River finally woke up right when the sun went down. He was dazed, but overall okay.
The collision had not only broken his arm but also given him a concussion.
"Hey, bro," Adam was the first face he saw.
"Hai," River said.
"When I broke my arm, it sucked ass. Goodluck," Eli said, laying on the end of the hospital bed.
"Eli," his mother warned him. Then she turned to her older sons, "I know he's not picking up that language from you boys."
"What? No," Cole stretched out the "o".
"How are you feeling?" She asked River.
"Eh."
"We can work with that," she smiled and kissed him on the forehead, "We're glad you're okay."
"Are we going home?" River asked.
"We'll see what the doctor says, but I hope so," His father told him. "Your arm is broken in multiple places and you got a concussion."
"Oh fun," River said unenthusiastically. "How long til I can play again?"
"Doctor says the healing time will be about 8 weeks. You should be good to go for next year."
River groaned, "Great." Not being able to play this year just meant he would be bored out of his mind.
They sat in the room for an hour. Eli had fallen asleep on the bed. It was completely dark outside now except for the street lights.
"Where are those two? They better not be goofing off," Julie said, pulling out her phone.
She texted Henry and Cassie.
Are you two headed back yet?
The reply was quick.
We went home
Home? Why? How?
She called Henry. He didn't pick up, so she called Cassie. No answer.
Friend picked us up
Answer your phones.
Bad signal see you at home
"Honey," Julie handed her phone to her husband.
"That's weird."
"Ted, I don't feel good about this."
"I'll go run home real quick to see what's up. You stay here."
"What's going on?" Adam asked. The three older boys looked at their parents.
~~~
Ted, Cole, and Adam arrived at their house around 9. The hospital was a good hour away. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
They unlocked the door.
Henry and Cassie had stopped texting completely and they went straight to voice-mail when they tried calling.
"Cassie? Henry?" Ted shouted through the house.
They searched the whole house. No one was there.
"Damn it," Ted said as he pulled out his phone and told Julie the news.
"Where could they be?"
~~~
The Wayne's called everyone they knew. Once the 24 hour mark had passed the police were involved. They investigated the gas station first where the two teens were headed.
They found nothing except for a cashier eager to contribute his story of a boring dead night. The cameras were checked and the story checked out.
Next they visited Kyle, Cassie's older brother. Nothing. Steven, Emma, Mason, Dwane, Rylie, Jake, and the rest of their friends. Still nothing.
Two days gone.
The boys didn't go to school that Monday, but their mother made them go Tuesday. To get their mind off of things. It was hard to do that when all their mother did was cry.
Everyone at school knew. News traveled fast especially if it was about the Wayne's.
During lunch they all sat together rather than separate.
Jacklin sat between River and Adam.
"Hi, boys," she smiled.
"Not now," Adam growled.
"Aw, come on, Cassie was a bitch anyway and Henry was ju-"
Adam had swiftly pushed Jacklin to the wall by grabbing her throat.
She held on to Adam's arm trying to loosen it.
"Don't ever talk to me, my family, or my friends ever again, or I swear to God I will kill you," Adam whispered in Jacklin's ear before releasing her.
“You don't know who you’re talking to,” she said with a raspy voice.
“Don't fuck with me,” Adam growled, “I’m done with your bull shit.”
“What are you going to do?” She laughed, “Because I know you're too much of a pussy to kill me.”
“We’ll report you to the police and sue your ass,” River said from the lunch table.
“Have fun trying,” she laughed again.
“What is your problem? I can’t figure out if you love us or hate us,” Cole joined in.
“You’re the problem,” she turned on her heel and left the lunchroom.
“I don't think she even knows the answer to that,” River said.
~~~
Three days since Cassie and Henry had gone missing.
School had just gotten out for Christmas Break.
The Wayne’s hadn't decorated the house with lights like they normally did. They hadn't even gotten a tree. The house would have looked dead if the cars didn't go in and out of the driveway.
It was the day that the police called with their first lead.
The gas station camera footage was put on a loop that night. They brought in and interrogated the cashier.
He spilled his guts easily. He had gotten paid off to tell the police no one came in and to loop the footage. The problem was he didn't know who they were. The only other thing he could give them was that the van was black with tinted windows. Very stereotypical.
The cashier was arrested for assisting a kidnapper.
Not even an hour in the prison the cashier, Kevin, was killed by another inmate. The police interrogated the inmate but he was stone-cold and hard-headed and didn't care about killing another person. Almost as if he were brainwashed.
The lead was short-lived as they couldn't find the van.
Kyle visited the police station once he heard the news. He sat down with the lead investigator on the case, Samatha Yarb.
“You’d like to tell me something?” She asked Kyle who was sitting across from her.
“The police said it was a black van, right?” Kyle asked.
“That's correct,” she sat back in her chair.
“Well, Cassie got into a car wreck a few years ago and I’m pretty sure that was the same type of van,” Kyle said. “It's just when I heard black van I thought of that van a few years ago.”
“Are you saying you know where Cassie and Henry are?”
“I’m saying I think I know who took them.”
...
YOU ARE READING
The Unveiling
Teen FictionCassie Hutchinson has gone in and out of foster homes since she was 9 years old. She has learned to be quiet to not anger her foster family. She is now placed with the Wayne family. They have five boys. Will they accept her? Will she accept th...
