UNSEEN

TWELVE

I stand in front of the blue door with a golden knob for what feels like an eternity. This was it, my last resort. If I don't find anything here, I'll probably never know.

Hailey and I were never close, and I last saw her at Liv's funeral. So, I figure this is going to take all the social skills I have.

I press. The doorbell is one of those high pitched ones, the kind that reminds me of church. Instantly, I know I'm in for a treat.

The lady who opens the door looks a decade younger than my mother, her hair is glossy and her eyes are just like Hailey's. We've never officially met but she knows me.

"Reece? Hi, honey. How are you?"

I smile brightly, as I had intended to. "I've been well. Is Hailey there?"

She looks suddenly surprised. She knows I'm not friends with Hailey. And keeping in mind my reputation, she's glad.

"She's in her room. Why don't you come inside?"

She holds the door for me as I enter. Whenever I enter a room, I tend to notice the ceiling first. There's no real reason for it, just a reflex. There's nothing up there that could fall on my head, except for the ceiling itself. The rest of the house is pretty much like ours, barring the colourful walls and the fancy paintings on them.

"Reece?" Hailey stands at the bottom of the staircase. She looks as surprised as her mother. Nobody ever expects to see me. When they do, they're not pleased. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the way I'm treated but I can't hold back the smile that's spreading across my face.

I never realised this before, but looking at her now, I can say that Hailey is absolutely stunning. I remember Liv telling me she does palates. Her tan from their little trip is still visible.

Out of courtesy, she hugs me and I can't help but creepily take a sniff of her glossy blonde hair.

Hailey's dad is making breakfast and he's doing it wrong. Her mom is watching him, amused. Now, they're kissing. I wonder if this is what a happy marriage looks like. And as I realize it does, my smile fades away.

"Let's go upstairs." She says. I follow her until we're standing in front of a door that looks just like Liv's bedroom door. It's got inspiring quotes and pink, black, purple hearts all over it.

I twitch. I irk. I draw a deep breath and look at Hailey. I see a phoney, little bitch, desperately seeking the attention she never got while walking next to Liv. She's not attractive anymore. I could claw at her face. Then, I look at her neck and see the tattoo. The same one Liv had. The infinity.

I shut my eyes. No screw-ups. This is my only shot.

I'm not sure if Evan really did kill Liv, but he's done something wrong, or at least he plans to, and I need to know what.

"Come on in."

NO SCREW-UPS

Her room has a lot of things that once belonged to Liv, or things that are identical. Finding the pen drive wouldn't be easy. Got to shoot the dragon.

"How's your mom doing?"

"Her mother died day before."

I see horror run across her face. An awkward silence follows.

"Listen" I say. "The reason I came here, you were wondering, I'm sure," 

She nods her head.

"Did Liv leave something here? Nothing significant, but something she may have forgotten?"

She looks around, shakes her head and looks into some drawers.

"Nothing I know of. Even when the cops came, they didn't find anything. If they did, they took it with them."

Olivia Whitney hid things so well, people eventually forgot what they were looking for in the first place. But I can get into her head, just like she gets into mine. I know, for a fact, it's in here somewhere. It won't be hard.

I cough and pretend to clear my throat. Then, I cough again, so hard my eyes start to water. This was my way of getting out of school everyday.

"Are you okay?" she asks.

"Yes." I say in a grating voice.

"I'll get you some water."

"Heat it for a minute. That's what my doctor said."

"Sure." She pulls up her cargoes and leaves the room. I am alone.

I trot around, looking inside wadrobes and cabinets, under the mattress and behind bookshelves . Nothing. Where would Liv hide something that small?

I shut my eyes. I shut them to go back in time.

When we were kids, our toys weren't divided. We played with the same ones. I'd take my doll, shave her head and put her arm where her leg was supposed to be. Then, Liv would invite that doll over to the doll house and tell her other dolls not to make fun of her. It all worked out this way, until Liv's eighth birthday. Someone gifted her a coloured Barbie. Barbie. Coloured.

A barbie of another colour. She was gorgeous. Dark hair, brown skin, pretty, brown eyes. It was hard for me to take my eyes off of her.

I tried not to think about it, but the image of the doll with her legs in place of her arms kept flashing before me. She'd look wonderful.

It was Liv's present and I had no right to go after it like that. But, what belonged to her, belonged to me, right? It's not like I could help it. Bizarre things bring me pleasure. And things in wrong order calm me down. Chaos is my symphony. Everything that is not 'right' is exceptionally beautiful to my eyes, and I can't begin to describe what absurdity makes me feel. I wanted to make that Barbie more beautiful.

Liv knew I'd come for it, like I did for the rest of the toys. But this one wasn't like the rest of them and for the first time, Liv wanted her for herself.

We were in our room, pretending to be playing with other toys. I was trying to find the doll without getting noticed and she was trying to look like she wasn't noticing me. For hours, nobody moved. Nobody said a word. But Liv had a weak bladder, she had to go. She was confident I wouldn't find it. She didn't know I had, in fact, already found it.

The air vent was making more noise than usual. When she left, I looked through it. There she was, her skin glistening through the darkness of the shaft.

Hailey's room is bigger yet more congested.

I hear her footsteps coming upstairs. I find the vent under her study and quickly look in it. I see a tiny blue figure in the darkness. I put my index finger inside and pull it out. I quickly put it in my back pocket and get to me feet as she turns the door open.

She looks at me with one brow raised. "What are you doing?"

"dropped my phone." I say.

She hands me the glass of water. It's warm. Warm water is the grossest thing to have ever existed. I take a reluctant sip and put the glass .

"thanks. I should go now."

"But you just came."

"My mom just called. And you have your palates now,anyway. Right?"

She looks at me like I'm a maniac. I see how that could've come out creepily. Well, what's done is done.

I'm already out the door, down the stairs, thanking her mother.

As I close the blue door behind me, I hear Hailey say something.

"She's such a weirdo."