disappearance | a novel

| one |

My alarm blared obnoxiously into my ear, making me cringe and jolt awake; 6:30 A.M. "Great," I said in a displeased tone, rolling my eyes. "Time to get up." I sat up and stretched my arms above my head, yawning loudly before standing up. I reached over and picked up my glasses from my nightstand and slid them up my face, squinting in order to adjust to the crisp objects I could see around my room.

I whistled nonchalantly as I walked into my bathroom, lazily applying toothpaste to my toothbrush and scrubbing at my teeth before flossing. I did a quick check in the mirror for any missed spots before giving a nod to my reflection and exiting the bathroom. Keeping in mind that it was a cold morning, I grabbed some fleece-lined leggings, some fuzzy socks, and my beat up high-tops. I put everything together before realizing that I was about to walk out with just a bra on. I chuckled to myself and picked up my dad's NYU jumper from my desk chair and threw it over my head to complete the ensemble, making the wise decision to leave my hair in the bun from the previous night. 

Gathering my papers and laptop from my bed, I organised my pack and threw it over one shoulder. Before leaving my bedroom, I remembered to get my phone, charger, and my earbuds. I skipped down the stairs and walked into the kitchen, making a stop at the coffee maker and putting together a cup of piping hot breakfast blend and snatching a fresh banana from the bunch. Doing a once-over of my person, I decided that I had everything I needed in order to make it to school in one piece. I removed my car keys from the dish in the mudroom, got into my car and situated myself, and backed out, speeding down the street in order to make it to class on time.

~

At around 10:30, I was in the library organising books, when I felt someone staring at me. I turned over my left shoulder, my eyes scanning the room for another person. I knew that Mrs. Taylor was out to an early lunch, so I should've been the one in the library. It appeared that way until my gaze met a dark figure standing in the very back corner of the room. 

"Hello...? Is anyone there?" It seemed like a stupid question to ask at the time, but I was curious. It was darker than usual in the library that day due to the deep-set storm clouds looming ominously above, so I had to squint in order to try and get a better look at the person who was watching me. When my eyes adjusted to the dim light and I no longer saw anything, I shook my head and returned to my previous task. As I worked, I felt as though I was still being watched, which was extremely intimidating, even though I hadn't seen anyone; I knew I was probably just tired. I had spent the entirety of the previous night working on my novel, which seemed to have taken its toll on my senses. For some reason, though, I couldn't shake the feeling that I wasn't alone.

Later that day when my school had just let out, I was checking my phone as I walked to my car when I looked up to notice someone staring into my driver's side window, peering in to see its contents. My eyes instantly shot wide open and I wanted to yell at the bastard to get the hell away from my car, but I sprinted to the nearest vehicle instead, hoping silently that he didn't see me. I watched him through the windows of my hiding spot, observing his every move. He was quite a large guy if I'm being honest. His arms pushed against the obviously thinning fabric of his shirt, putting his muscular build on display. I could see that he had an insane amount of strength rippling underneath his skin; I could almost feel the rage across the parking lot. He seemed upset, but I wasn't about to go and find out why.

Suddenly, I heard a voice behind me. "Chris, why are you hiding behind my car??" The sound of Brody's voice made me jump, scaring the living shit out of me. He laughed at me because I'm sure that I looked ridiculous just crouching there. I shushed him and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him down next to me so that the stranger didn't notice him or me.

After making sure that he hadn't seen us, I turned to Brody with an annoyed expression painted plainly on my face. "Shut up, Brody." I hissed, giving him a serious death glare. "If you must know, some guy was looking into my car window. I don't know why, but I think he's looking for something in particular. I'm just waiting to see if he'll try and break in."

Brody rolled his eyes at me and scoffed, making me crinkle my eyebrows in quizzical disbelief. "Shit, Chris, I'd rob you too if you weren't my best friend. You drive a Mercedes, for fuck's sake..." I hated to admit that he was right, but he was. The car was actually a 16th birthday present from my parents. Well, it was a 16th birthday present from my mom. She had moved to Italy when I was 13 and had come into a ton of money after eventually marrying the CEO of the Mercedes-Benz corporation. I missed her, but I couldn't complain. She and I wrote to each other once a month and talked on the phone frequently; we had become especially close, lately.

I shook the thought of my mother away and threw my hands up in surrender. "You're right, it's whatever. If he breaks my window, he breaks my window; no biggie. Now, pay attention. I need a witness." We both turned our attention toward my car to see if that guy was still there, but he had gone. Even weirder, my window wasn't even broken; there was a note on my window.

~

I pulled into the garage and shut the door, turning off my engine. I sat in my car silently for a couple of seconds, reaching across to the passenger's seat to take a look at the note that was stuck on my window.

Christina,

I hope this reaches you. I have a lot to speak with you about. I'll be seeing you around.

-Grey

I shook my head in confusion, wondering why a complete stranger would just show up at my car door and leave a note saying that they have "a lot to speak with me about". Shaking off the chills beginning to form on my arms, I grabbed my things and exited the car, going into the house. 

My dog Bailey came bounding across the room and straight into my legs, almost sending me to the floor. "Hey, Bailey," I said with a giggle, tousling her long hair between my fingers. She followed me loyally to the kitchen where I sat my bag on the island and went to the pantry in search of food. I rummaged around until I discovered some salty chips, and took them to the kitchen stool to eat. I connected my phone to the house-wide Bluetooth system and began to play some indie music softly while I scrolled aimlessly through my twitter feed.

When I got bored of everyone from school talking about Samantha McKinney's raging bonfire that would be occurring the following Saturday, I locked my phone and walked up the stairs, dragging my feet every step of the way to my room. I plopped myself down onto my bed, rolling my body around in the sheets until I was wrapped up comfortably. After a second or two, I started to think about everything that happened throughout the school day. "What a weird fucking day," I said to the empty room as I shook my head in dismay; everything seemed to be fucked up since my dad left on his latest business excursion to Philadelphia. 

My eyes grew heavier by the second until I carelessly fell asleep in my glasses and my sneakers. When I woke up from my nap, it had become dark outside, and I made the decision to settle down for the night. I got up from the warmth of my covers and stretched, walking down the hall to the panel on the wall that controlled the house's security system, lighting, etc. I locked the entire house down and changed the lighting from its daytime setting to its ambient evening setting and turned back around, whistling for Bailey to come upstairs while I took a shower.

She hopped up onto the bed as I grabbed a towel, shutting and locking my bedroom door behind her. I gave her a kiss on the forehead before flipping on the lights in the bathroom and turning the hot water on full blast. While the room started to become steamy, I stripped and brushed my hair before getting into the shower. The hot water hitting my back instantly began to undo the stress knots that had formed over the week, and I sunk into a blissful trance that seemed to be otherworldly as I washed my hair and body. Hell, I even shaved, which was extremely out of the ordinary.

When I was done, I got out of the shower and slipped into my robe, throwing my hair up messily into a towel. I wiped the condensation off of the mirror and brushed my teeth, flossing and checking for any missed spots or food afterward. I shut the door when I left and walked to my closet, stepping in to look for some pyjamas. I settled on a pair of my dad's old sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt and climbed into bed next to Bailey. She soothed me to sleep with her steady breathing, although while I was falling asleep, I still felt like someone was watching.

Hi, babes! How was it?? I know that this chapter wasn't terribly eventful, but this is just the beginning. I wanted to sort some details out, first and foremost. BUT, I will say, I got chills when I was writing this. Let me know what you thought by giving it a vote, leaving a comment, and telling your friends! I love you all endlessly .x