Sara Palmer

Chapter Two

My head was spinning a million miles a minute. The voice was it Ivy? Could I be sure it was like a punch to the gut I found myself gasping for air my vision blurring this couldn't be no it couldn't how could it be her? This many years later? If she was in danger, how did she call? Was this just part of the sick joke someone had been playing on me all these years? I felt a rage boil up in me that I had never felt before my hands clenched my thighs and I let out an ear piercing scream. This couldn't be happening. I was on my way to start my happy life as a regular college student living on campus. Why now? I had so many questions I knew couldn't be answered by just sitting here. It was time to visit Ivy's mother she'd been holding on to a box of Ivy's things that she thought I would want and maybe I could find something in that box that might give me a clue or closure something to know whether these were pranks or if maybe it really was Ivy reaching out to me somehow.

I shakily stood and took a few deep breaths before climbing back into the car. Sorry mom, I thought as I turned the car around and headed back towards Marathon, my home town. I knew I should just keep driving to school. My mother would worry but I couldn't think about that right now, right now I needed answers and I was going to do whatever it takes to find them.

A little while later I was parked outside of Mrs. Vandermeers home, it was picture perfect with white picket fence. You'd never guess the tragedy that lived inside that home. The heartbreak it housed. I collected my thoughts and made my way up the driveway to front door before I could knock the door opened and Mrs. Vandermeer enveloped me in a hug.

"Sara sweetie it's so good to see you" She said as she squeezed me tightly. "It's been too long dear."

She wasn't wrong. I hadn't come to visit in over a year. It just became too hard to be there, pictures of Ivy hung everywhere it was too hard to see her.

"I'm sorry, but I'm here now." I replied as I returned the hug.

"Come in sweetie, won't you?" She released the hug but held tightly to my left hand, her eyes pleading.

"Of course." I tried to fake a smile but I knew I wasn't fooling her.

As we settled into the kitchen she began fixing a snack and filling me in on everything I had missed in the last year then finally she set a plate of sandwiches down on the table and sat across from me.

"How have you been?" She inquired.

I knew I couldn't lie to her she'd see right through it "Some days are easier than others and some days are impossible."

Her head hung for a moment "Day by day they say."

I didn't come to make her sad but I knew we'd have to get past this awkward bit before I could ask for the box.

"I'll never forget her, I'll carry her with me always." I know my words don't count for much, I'd abandoned her too, I should have been here more.

"I know sweetie, she loved you so much." She smiled faintly then stared off. "Oh Sara sweetie I almost forgot I still have her things saved for you."

Well this is going to be easier than I thought. I hadn't fully figured out how to bring it up

"Are you sure you want me to have them?" I asked. Please don't change your mind, please.

"Yes absolutely Ivy wouldn't have wanted you to have them, keep her secrets safe." she let out a half hearted laugh and stood. "There in her bedroom if you'd like to go get them...I haven't..." she stopped midway through her sentence and I knew what she meant going in that room would have been so hard for her.

"I can go up and collect it if you'd like?"

She nodded her head and stood walking towards the living room. "Take your time sweetie, I know this has to be hard for you as well." and with that she walked out of sight.

I proceeded up the stairs and turned left once in front of Ivy's door I paused and hadn't thought about going in and what it would do to me, slowly I pushed the door open. The room was the exact same nothing had been touched, her bed unmade, her makeup strewn across her makeup table. It was exactly how Ivy had left it as if it was waiting for her to come back.

At the end of the bed was a cardboard box and I slowly made my way towards it. I was nervous. I felt like an intruder as though I shouldn't be here but I made my way to the box nonetheless and opened it. A CD she had made, our bowling trophy and her diary. Keep her secrets safe now I get it. I pulled the diary out and stared at the cover. Would reading this give me answers or would it just be a total invasion of privacy, the cops must have gone through it when she first went missing. What would I find that they wouldn't. I flipped it open and began skimming, nothing seemed abnormal there wasn't really anything in there that Ivy hadn't told me before. The one odd thing I did notice is that there were pages torn from the back, maybe the cops took them thinking they were clues? Or maybe Ivy had a secret one she decided wasn't safe to have out in the open.

I stood up and made my way to her closet Ivy had a habit of hiding things in there, there was a loose board she showed me once, its where she hid the booze we took to parties, curiosity had taken over my body and shoved her shoes out of the way and pulled up the board, I reached my hand in praying I wouldn't find anything to awful in there like say a dead mouse eck that would be disgusting. Finally I felt it and I was shocked. I pulled out three pieces of paper. I unfolded them and began to read there from the morning before she went missing. She was scared of someone, someone she had been seeing but it didn't make any sense. Max her boyfriend was a sweetheart and had been so broken over Ivy's disappearance. Was it him or was Ivy seeing someone else behind Max's back and had that someone hurt or taken Ivy?

I replaced the floorboard and the shoes and closed the closet back up, I was trying to remember had there been anything Ivy said that night before she left my house was there something that could me figure this out?

The night Ivy disappeared was the same as any other, I was doing my homework while she was rifling through my clothes. She was joking how she was going to marry a rich man who would make all her worries disappear and I laughed reminding her Max was planning on being a teacher and went back to my homework but what had she said in response there was something I just couldn't remember, probably just some joke. I read and reread the pages until my eyes felt like they might start bleeding. I started looking around her room. What had I missed was Ivy being stalked? Was she having an affair? Or was she just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I eyed her laptop sitting at her desk and opened it. After a few guesses at her password I closed it, I was not a tech savvy person. I stood up and started looking over her bookshelf running my fingers over the titles when something caught my eye. A book with no cover, I pulled it out and opened it. Inside was a picture of Ivy and some man, a man I didn't recognise a much older man. I flipped it over and on the back was written My love no name just my love. Oh Ivy what did you get yourself into. I heard Mrs. Vandermeers footsteps in the hallway and quickly shoved the photo in my pants pocket and put the book back on the shelf. I had one answer: Ivy was seeing someone else and what if that someone else has her now or hurt her?