The Rabbit Hole

Chapter 7

Casey Dillion, driven by anxiety, she's been dialling Heather's number and calling her phone from the first second she got up with no luck. It's almost 12:00 pm and the last call she made to Heather was about what time they should meet up, "9:00 am". She said to her over the phone and now it's almost 12:00 pm, and still without any word from Heather. Now, only one thought comes to Casey's mind, "Heather must have gone to the abortion clinic without me" She thinks, believing that Heather must have gone through with the abortion alone and is totally beside herself right now, just as she was when she had her own abortion a year ago. She recalls that she never went to school for a whole week, and by the time she returned, she came up with the I-wasn't-feeling-well excuse and managed to get her hands on a doctor's note to verify her claim. "She's at her house right now, sinking from the overwhelming weight of losing her child, probably curled into her sheets and crying her eyes out" Casey ponders to herself. She dials up her number again and it goes straight to voicemail.
"Hon? Casey are you up there?" Mrs. Dillion calls out from downstairs.
"Yes, Mom, I'm in my room." Casey replies, all the while trying to get a hold of Heather on the phone. Another voicemail.
"I'm on my way out. Do you have everything you need or should I leave a little something for you?" Mrs. Dillion calls out again and gets no response. Casey is still trying to get a hold of her best friend but to no avail. "Casey?"
"No, Mom it's okay. I'll be just fine, you can leave."
"Okay, bye Hon!"

The door downstairs closes and in a few minutes, Mrs. Dillion's car starts. The sound of it driving off fades away in a seconds. Casey takes a quick glance at the time "12:12 pm" and still no word from Heather. She grabs a jacket and leaves for the Brooks residence.

The weather has changed drastically from what it was yesterday, no clear skies and the sun has ducked behind the grey clouds, the wind chilling cold. A storm is at its brim. Casey pulls tight at her jacket and folds her arms as her body feels the unwelcome chill. She arrives at the Brooks residence, spares no second to knock as she taps the door three times. Mrs. Brooks comes to the door, "oh hi, Casey." She says with a smile in her voice and a dish cloth in her hands.
"Hello, Mrs. Brooks." Mrs. Brooks takes a quick look at her cold posture and invites her inside. "Come in, you look like you're freezing."
"Thank you."
"You here for Heather? Good, she's been in her room since morning. I've been calling and calling for her but with no answer. Maybe with you she'll answer."
"Yeah, let me take a crack at it."

Casey heads on upstairs to Heather's room, she reaches the door to the room, it's hard to miss it with her name plastered in all caps across the door. Casey knocks the door gently with her fingernails, "Heather? It's Casey. Can I come in?" no response, "Heather?" she calls out one more time before opening the door to look inside. She enters an empty room, the bed still made, it even looks as if no one slept there last night. She closes the door and heads back downstairs and into the kitchen. She finds Mrs. Brooks washing the dishes and humming a song. "uhm, Mrs. Brooks?"
"Yes?" she says as she turns around to look at her.
"Heather's not in her room. In fact, she's not anywhere in the house."
"What? Well I feel stupid. I've been calling out to her thinking she's in the house but all along I've been talking to myself." She says, embarrassed.
"It happens all the time." Casey laughingly says.
"She's probably over at the Bridgewater residence. I didn't hear her leave this morning but if I were to guess, it'll be there."
"Alright, I'll be on my way."
"Wait just a second, Casey. I have a question to ask you."
"Yes, Mrs. Brooks?"
"Is there something going on with my daughter?" she asks. Casey's eyes widen just a tad and she gets a little fidgety. "Like what?" she nervously asks.
"I don't know, that's why I'm asking you. She's been a little bit off since coming back from the doctor a few days ago."
"Has she? Well I haven't noticed."
"Are you sure? There must be something you may have heard or seen."
"No ma'am. Nothing. Maybe that stomach bug she has is still getting her down."
"Maybe. But I still can't shake this feeling." Mrs. Brooks shakes her head wondering, "No, there's something going on with her. A mother knows, and when she comes home I'm going to make her tell me."
"I'm going to go now." Casey nervously insists.
"Fine, go safe Casey."
"Yes, Mrs. Brooks." Casey anxiously exits the house and then once again dials up Heather's number, straight to voicemail. "Heather! Answer your phone dammit! Your mother is starting to figure out that there's something you're hiding, and I can't lie to her, she scares me. Call me back." She leaves a message. Upon looking into her phone, her eyes captures the time on the phone, "12:56 pm" the scheduled times for feeding Mrs. Bridgewater's cat are 7:00 am, 12:00 pm and 18:00 pm. So if what she's thinking is right, Heather may not be at the Bridgewater residence. So where could she have gone if not back home? She wonders. "The park" She thinks out loud, and heads in that direction.

Once at the park, Casey scans the place with her eyes for Heather but fails to see her anywhere in sight. She checks her phone, no call backs. Annoyed, she breathes out a grunt and stomps her way out of the park and straight to the Bridgewater residence. To think that the Bridgewater's live just down the road from Heather's home, Casey believed in her gut that she may have been at the park, a long walk to and fro. Now she wonders that she should've just started at the Bridgewater residence and then to the park, "shoulda, coulda, woulda" she thinks as she arrives at the Bridgewater driveway.
She quickly takes note of the front door to the house completely open, "she's definitely here" she believes and strides inside the house.
"Heather?" she calls out calmly. The appearance of the house is a disaster, shards of a broken vase lay on the ground. The living room table appears slanted. "Jesus," she whispers, "Heather, I don't think that when Mrs. Bridgewater asked you to housesit for her, she meant turn her house upside down. Look at this place." Off to the kitchen she goes, and finds the cat staring at an empty bowl. Now, Casey feels a little bit worried of what she may have walked into. "Heather? Heather!?" she calls out again, no response. She pulls out her phone and dials her number, upon pressing the "call button" her eyes captures something on the ground, just a couple of feet from her -Heather's phone. Now, Casey feels an unfamiliar feeling that accompanies worry, fear. "Heather!?" she pants in fear as she runs searching through the house, worried that she may find the body of her friend lying dead in a room somewhere. After searching every room and coming up empty, she returns to the living room then heads to the exit. A quick glimpse of the doorframe pulls her back inside the house. Right there, near the alarm system, right on the edge of the doorway, a red substance. Her greatest fear clouds her every thought because she knows what it is she's staring at, a blood smudge on the doorframe, she doesn't want to believe it but it may as well be. That's Heather's blood she's looking at. Now, Casey feels an undeniable emotion that's a close relative to fear, terror. She dials 911 and the operator answers, she tries to speak but her voice is in mute because of the terror she's currently in. The phone slides from her hand and hits the floor, she doesn't bother to pick it up. Knowing that she can't speak in her current state, she presses the panic button on the alarm system.