Found (New Earth Saga)

Ch. 39

I couldn't sleep. I couldn't think about anything outside of the phone call. I'd tried calling Eric's number back, but Eric didn't pick up. This was bad. Somehow I just knew this was bad, and I needed to do something. I looked at my phone to see that it was 11:50 PM. I should go to sleep. Ugh.... But I couldn't. My finger hovered over Issac's name. I should call him. He'd been texting me after dinner unnecessary apologies. Issac was the "friend" I'd been spending the most time with, but he was also someone I was lying about. Was now the time to tell him I'd lied about Eric entirely? I'd call Parisa, only she'd been dating Eric for 2 years, and it was clear his mysterious disappearance had been weighing on her. I couldn't tell her how I'd lied. But I needed to tell someone. I didn't know what to do. Finally, I called my only other friend. My first friend. Jacob.

"River?" Jacob answered my call after just one ring. "Everything okay?"

"Hi. Sorry I'm calling so late,"

"I wasn't asleep, I'm a night owl. What's up?"

"Okay... I- I just needed to talk to someone,"

"What's wrong?" Jacob said, seeming anxious himself.

"I... can I tell you a secret? A-and will you promise not to get mad at me. And not to tell anyone?"

"River, you're scaring me. What happened? Where are you?"

As soon as I told Jacob I was simply having some kind of melt down in my room, he said he was on his way. What?! He can't come over at this time of night. I'm certain this was breaking some kind of rule. Thomas and Blue had never told me I couldn't have a friend over this late, on a school night too, and yet Jacob hung up telling me not to worry. If I'd been anxious before talking to Jacob, I was now even more anxious anticipating his arrival. Finally, maybe about 12 minutes later I heard the sound of our front door opening. Sh#t! I stood on the walkway outside of my room feeling nervous. What if this wasn't Jacob? Wait- how would Jacob even be able to get inside? What if someone was breaking into the house!

Luckily, I saw Jacob turn the corner before I could continue to freak out. How did he get in here?! Jacob somehow spotted me immediately in the dark hallways that led to the three bedrooms of the house. I loud whispered to ask how in all of New Earth did Jacob appear in our house, but he rose his finger up to his lips giving me the universal sign to hush. The same gesture Kerry had made before she took me. Jacob made no attempt to pick me up and instead walked slowly next to my walkway as I made my way back into Trent's room, which I guess I needed to start calling my room. The giant sized door creaked as Jacob slowly opened it to let himself inside. I hope Blue and Thomas didn't hear that.

Once inside of my new room, Jacob beat me to the dresser that had all of my human sized furniture. He then lifted my bed up and brought it over to the nightstand across from Trent's giant sized bed. Jacob turned, squatting down to be level with my walkway. He lowered his hand for me to climb on and it felt good to be held by him once again. Jacob somehow made some of my nervous energy disappear. Jacob set me down next to my bed on Trent's nightstand before he sprawled out on Trent's old bed across from me turning on his side to face me. The lights were still off, so the room was mostly dark, but at least we had the bright moonlight seeping in through the blinds.

"How'd you get in here?" I asked, still keeping my voice low, even though it's very unlikely that Blue or Thomas could hear my human voice all the way in their room.

"I know you guys keep a spare key under one of your flower pots in the backyard,"

"Oh."

"I'm also pretty sure my family has a spare key to your house anyways, but I didn't know where it was so I used the one from the back yard,"