C O M P L E T E - first draft.
7x featured story.
Undiscovered Gem, Romance Ambassadors, January 2025.
Ambys 2024 Favourite - Mystery & Thriller
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I don't register what comes first--Mum's screams and curses, or the searing pain that perforates...
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September 18th
C A R M E N
I stare at the TV at the far end of my bedroom, chest tight and mouth dry.
When I turned it on as I readied myself for an evening spent in bed, it was for nothing more than background noise. An afterthought and something to fill the silence. But when the pixels illuminated, displaying the local news channel, it captured my attention and sent a chill down my spine.
Or, rather, the main news story did.
'Lee Heights teenager, Frederick Cravens—college student and son of a local police officer—reported missing,' the bold letters at the bottom of the screen read.
The grave-faced reporter rambles on about the story as he tugs at the black tie around his neck. He informs us viewers that nobody has heard from Fred in almost seventy-two hours, and his parents—particularly his father—have grown concerned for his safety.
Three days.
I chew my lip so hard I'm surprised it doesn't draw blood. Zachary and I broke into Jules' house and overheard their argument four days ago, along with her threat aimed toward Fred.
"Don't put your fingers where they don't belong. You'll only get hurt," I recall her saying.
A picture of the college football player I've seen so often around campus then flashes on the screen as the reporter appeals to the public for any information on his whereabouts.
Any sightings. Anyone who might have had a reason to harm Fred.
Anything.
I sit down on my bed, the fresh change of clothes I'd been gripping onto now dropped and forgotten. My eyes stare at the floor as I swallow a hard lump in my throat.
This is awful... so indescribably awful.
And I am certain people around town will try to blame it on my family somehow.
It's clear as day to me that Jules has something to do with Fred's disappearance—I overheard her threat, after all. But it's not like Zachary and I can go to the police with this information without disclosing how we found it out. Without confessing to breaking and entering, and stealing something from Jules' bedroom.
But, to everyone else in Lee Heights, Jules will be the picture of innocence.
They'll view her as the distraught, blubbering significant other of the missing college football star, the stark contrast to the perpetrator and cause of his disappearance. Instead of blaming her, I expect the townspeople will see this as my family's way of distracting from the search for Cory Ellis.
