𝙇𝙊𝙑𝙀 𝙂𝙊𝙀𝙎-ˡᵘᵏᵉ ᵃˡᵛᵉᶻ

six

SADIE DIDN'T ENJOY LONG DRIVES, especially when stuck with someone she didn't particularly like. Luke was behind the wheel, and Sadie sat in the passenger seat, feeling the weight of his frequent glances.

As they waited at a red light, Luke stole another glance at Sadie. "Can you stop doing that?" she sighed, earning a furrowed brow from Luke. "Do what?" he asked innocently, causing Sadie to roll her eyes. "Are you stupid? You keep on looking at me... stop doing that," she snapped, fixing her gaze on him.

Luke didn't seem shocked. "Stop being so childish," he muttered, prompting Sadie to sit up. "You want to talk about being childish?" she retorted, annoyed.

Luke stayed silent, and Sadie nodded in confirmation. "Okay, that's what I thought," she said, leaning back against her seat. The traffic light turned green, and Luke resumed driving, leaving an awkward silence hanging between them.

After enduring the silence for a few minutes, Luke decided to break it. "I'm sorry," he said, turning to face Sadie. "I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you... I know what Phil means to you... I was just upset," he explained, prompting Sadie to roll her eyes once more. "I was upset too! I tried to talk to you. You didn't want to then. I don't want to now," she replied as Luke parked the car in front of the victim's mother's house.

After talking with Ms. Morales, Sadie noticed sounds coming from the younger boy's room. "He hasn't eaten ever since he heard the news," Ms. Morales says. Sadie nods in understanding. "That's normal in this situation. I will try to talk with him." Sadie smiles politely as she makes her way to the room.

She knocks softly on the door, maintaining a small smile. "Roberto?" she says as he looks up at her, then back at his comic. "Hi, I'm Sadie. I am with the FBI." Sadie says as she walks into the room.

"Your mom said you haven't eaten. We can get you whatever you want," Sadie says.But he just ignored her. And she understood. He was sad. He just wanted his sister with him."Roberto?" Sadie asks, trying again. "Nobody calls me that," he says as he looks up at her. "So... what do they call you?" Sadie asks. "Just Berto," he replies as he looks back at his comic.

"Okay.. that's cool," Sadie says awkwardly as she then looks around and smiles. "You collect comic books, that's also cool," Sadie says. Berto nods. "May I take a look?" Sadie asks with a small smile. Berto didn't seem to care, so she went to look at the boxes.

She went through some comics and smiled as she looked through them. "Who is your guy? Spiderman? Dr. Strange, or maybe X-man?" Sadie asks. "You've never heard of him before," Berto replies, and Sadie cocks her head. "Try me," she smiles. "Silver Surfer," he says, making Sadie nod. "You mean Norrin Radd. The Herald of Galactus. I have heard of him before," Sadie smiles.

"You want to ask me about my sister, don't you?" Berto asks. "Only if you want to," Sadie nods. He hums in reply, and Sadie takes a seat on his bed.

"Do you remember anything unusual about this morning?" Sadie asks. "Maybe even stuff you don't think is important, they are. Your mother said you were sick today, so you didn't go to school. But do you remember seeing anything weird on your way to school on another day? Did anyone try to talk to you? Do you remember seeing the same guy over and over again?" Sadie asks. But Berto just shakes his head. "Okay.." Sadie says softly.

"I am sorry, Berto... that this is happening," Sadie says with furrowed brows. She felt so bad that she couldn't do anything more. "And I know you're scared. But I promise you, we are your friends, and we're here to find her." Sadie says softly.

"Can I tell you something?" Berto asks as he sits up. "Of course," Sadie replies. "But you can't tell my mom." He says, making Sadie nod.

"I wasn't sick today. I was faking it." Berto says as he shakes his head upset. "That's okay, Berto.." Sadie replies. "Can I hug you?" She then asks softly, noticing his teary eyes. He nods, and she then pulls him into a hug. "Can you stay here?" Berto asks, making Sadie look at him as they release from the hug. "Please?" He asks, making Sadie nod. She couldn't say no. And it would save her an awkward ride back with Luke.