Let It Burn

Chapter 1

The house is too quiet. I realize it as soon as I step inside. The TV isn't blaring, Dad isn't bellowing out his usual greeting, and Mom isn't popping out of the kitchen to ask me how my day was. A frown settles on my face as I walk down the hallway.

It's eerie.

I peek into the living room. It's empty, and the lights are off. It's the same in the kitchen. Mom would be cooking dinner now. Where are they?

Dread surges through me.

"Mom? Dad?"

I wait for a few heartbeats. No answer.

What if they can't answer for some reason? What if we got robbed, and the perp held my parents captive? You see it on the news all the time. The robber could still be here. My grip tightens on my backpack, and I wish I'd asked Holden to come inside with me.

Sometimes, I'm so dramatic. You should know that about me upfront. Trying not to be is like trying not to breathe. Drama is part of who I am. Also, I tend to think the worst about every situation. It's better to be pleasantly surprised than more disappointed, right?

I hurry to my bedroom and sling my backpack on my bed. I take off my shoes so they won't make any noise on the hardwood floors. If someone who doesn't belong is in the house, I don't want to alert them to my presence. I search for a weapon, but I'm not in the habit of keeping them in my room, so I leave without one.

I guess calling Mom and Dad wasn't the brightest idea either. Way to go, Iris. Let the robbers know they're not alone anymore.

I make my way into the hall again and head toward their room, checking the bathroom along the way. It's empty.

Mentally, I go over everything that happened this morning. Mom never said anything was wrong, and she acted like herself. Nothing seemed out of place. She sent me to school with my boyfriend as she had for the last two years. If something was wrong, she hadn't given any indication.

Then again, she has an excellent poker face.

The two of them could have gone into town or something. Bradley was a drab place to live; there wasn't much to do or see. Trees lined most of the streets, so autumn was a beautiful time of year. Maybe Mom and Dad got bored and went for a drive. My heart lifts for a second, then my mind intervenes.

No, they would have waited for me. They never want me in the house alone. It's been an unspoken rule for as long as I can remember. Ian hated it. So, when he got accepted at an out-of-state college, he jumped at the chance to live alone. We barely see him except for holidays. If Ian were here, I wouldn't be wigging out. My brother may not be the best at visiting us, but he's emotionally supportive.

The only room I haven't checked is Mom and Dad's bedroom. I'm hesitant to go in there. They might have fallen asleep or something else. Either way, I don't want to disturb them. The door is open when I approach. The lights are on, and I peek around the door frame.

All of the tension drains from me in an instant. Mom sits on the edge of the bed, her back to me. I start to call out to her, but I realize when she speaks that she's on the phone. Her voice is barely audible. Her tone explains why I couldn't hear her until I was right up on her. I don't see Dad anywhere. Maybe he ran to the grocery store to pick up an ingredient she needed for dinner, and he forgot what it was. A smile spreads across my lips. He can be forgetful sometimes.

"I can't do that! There's no way I can stand by and do nothing while my husband is missing!"

A chill creeps down my spine as I jump, startled.

Dad is missing. No, that can't be. I'm sure he came home last night. I heard the wood creak several times under someone's weight. Dad always comes home on Sunday nights. Mom is mistaken. She has to be mistaken.