Where's My Dolly?
So, I'm back with another chappie :D maybe I can get one more up before the year is over! Emmm… Oh, I trued to reply to reviewers but the link they send to me via email is apparently broken so if anyone was wodering (or cares) that's why I've not replied.
But anyway woo! Here we go! Another chapter!
Chapter 6: Gary?
"And that's all I know." Leaf finished. She had been escorted away from the forest and was at the police station giving a statement about what they knew about the person that was found lying on the muddy forest floor in a puddle of blood.
Leaf watched as the officer finished writing some things down onto the document and passed it to her, telling her to read over it and sign it if it's okay. She skimmed through the text, signed and dated the document before being led back into the waiting area where she sat down on one of the plain, blue chairs, waiting for Gary who was nowhere in sight.
She concluded that he was probably still being interrogated by the police. She sat and observed the people in the surrounding.
To her left were two police officers. They were using the vending machine. She couldn't help but eavesdrop into their conversation, which somewhat interested her.
"I'd imagine she must've been dead for a while." Said the officer with a coffee in his hands.
"Why do you say that?" Asked the other officer, who asked exactly what Leaf was thinking. He had a cap on.
"You weren't at the scene." The first officer said, "That body reeked so badly, the newbie threw up! Even that woman who spotted the body said she smelt it before she saw it!"
'Interesting.' Leaf thought as she continued to listen in, unaware that she was slowly shuffling along the row of seats, getting closer to the two by the vending machine. She wanted to keep on listening but the sound of footsteps and a familiar voice diverted her attention.
It was Gary, walking alongside a colleague of the two people that Leaf was listening to. He approached Leaf who had stood up and was ready to leave.
Xx-x-xX
The water sprayed out of the shower head, landing on the soft, white skin of Leaf. After today's ups and downs, she really felt like she needed to feel the refreshing water on her to help her think straight. It had been a few days since the strange things that have been happening to her started.
After cleaning herself under the water, she stepped out from under the shower and wrapped the towel round herself and went into her temporary room. She slumped onto the bed, spreading her arms out.
She thought back to what had happened today: she woke up depressed; was told the good news that her mum was going to be okay; was taken to the forest where the bulk of her childhood memories where; found the dead body and somewhere along the way, was told by Gary that he knew something that she didn't. Something about the mystery behind what happened to her parents. Leaf couldn't help but wonder what he knew that she didn't. She thought that the professor had told her all he knew, all of what the police knew.
Whatever Gary knew, Leaf was adamant that she was going to find out as soon as she put some clothes on.
After changing into a fresh pair of pyjamas, Leaf headed to the room directly across from her s and walked in, not even bothering to knock first.
The sound of the door swinging open startled Gary, who immediately dropped what he was doing, literally, and shot up from his seat. "Leaf." He said as used his foot to shove what he dropped under his desk before proceeding to walk towards her. His shirt was undone completely and his hair was askew. "You need something?"
"Actually I was wondering about what you. You seemed really quiet on the way back from the police station."
Gary shook his head. "I was just thinking about something. But it's nothing important."
"If you say so," Leaf said before she moved onto what she really wanted to find out. "I was wonder about something… Something that you said to me today, you know, back in the woods."
"What did I say?" Gary asked though he knew very well what Leaf was referring to.
"You know," Leaf started, "the things that the professor told you. You said you'd tell me."
Gary nodded. "But maybe after a shower." He stretched his body, "I'm so tired! I'll tell you if you're still up." He ruffled her wet hair as he turned and headed to his bathroom.
Leaf plopped herself on the edge of his bed. "I will be." She said firmly.
Xx-x-xX
After his shower, Gary came into his room, his hair damp and his body naked, except for his boxers. He was planning to go to bed; after all, he did take his time knowing that Leaf was probably on the verge of dozing off.
In his room, Leaf was still there but awake she was not.
"So much for being awake." Gary mocked as he moved her so that she was lying on the bed properly with her head elevated by his pillow. He tucked her in and kissed her forehead. "I'll be back." He whispered to her.
Xx-x-xX
Beep beep. Beep beep. Beep beep.
Leaf cracked an eye opened and looked at the alarm clock. Slamming her hand on it- hard, with more force than necessary- she opened her other eye and analysed the surrounding. Gary's room.
Wait. Gary's room?
She suddenly remembered what she was doing in Gary's room. She was waiting for him to tell her things, things she needed to know more than anything else. But where was Gary? She looked around the room. He was nowhere to be seen.
Maybe he was up already, she thought to herself. With that thought in mind, she got out of bed and went across the hall back to her own room.
As soon as she stepped out of that room, Daisy appeared seemingly out of nowhere and surprised her.
"What's been going on in there?" she said with an accusing look on her face. "Did you and Gary-" Daisy rushed into the room but she stopped herself from finishing what she was going to say when she noticed that her brother wasn't in there. "Where's my lil' bro'?" She asked as she came back out of the room.
"I thought he was up already…" Leaf said, now feeling uncertain about the conclusion she came to just minutes ago.
Daisy shook her head. "I just came up from downstairs and he wasn't there. I thought he was still asleep! He does like to have a lie in on Saturday's when he's not going somewhere during the day."
Leaf suddenly felt very panicky. "Is his car outside?" she asked as she hurried over to Gary's room window which overlooked the driveway to their house.
Daisy followed her. "It's still there." She stated once she had a look out of the window. "He probably went out for a jog then." Daisy concluded.
And Leaf believed her…
Xx-x-xX
Leaf had not left the house at all. In fact, she spent most of her day sitting in Gary's room; waiting for him to return so that she could get some answers. She stood by his window waiting but nothing.
She had been waiting for over five hours, leaving the room for the quickest toilet breaks before she was back at the window. She declined Daisy's offer of lunch at the Beau café in town, which in hinds sight was a bad idea because it's very expensive and Gary didn't come back to the house anyway.
Leaf's eyes were feeling heavy as she stood in the same position as she had been standing in all day: elbows leaning on the window sill, all her weight on the joints. Her hand held her head up but after the first few hours, her head started to touch the window.
"Leafy?" Daisy called out, "are you still waiting? Why don't you come to the living room for some tea?"
Leaf's feet ached from standing. Tea was a tempting offer…
Xx-x-xX
The small tea break that Leaf allowed herself to was quiet and brief. She sat in the living room with Daisy and a cup of tea.
The only thought that was running through Leaf's thought was of Gary and his random disappearance today. She was curious about what Gary had to say to her. If only she knew that he was going to disappear like that. She would have did all she could to make herself stay awake last night.
"Maybe something came up. You know what he's like at times." Daisy said, interrupting Leaf's thoughts. "Perhaps we should call the waiting a night and try again tomorrow?"
Leaf sighed. "Maybe…" Her voice was no more than a whisper but Daisy heard it loud and clear in the pin drop silence of the house.
"Good. Let's go make dinner together now." Daisy said as she stood up, dragging Leaf up with her before proceeding to take her to the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Daisy took out a chopping board from the cabinet and a big knife for Leaf to work with. Leaf picked up the nearby vegetables and started to chop them up into however Daisy requested them to be done. Daisy stood next to the pot on the stove. Whatever was inside it was bubbling a lot.
"All the veggies are chopped up." Leaf said as she passes the board over to Daisy who shoves everything on it into the pot.
"Dinner will be ready in an hour or so." Daisy said as she turned the stove's heat down and placed the lid on the pot. "So don't eat anything before then."
"I won't." Leaf said. "But I fancy some more tea."
"Then make some." Daisy smiled as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone which was flashing and vibrating in her hand. She excused herself and left the kitchen to somewhere private to engage in a deep conversation with one of her friends about new shoes."
Leaf does as Daisy suggests when she leaves the room. She reaches to one of the overhead cabinets and takes out her favourite mug and teabag from the box. She dropped her teabag in and picked up the kettle. She stopped herself from pouring the hot water in when she realised that there was something in it. A piece of paper.
Being curious, Leaf took the bit of paper out ( and judging by the look of it, it was one of the several pieces that she spares Gary from her note pads in chemistry). She unfolded it and read what was on it.
She felt a smile spread across her face when she saw a specific part of it.
G A _ _ _ S A S _ _ _ _ _ _ A S _ _ !
It was the game of hangman from a few days ago before all the things that have happened to her lately- except for the house being broken into.
"If only things could still be like that now…" Leaf said to herself as she folded the bit of paper back up and tucked it into her pocket.
She checked her phone once more.
Nothing.
Xx-x-xX
Teehee. A chappie :D Hope you liked it!