Another Dark Day,

Chapter Seven

I jumped up from the couch and quickly ran to the window. Melissa's car was half way out the driveway and when the coast was clear, she pulled out and disappeared down the street. I had no way of following her and was contemplating what to do next. I walked backwards and forwards, rubbing my temples, trying to think of a way I could look into her suspicious behaviour whilst she was gone. Then, it came to me. I could search Tom and Melissa's bedroom. Since I'd arrived there was one rule I absolutely had to abide by, do not go into their room. I didn't question this at the time, considering it was probably for privacy reasons, as they didn't know me and I don't know them. Which is fair enough, but now when I thought about it-it came across as something I should investigate. I made my way up the staircase, down the hall and past my room to the last room on the left. Tom and Melissa's room. I paused out the front of the door. 'What was I thinking?' I thought to myself. 'You aren't some kind of FBI agent, you shouldn't be doing this.' Then a voice whispered, 'What if this explains Lacey's disappearance and Tom's mysterious hospital incident?' And that's when I knew I had to do something. It was all up to me. I opened the door and was shocked by the cleanliness of their room. Melissa, a lot like me, was a freak when it came to keeping things in order. My room, was a lot like this, except no where near as organised. The room seemed to stretch endlessly from one side to the other and as I looked up at the ceiling I saw a sunroof. 'That's so not fair' I thought. And tried not to distract myself. I looked around and searched for something that stood out to me, something that was obvious. But couldn't find anything. Melissa definitely knew how to keep secrets hidden, so instead of using that approach; I used the opposite. I went around to the right side of the bed where Melissa slept and had a look through her chest of draws. Nothing. I was beginning to grow impatient and sat on the bed banging my feet against the edge of it. 'Ouch!' I said. Then covered my mouth forgetting no-one else was home. 'Oops.' I then got on the floor and looked under the bed, there I saw a a small wooden box. I pulled it out and inspected it. The wood was beautifully engraved with swirls that looked like the beginning of a tree, but when I turned it over I realised it was locked. 'Damn it.' I said again. I knew I'd been up here a while, probably a hour or so and suspected Melissa would be home soon. So I had to act fast. I grabbed a torch from the side of the bed and banged it on the lock, then banged it again and again. Eventually the lock broke free and I was able to open the box. I peered inside and there I saw a journal, on the front was a name. Lacey Smith.