Trails of Secrets

19. A Month

"Oops."

Annalise, Sara, and Liam turned to Chris, only to see a piece of wood resting in his hands. He had accidentally torn it off the window sill. 

"Gentle! How many times have I said to be gentle?!" Sara reached for the wood and tore it from his hands. "I oughta just slap you with this."

He smiled and winked at her. Sara flushed and turned away and looked at the other two.

"Any luck over there?" She questioned. Liam and Annalise were searching the closet and the door frame. The same places they always looked. 

Now that there were four people searching, they were able to master the art. Every person had their own specific places to search based on their specialties in searching. Annalise was great at looking at every small detail and scrutinizing the difficult areas, while Liam searched the high and hard to reach areas since he was so tall. Chris and Sara conquered the places that were easily overlooked since they were used to looking in odd places. 

It had been one month since Persephone's house. 

Annalise stretched her back. "Sorry. No luck here. This house doesn't seem to be giving us any messages." 

Sara sighed as she leaned against the wall. "Maybe the message meant something else."

Chris rolled his eyes and walked over to where she was. "Yeah. It probably means the hou-"

"No, it doesn't. It doesn't mean there. We already went there." 

"Yeah, but we never looked."

"That's because I knew that it wasn't right. I knew that my sister wouldn't hide one there. It would have been too hard for me. And it was. She must have meant a place that I went with her. Persephone I mean." Sara gasped for breath and closed her widened eyes. 

Liam walked over to her and rested a hand on her shoulder. "I understand, Sara." And he did. He knew how she felt. Too well. 

She looked up at Liam with glossy eyes and gave a slight, curious expression. 

Chris shrugged defeatedly. "Whatever you want, Sara. Whatever you want." 

He looked away and went back to work. 

                                                            ~~~

Annalise and Liam walked out of the house they had searched all day. The house was in the next neighborhood, so they had both decided to walk home. 

"Do you think that we will ever find another message?" Annalise asked Liam.

He shrugged, "I don't know. Part of me feels like we should have stuck around Persephone's house longer."

"But did you see the way she felt?"

Liam closed his eyes. "Yes. Yes I did." But what he really saw, was himself.

His paint brush hitting the floor. The streak of red ruining the painting. The phone call. 

Liam stumbled slightly. 

"Are you ok?" Annalise questioned. 

The streak of red.

"Yes."

                                                               ~~~

Annalise shivered as she stepped from the warm air outside into the cold air in her house. She closed the door behind her and locked it. Then she kicked off her shoes, trying to make them land right side up, and tossed her backpack onto a chair by the door. 

When she turned around to look into her mirror, she saw a person who looked tired and worn, with disheveled hair. The eyes staring back at her, were red, from countless hours of strained sight.

The person wasn't her.

Annalise screamed and backed away from the reflection. The ghost of a man disappeared and she was left staring at herself. She put her head in her hands and leaned against the wall. 

When will this fear go away?

Annalise was tired of seeing the man who kidnapped her, everywhere she went. Everyone seemed to have his face. Every reflection showed his image. She wanted to run away. But where? Wherever she would go, he would follow. 

I should get some sleep. I'm just very tired. 

Hopefully, he wouldn't follow her into her dreams.