Lost, But Found // Patrick Stump

chapter one

"come on, anna. you have to get up," her mom said.

but there she sat, refusing to even take off the blankets wrapped around her. she had been like this for several weeks now.

"you know you have to," her mom said. but nothing was going to make her get up. and her mother was well aware of that.

"well, i made you a ham and cheese sandwich. it's toasted, just the way you like it. if you get hungry, eat the sandwich."

the silence remained.

"if you need me, please say something, anna." her mother began to sob as she left her room.

anna was 24, but still lived with her mother. she had never had a boyfriend. she had never had a full time job. everyone she knew, with the exception of a few kind souls, had deserted her. her life seemed like a complete and utter failure, and that's why she was like this, why she acted this way. she had attempted suicide three times in the past two months, but had been cutting herself for much longer than that. she no longer spoke to anyone and she remained isolated from the rest of the world.

there seemed to be no escape.

-

one day, anna was in the middle of her usual routine: sitting in her bed, doing nothing all day except staring at the ceiling.

she wondered about that ceiling, with the excessively chipped paint on its corners. how did the paint chip? then again, why were the chips there? but then again, why was she here, alive and well and meant to be happy? it baffled her; it sparked curiosity that she didn't want to be able to possess.

her door creaked open, and she feared that it was her mother, for her mother tried way too hard to bring her out of the dark.

but it was actually one of her only remaining friends. he had been friends with her for a very long time, probably since she was in diapers and he was in preschool or kindergarten or some grade level that every parent forced their young ones to attend, and he was one of the kindest people that she had ever met in her entire life. even though she wouldn't talk to him, he always made sure to talk to her. he came by every single day to check in on her.

"hello, anna," he said, adjusting his fedora. he always wore that thing atop his head of lightish brown hair, and anna never quite understood that.

"how are you?" he asked, smiling at her.

anna held up her thumb, which was pointed down. he immediately frowned.

"what's wrong?"

anna shrugged.

"is your mom giving you a hard time again, anna?" she nodded. "she's only acting like that because she loves you. and she hates seeing you like this, laying here and refusing to leave your room."

she still said nothing, but he wasn't surprised. he expected her to be like this, silent and unresponsive.

"i brought you some food. do you want to eat?" he asked, holding up a bag with some chicken nuggets and fries.

anna silently nodded and took the bag. she opened it, smelled it, and smiled as she heavily sighed in delight. she bit into a chicken nugget, smiling even more as she chewed on it. this was heaven to her. she hadn't eaten in two days, and in this moment, she wanted to eat more.

"it makes me happy to see you happy," he said, breaking the silence. there was a big, cheesy grin on his face.

and then her mom was in the room.

"good afternoon, sweetie. and patrick!" she exclaimed. "this certainly is a pleasant surprise. what are you doing here?"

"just checking in on annabelle, ma'am," he replied. patrick always referred to anna by her full name, annabelle, in front of anna's mother.

"has she spoken?" anna's mother's eyes were now sparkling with hope.

"i'm sorry," he said, frowning. "she still won't say anything."

it broke anna's heart to see patrick frown. he looked so sad, so ready to break down in an ocean of tears.

her mom's eyes now filled with tears. knowing that she was unable to keep her composure, anna's mom hurried out of the room.

the sobs quickly filled the entire room, as if she was still there, sobbing in front of anna and patrick.

and patrick looked like he wanted to sob with her.

anna looked at him intently, hoping that he would say words that her mouth couldn't say.

but there was nothing. there was now nothing but the sound of her mom wailing downstairs in her living room.

"i wish you would say something, annabelle," patrick spoke up, calling her by her full name. "or at least try to find yourself again. if not for your mom or yourself, then try for my sake."

she wasn't sure about her answer to that. anna didn't want to "find herself." she wanted to lay in bed all day, doing nothing. that, she thought, was the only way that she could "find herself."

but patrick's pleading face caused her to nod her head. she just couldn't hurt her best friend more than she already had.

"oh, thank you!" he said happily. "i knew that you would at least try. you're not as much of a quitter as you think you are, anna. i know that one day, whether it's tomorrow or fifty years from now, you'll be able to talk again. and i want to be right here when you do."

anna pulled a piece of paper out of the notebook that was sitting right beside her. she quickly scribbled down something and gave the paper to patrick. he gently took it from her and looked at the note.

"are you sure you'll be here?" he read out loud.

patrick took one look at her and smiled.

"i'll always be right here, by your side, no matter what happens."

-

so this is the first chapter! i hope it's okay.

my name is katy, and you, unfortunately, have to put up with me while this book is being written because i happen to be the author of this piece of work.

"so katy, you nightmare of an author, when will chapters be up?" well, first of all, thank you for calling me a nightmare. am i your worst nightmare? because i'm feeling numb from all that novocaine you put in me. and to answer your question, chapters will go up as often as i can. remember that i am human. no matter how much you may think that i am a robot, i am a human being. and, like many human beings, i sometimes have prior commitments. whether i have marching band, work for ap world history this coming school year, or just laziness, i become busy. and that's just life, so you'll have to deal with it.

if you have any questions, or you just want to talk, my instagram, twitter, and tumblr are in my profile, and my private messages are always open to you guys. i will not turn you away.

anyways, enough of the serious stuff. i'm going to leave now, so i don't scare you away with my boring old self. (i'm not that old, i'm 14 going on 15. i am quite boring though, sorry about that.)