One By One (editing)

Chapter Five

Edited by EDIT0RR

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I tossed and turned in my bed, not willing to believe that Sam had just vanished. I had heard my parents come home about an hour ago and Natalie close the door to the guest room. No matter how hard I tried or how many sheep I counted, I just couldn't fall asleep. I was so used to hearing Sam's soft breathing accompanied with the occasional snore fill the room. Now it was just complete silence.

I swung my feet over the side and tiptoed out into the hallway, stepping over the part that squeaked. Standing in front of Luke's door, I knocked quietly. I was afraid the small sound would echo and somebody would hear it. The house was eerily quiet, even at this late at night. When Luke didn't answer I just walked in. I could hear his sheets ruffle as he sat up.

"It's just me," I whispered.

"Hey. You can't sleep either?"

I shook my head and remembered that we were in the dark. "No. It's weird not having her there. When she's away for camp or a sleepover it's different because I know she's coming back. But this time, it's just, different." I folded my arms across my pajama t-shirt.

"You wanna sleep in here?"

"Yeah." It barely came out as a whisper. I shuffled over to the bed and slid under the covers. Luke's body radiated heat like a furnace and I used it to replace the cold feeling I had in the pit of my stomach.

"Luke?"

"Yeah?" His voice was rough and sleepy.

"I'm scared," I admitted. I was usually never scared. Even if I was I never usually admitted it. But this time was different and I felt like I needed to say it.

"So am I."

"Nicole said she vanished. How could she just vanish?" I wondered out loud. "Did she run away? Was she kidnapped? Do you think we'll ever see her again?" It all jumbled out like word vomit and I felt my mind wander as I jumped to all of the different possibilities.

"I don't know," Luke murmured.

"What if she ran away and doesn't want to come back? Luke, what if she was killed and all we're doing is laying in this bed thinking about it?" A huge lump formed in the back of my throat.

"Carter there's not much we can do right now."

"But if she's getting raped, or - or, she's hurt. What if she's made a mistake and wants to come back?" I sat up.

"Luke," my voice broke. "What if Sam doesn't ever come back?" A few tears spilled over and tumbled down my cheek. I sniffed and Luke sat up too.

"What if we don't ever see her again?" The dam broke and I full-out bawled. Tears raced down my cheeks, blurring my vision and giving me a headache. Luke's arms wrapped around me and secured me in a bear hug. His warmth enveloped me and as safe as I felt in his arms, I couldn't help but feeling an unbelievable amount of paranoia and fear that gnawed me from the inside, out.

"Let's just pray we do." Luke's voice was muffled against my hair.

After my crying died down to puffy eyes and a dripping nose, we laid down, not saying a word. At this point, there was nothing to say but only hope. Before I knew it, I surrendered to the utter exhaustion weighing on my eyelids and fell into a deep sleep.

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I could only watch from a distance. I knew what was going to happen, but she didn't. She couldn't even see me. I watched as Sam fixed her ponytail and adjusted the basketball bag on her shoulder. She looked down at her phone again before bringing it up to her ear to call somebody. Whoever she called didn't answer. She was all alone in front of the school building, all the rest of the players gone. The coaches staying after the game were still inside, but other than that Sam was alone. All I could do was watch.