Locker 101

chapter 16

I opened the door slowly trying not to make a sound , but ofcourse the door had to creek as loudly as possible.

My uncle, who was sitting in the kitchen, turned around and smirked when he saw me.

"Took you long enough."

"Doesn't mean I'm staying for long."

His smirk widened , and I mentally face palmed myself for saying that. Great! Now he will tie me up and lock me in the attic.

Smooth move Lora. Very very smooth.

I rolled my eyes and headed away from him, exploring my home for the next couple of hours. It was a small cottage built completely out of wood. It had a small kitchen, a narrow bathroom and two bedrooms. A ladder was placed at the end of the hallway that led to the attic upstairs.

Curiosity got the best of me , and I decided to climb up the ladder and see whatI can find.

I tried to push it to see if it's steady enough, and luckily it didn't budge.

I grabbed the first bar and started climbing carefully. I finally reached the top and I used my hands to push myself up.

The room was dark and was dimly lit with rays of light escaping through a small window. It was full of cardboard boxes and dust was flying everywhere. If I had been here a couple of months ago,I would be dead scared. However, this is nothing compared to what I have been through and witnessed.

A shining piece of metal caught my attention.It was a pocket knife and It looked surprisingly new. I grabbed it cautiously and examined it.

A dark shade of red was covering the tip of the knife and it's obvious that it was used multiple times. Something flashed through my mind but I couldn't recognise it.

I put the knife away and searched through one of the boxes. It held random stuff from nail clippers to old dolls. Apparently, a family used to live here and they left some of their stuff when they moved away, or maybe, died.

Suddenly, a rat jumped in my face and my heart dropped.

"AHHHHHHHH. GET OFF OF ME!!"

I tried to hit the rat with my hand but the sneaky little thing jumped , and I ended up hitting my nose, hard.

I groaned in pain as I held my nose with both of my hands.

"That little son of a..."

Hurried footsteps interrupted my thoughts and I figured it was Uncle. Well crap I shouldn't have screamed this loud.

If he saw me here, he would think I wanted to jump from the window and get away. I need to hide somewhere.

There was a closet hiden behind a big white cloth. I removed the cloth quickly and opened the closet doors to be welcomed with hundreds of spider webs.

"Oh god."

It's not time to act like a baby Lora now get your shit together and get inside.

I huffed and entered making sure I close the door behind me. There was a small hole in one of the doors that I peaked from.

Not even a second passed and Uncle was already climbing the ladder. He started calling me as he helped himself up.

"Lora I know it was you. Now quit playing games and show yourself."

I inhaled deeply and held my breath trying not to make a sound. He can't see me here.

"Alright then, you want to act like that, fine. Suit yourself."

When I couldn't hear the sound of his squeaky shoes anymore, I let out a sigh of relief. I peaked my head a little just to make sure he isn't there before I got out.

Moments like these make me thank god I'm not claustrophobic. If i was, I would have been in a very sticky situation.

____________________________

I continued my exploration and found an old stack of paper. I blew the dust out of it and started flipping through the pages.

They were bills and bills and lots and lots of bills. Some of them were worth thousands of dollars. This family was swimming in dept.

This made me remember my family. A single tear rolled down my cheeks as I remember being scared to death when my mom retired from her job after the divorce. I remember the fear that got all over me. The fear of being broke... poor.... homeless..

I always assumed the worst. I didn't have faith at that time. But here I am wishing I was broke, poor or even homeless, as long as I was in the arms of my family.

I let out a shaky breath as I looked through another box.

This one though, was different than the others. It was decorated from the outisde with pink flowers and paper butterflies. It held a smaller box inside that was surrounded by crumpled paper.

I opened it catiously trying not to rip the old material and stared at its contents.

A small teddy bear, a diary, some medals, a t-shirt and ... a revolver!!!

So at first it seemed like a 10 year old's memory box but after I saw the gun, I was thinking it belongs to a mentally challenged serial killer who was obsessed with pink. Nothing wrong about that ofcourse.

I grabbed the bear first. It had a tag on it that read : first teddy bear dad gave me!

I couldn't help the smile on my face. This surely ment a lot to someone for them to keep it in a memory box. It was the cutest little thing with a small heart between its arms. I returned it to its place and lifted the medals.

First place winner ... sports day marathon

Another tag was attached to them that read : See future self, you were the fastest one in the whole 4th grade. I'm so happy I won this, I bet dad is proud.

Well this kid had a great relationship with their dad. I felt jealousy sting my heart. I wish my father would ever feel proud of me. Till this day, I'm oblivious of why he hated me. Sure I wasn't as athletic as Sam or as smart as him, but that can't explain the way he treated me. A complete stranger who lived in his house, that's how I felt.

I put them down and grabbed the diary.

Ann Tomlinson 2009

That name, it seems familiar but I couldn't put a face to it. I opened the first page and started reading.

January 1st 2009

My lovely diary,

Today is the first day of 2009 and I am soooooo excited for this new year. Yesterday I turned 9 years old and I'm a big girl now. That's what my mom told me. Dad didn't come to my tea party yesterday but it's ok, I know he is busy with his work.

I found this cool cottage near the woods. It's my secret place now. No one lives there and I can stay here with Gaby. I'm sure mom won't mind but she'll ask me to take my annoying little brother with me. UGH! He is so annoying and he thinks he is the older one! I gotta go back now before it's late and my mom gets worried. It's a long ride on my bike but I love riding it. Goodnight ❤

Love,

Ann

The cottage, this cottage was her hiding place. What responsible parents would let their 9 year old daughter come all the way here. Unless it's not that far away from the city.

The city... If I got there, I would know how to get back to my city, where Andrew is.Where my family is. And since she came here by bike it's not going to take a lot of time by a car. I have to get this goddamn car.

I took the diary with me and shoved it in an old backpack I found in one of the boxes.

Before I got up, I shot a glance at the gun. I don't want to use it but I can't leave it lying uselessly here. I took a deep breath and threw it in the bag. I felt my pockets to make sure I still have my knife there, and I left the attic with a plan in my head.