One Step Behind

Chapter 22~ Kyle

Around noon, I head over to Jonah's house to see if Dani's there. When I knock on the door, Jacy walks up, still in her pajamas.

"You're the one guy who was here the one day," she says. Her eyes are slightly red, like she's been crying.

"Yeah, I am, is Dani here?" I ask.

"She ran away," she mutters, looking towards the floor.

"What do you mean... ran away..." I ask, getting nervous.

"She left. Jonah and her had a fight. She took her suitcase and left. I chased her, but she didn't stop, she just kept going. Golly gosh, I miss her," she mumbles, and looks up at me. Tears are rolling down her pink cheeks.

"Do you have any idea of where she went?" I ask, bend down so are eyes are parallel to each other.

"Oh my god, don't bend down, I'm not a baby, and no. If I did, don't you think I'd be there? Actually, I think I might, but if I tell you, you have to bring me," she states.

"Fine, where do you think she went?" I question as I stand up straight.

"Home, I didn't tell Jonah this, or even her, but she always talked in her sleep. I'd sit by her door and listen to her if I couldn't sleep, which I've only done like twice. But anyways, she sounded like she was talking her dad. She would say "let me come home" and "I just want to be your daughter again". She'd cry too," Jacy answers.

"Alright, do you need to tell anyone where you're going?" I state.

"Well, Jonah's a butt head and my parents are out, so, no, let's just go before America's Next Top Model reruns start," she says, and then closes the door behind her as she walks out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We show up to Dani's house, well, old house I guess, as fast as possible. When we get there and knock, Lillian opens the door.

"Oh, it's the one nerd, and some little girl. What are you here for? Are you selling girl scout cookies? We don't want any," she states, beginning to close the door but Jacy holds it open.

"First of all, I'm thirteen, and I'm not a frickin' girl scout. Second of all, you look like a vampire with that winged eyeliner, which is a huge fail by the way, and that pale skin. Sorry honey, but it's not the civil war times anymore, pale is not very pretty. We are just here for Dani, is she here?" I ask.

"Wow, Kyle, since Shay killed herself you had to date this little twerp?" She asks, laughing.

"We're not dating, and I'm insulted that you think we are! I could do WAY better, no offense. So, are you going to answer my question or not, Henrietta? Is she here or not?" Jacy growls.

"Awh, your girlfriend is sassy! Better not make her mad or she'll end up like poor Shay, well, actually I wouldn't mind both of you ending up like her, and Dani too, and Aiden," Lillian laughs like an evil witch, oh wait, she is one.

"Listen up emo Barbie, you better flippin' tell us where Dani is or I swear to God I will rip your arms off and bite off your fingers and I will let you slowly bleed to death and no one will frickin' try and save you because you are a loser and no one likes you so please for the sake of your life which doesn't even matter tell us if she is even here!" Jacy screams, grabbing Lillian's wrist.

"Calm down, brat, she's not here, don't you think she would have answered the door?" Lillian asks, loosening her wrist from Jacy's tight grip.

"Go to He-" Jacy begins to speak, but I grab her arm, and we walk to the car.

"Get in, and be quiet, I have an idea," I state.

"I wasn't finished!" She screams, looking over at the door. Lillian slams it shut, and locks it. I see her peep through the window, and flip Jacy off. She laughs as she walks away.

"I hate that girl!" Jacy screams.

"Okay, we get it, now please get in, don't you want to see Dani?" I ask, and immediately she hops into the passenger seat.

~~~~~~~~

The next place I had in mind was Shay's house. However, when we get there it's not as it seems.

Her house is on fire.

"Dani? Dani?" I scream her name. The fire blazes out of the living room windows.

"Dani!" Jacy screams, running towards the door.

"Jacy stop! Call 911, I am going in, okay?" I state.

"I'm going to call Jonah too," she mumbles, and then I run in. The fire is big and bright. I begin to cough out a lung as I search inside.

"Dani?" I yell for her. I check in the kitchen, and she's not there. I check every room, but she's in none of them. So, I check every room again, but I can't find her, so I run back outside.

"S-she's not there," I say, coughing over and over again.

"Here they come, wow, that was fast," Jacy states, and I hear the sirens wail. Then, it all goes black.

~~~~~~~

I wake up in a bed that feels like concrete. My grey sweater, regular jeans, and navy blue scarf are sitting on a night stand. Now, I am wearing a blue white gown with black polka dots. The lights are dim, and it is now dark outside.

"Hello? Hello?" I call for people, but no one's there. After pressing a little red button on a remote by my bed, an ear piercing alarm goes off.

"Sir, are you okay?" A doctor asks, running in almost immediately, and hitting the remote. After he hits it, the alarm goes off. The doctor is a female who looks like she is in her mid thirties. She has coffee brown skin and a midnight black afro.

"Where am I? What happened?" I question.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Lovelace. You passed out because of too much smoke in your lungs. It's about 11 pm. A young girl named Jacquelyn was waiting for you but visiting hours ended at 9. She said you went in to find Danielle Morrison. The firefighters searched the house and they didn't find her. Do you think she died in the fire? Or do you think she's missing?" Dr. Lovelace explains.

"I-I don't know, my head hurts, everything is a blur, I'm hungry," I blurt out random things, and then things start getting fuzzy.

"Yeah, the head medicine makes your vision fuzzy for a bit, but it will go away. I can get you some food, are you allergic to anything?" She asks.

"No, but a peanut butter sandwich on a white bread with some goldfish sounds amazing right now," I reply, and she smiles at me.

"Okay, I'm going to warn you now detectives will be here in the morning," she states.

"Okay, thanks for the heads up," I say.

"No problem, I'll be back soon, and then sleep, okay?" she replies.

"Of course," I mumble, and then she walks out. About ten minutes later, she brings me a tray with the food I asked for and a water bottle.

"Thanks," I say, and then shove it all done.

"Good night," Dr. Lovelace replies, and then heads out.

All I can think about once she leaves is how many people am I going to lose?