The Disappearance of Samantha Mourey

SIX

RYAN.

He walked in quietly and gently shut the door behind him, tip toeing through the kitchen. He checked the key hook on the wall. Empty. His mom was still at work, finishing up the overnight shift at Memorial Hospital. Ryan breathed a sigh of relief. No longer worried about the noise he was making; he made his way to his bedroom down the hall. He pulled off his flannel and his pants, grabbed a towel and walked into the bathroom, staring at himself briefly in the mirror as he did.

He sat in the hot water, letting it run over him, thinking about last night. Well, that was unexpected, he thought with a smile. Going to the party was more for curiosity than anything, or maybe even boredom he had told himself. He had wanted to see her again after the night in the haunted house. It felt unfinished and she didn't seem okay... he just wanted to check in. It had been so long. When he came across the group by the fire, he knew she wouldn't be far behind, and then even when it seemed like she might not show up, he was glad he had come, welcomed in by this group of familiar faces he hadn't seen in a long time. He almost forgot his original intentions, sitting back by the fire, listening to their crazy stories, and music, and then, there she was.

The black makeup and Halloween costume wiped away – she wore jeans and an oversized hooded sweatshirt that seemed massive compared to her. Her sun-streaked curls hung wild beneath the hood, and her dark brown eyes still took over her face. He realized he had been staring at her when she finally noticed he was there and quickly looked away.

While in the shower, he heard the door crack open and his mother's voice over the stream of water.

"Hi hun. How was last night?" she asked, the exhaustion in her voice was as clear as her words.

He poked his head out of the curtain. "Hi mom. It was good. How was work?" he asked.

"Eh, you know, same old." She smiled for him, obviously tired.

"What's your plan for today?" she asked him, as she washed her hands in the sink.

"I'm not sure. Was thinking of heading back to Uncle Mark's to help cleanup." He said. "The woods are a mess." He added, pre-planning in case she was suspicious as to why he suddenly wanted to help his uncle clean. It was unnecessary though.

"Okay. That's fine." She said, drying her hands. Clearly too tired to care why he wanted to clean.

She started to leave, and then seemed to remember. "Hey... aren't you grounded?" she asked, almost a question to herself.

He had been grounded from anything except work and school, and would be for another week.

"Well, yea, I am." He answered, thinking on his feet. "but I figure helping out Uncle Mark is more of a chore... and doing chores isn't technically..."

"I suppose you went there last night strictly to help too?" she interrupted, suspicion creeping into her tone. She thought for a moment then continued. "It's fine. It's fine." She said finally, leaning against the bathroom door, too tired to barter with him. "Just there and back okay?" she said. "I'm heading to bed for a little bit. I've got the night shift for the next three nights."

"Okay mom," he said, used to her being on a different schedule than the rest of the world.

She started to close the door and then popped back in, "Hey Ryan?"

"Yeah mom?"

"Love you kid."

"I love you too mom." He said.

"Also, the fridge is empty. Stop at the store on your way home please. Essentials only. K?" she said.

"Sure thing." He said, smiling to himself in the shower, already thinking about the day ahead. The fact that he had only slept about 2 hours wasn't wearing on him at all yet. He was running completely on a high from last night that had nothing to do with chemicals.