the back door. I heard voices coming from the front of the house. Luckily for me the stairs to the next level were 10-feet in front of me. As I was walking up the stairs, they creaked. I instantly froze. I strained my ears so hard to see if I was able to hear footsteps. I heard nothing so I kept going up the stairs.
I already knew Belle was inside the third door to the left, but I wasn't prepared for what I saw inside that room. When I opened the door I couldn't see anything in the dark, but I could smell a sweet coppery smell that I couldn't place. My hand searched the wall for the light switch. When I found it I flicked it on. The light was so blindingly white I couldn't see anything for a few seconds. When I could see again, I gasped.