When I got to the park, I went to the drinking fountain and washed my hands and arms. I didn't want the police having any evidence that I was around either of them at all.
I sat at a bench for a few minutes trying to gather my thoughts. Who stabbed Ace? I still didn't know where Teddy was. What was gonna happen to me if the police did find out that I had to do with it? I started freaking out. I realized that I just needed to go home and sleep.
It was beyond late by the time I made it to the apartment complex. I climbed up the fire escape and through the window into my room. I tiptoed to the light switch and flipped it. My mother happened to be sitting on my bed. "Where have you been?" She asked in a calm, emotionless voice. "Just out." I said. It surprised me that she wasn't drunk. And that she actually noticed that I wasn't there. "Okay. And where's your brother?" She asked. "Mom, he's been gone for 3 days. How are you just now figuring out that he hasn't been here?"
"Please... Just answer my question. Do you know where he is?" She was getting frustrated. "I don't know." I said and looked to the floor. I couldn't just tell her about what had happened.
"Okay. Well, just go to bed. I'll call around and see if anyone's seen him in the morning." She said and turned out the light as she exited the room. Wow, she actually cared for once. I climbed into my bed, and looked over to the other side. No Teddy... No Chris. No one to talk to. I hated it. I hated not knowing where my brother was. I should've just let Chris come with me. No one would've gotten hurt. Or killed, I guess. It was clear to me that Ace was most likely dead from whoever that was that stabbed him.
After what seemed like hours, I finally drifted off into a deep sleep, until I startled awake from hearing my mom basically bust open the door. "Hey, I'm gonna call people and see if they know where Teddy is. Who should I call?" She asked. I sat up and wiped the sleep from my eyes. "Uh, Gordie's parents, I guess. I'm not sure who else." "What about that Chris kid, and Vern?" She asked. "I've already talked to Chris, and Vern basically hates Vern, so probably not." I said, and laughed a bit. "Okay." She said and was about to leave the room when I stopped her. "I'm gonna get ready to leave, okay?"
"That's fine." She said, and left the room. It was weird, how she was actually talking to me, not yelling. Not drinking. I liked this new version of mom. It was really nice.
I got dressed, ate a slice of toast, and headed out the door. I went to the treehouse. Gordie was there. "Hey Em, your mom called my house a while ago. Still no sign of Teddy?" He asked. I almost forgot that I had told him. "I can't find him, Chris can't find him, it's really weird." I said, and I wasn't about to tell him about what happened the night before.
"You got cigarette, man?" I asked him. He lit one up for me. I heard foot steps in the leaves coming towards the treehouse. Up the ladder and in the door came Chris. His cheeks turned red the second he realized that I was up there. "Hey, Em. Any luck finding Teddy?" He asked. "Not really." I said. "That's too bad." He took a drag from my cigarette. "Hey, get your own!" "Hey! I just want one drag!" He mocked me.
"Emily." I heard someone call out for me. It sounded somewhat familiar, but I wasn't sure. "You want me to go with you?" Chris asked. "No, I'll be fine." I said and hopped down from the treehouse.
As I got closer, I realized that it was Eyeball. I stood back a ways. "What the fuck do you want?" I asked. "I need to talk to you. Somewhere other than here." He said. "Well, that's not gonna happen. Your brother and Gordie are right over there in the treehouse." I said. "Please can we jus-" Chris and Gordie came up and stood in front of me. "Get the fuck out of here. Now." Chris said. "No." Eyeball said. "She deserves the truth." "Don't even start with me, Eyeball." Chris said. "What's he talking about?" I asked. "Nothing, Em. Come on, let's just go home." "No. I wanna hear what this asshole has to say. Come on, I wanna hear it, Eyeball."
"Chris is the one that stabbed Ace." He said, and ran away. I didn't believe it. I knew he was lying. I bet Eyeball himself was the one that stabbed him because he didn't want me to die. Secretly, Eyeball probably cared. It made be beyond mad that he would say a thing like that. He's gonna make it seem like Chris was the bad guy, not him.
"I'm gonna kill him." I said. "I'm going home." "Let me walk you." Chris said. "No. I just wanna walk alone right now. I'll talk to you later." I said, and cried all the way home. I just wanted my brother back. Was that so much to ask for?
My mom was already home when I got there. She could tell that I had been crying. "Emily, what's wrong?" She asked. "I just miss Teddy so much. I want him home now." "I know. I do too." She got up and gave me a hug. It was the first time she had hugged me in probably a year. It was nice.
A/N:
Hey! Hope you guys don't think that the whole stabbing thing was similar to the outsiders. That wasn't my goal lol I actually didn't realize that it seemed like that until I uploaded the chapter haha! But don't worry... no one's going to hide out at a church or anything like that lol. I WROTE THIS IN LIKE, LESS THAN 24 HOURS. I'M SO HAPPY! Okay bye lol
*Skin It and Stay Gold*
