Before They Hide

And The Plan Begins

*Laney's POV*

And maybe he won't find out that I know,

she was the last good thing about this part of town.

My phone sang  the rocking guitar solo of Fallout Boy's "Grand Theft Autumn" ringtone. I quickly sit up to find my phone. 

Wait....why was I even lying down in the first place?

I easily locate my phone near my feet when the song stops and 1 Missed Call appears on the screen. How did I find my phone so quickly? Because it was bright daylight outside.

Shit.

Mom's going to be sooooo pissed that I spent the night in the woods. Brushing the leaves off of my jeans, I head towards the direction I think leads to Maple Rd. So what do I tell Mom when I get home? I could always tell her the truth, "Mom, I went to meet my boyfriend's killer alone right in the middle of the woods where no one would ever find me." Yeah, let's find a plan B. Maybe I could say that I went to visit a friend and we fell asleep watching a movie? That would be believable....if I had friends anymore....stupid court case. I guess my best bet is just winging it, another thing I'm extremely terrible at. 

After jogging for about 30 minutes, I see my driveway and familiar yellowish/whitish house come into view. You can do this Laney, you can do this. Just don't sound crazy. I slowly walk up the driveway to see that my Dad's car was missing. Well, I would expect that, he got a double shift last night so he was gone before I even left. On further observation, I notice that my Mom's car is gone as well. What? Did she go out looking for me? Did she report me missing to the police? Not good, not good, NOT GOOD!

I creep quietly through the front door on the off-chance that Mom is somehow still home. The clock on the wall reads 8:00 AM. My mom works from home so I have no clue where she could be. After checking a few rooms, I come to the conclusion that my mom is in fact not home and that I am safe for the time being. 

Right on cue, the front door handle turns with a click and my Mom's head pokes through the door. 

"Morning honey!" she says cheerily with a weird smile plastered on her face. Why is she acting so happy? Shouldn't she be crying and wondering where I was, then punishing me for leaving without her permission? So I decide to ask a few questions of my own...

"Where have you been?"

Mom's brows furrow as confusion takes over her face, "Laney, you don't remember?"

Now it's my turn to be confused, "No, I don't remember. What are you talking about?"

Mom begins to hang up her coat and kick off her heels as she explains what apparently happened last night. "Right after you went into the bathroom I got a call from a client. I agreed to meet with her for dinner at her hotel. I'm sorry I'm home so late, but I had a few coctails and didn't want to risk driving so I just booked an overnight stay. But I'm pretty sure I yelled to you before I left."

Wow, either I've been praying really hard, or I'm just fucking lucky. 

"Ummm, okay Mom, I think I'm just going to go up to my room. I'm still kinda tired." With that, I book it up the stares and slam my door shut. I'll just say I'm PMSing or something later, she'll buy that right?

I race around my room searching for a notebook and pen until I find what I'm looking for. I begin to write everything that I know.

-They have Jacob's phone

-Proof of above, ~BarbieGirl:P, text signature

~JACOB POSSIBLY ALIVE!!!!!

In the detective kind of mood, I switch on my TV to see if anything else has been found that I could link to Jacob. If he is still alive, I know he's smart enough to leave a clue of some kind, even if it's something only I can understand.