Girl With A Camera

Chapter 12: Stefan

I don't even know what set her off, and by the looks of it, this is the first time she has. I stood to go follow her and check if she is okay, but Christine grabs ahold of my shoulder.

"Don't go after her. She needs this right now."

"But, she is hurt..."

"And she will be fine. She's my girl and if I knew she wasn't going to be, I would've went after her. Besides, it is these emotions that give her the drive to make beautiful pictures. Just wait."

I took a deep breath and sighed. I didn't know if I should sit down, run after her, question her brother, or all three. It was pretty obvious she heavily resented her brother and whatever he did to her. I left the cafeteria, with my food still on the table, and headed towards the computer lab. I ducked my head into the room and saw that nobody was in there. I slipped into the the lab and power on a computer.

When I was about fourteen years old I discovered the Dark Web and used it for things like free video games and stuff, but eventually I found you can search people up on it. Lucky for me, I knew just what I needed to look for, or whom.

Search: Jacqueline Collins

Enter

I start going through her information when I come across her birth certificate. There were two under Jacqueline's father, Kitchi, and three under her mother, Jessica.

"So, Jordan is her half-brother." I mutter to myself.

I look at her father's records, which are completely clean, but he is a full-blood Blackfoot. How is it that he has such dark skin, and Jackie's is so delicately light. I go back and select her mother's and see that she was married twice and is going through papers for a third to the first guy. The first guy's name is Chris Jaxs, who looks just like Jordan. The second guy is Kitchi, but they were only married for 7 years, beginning a few months before Jacqueline was born, but ended right after her little sister was born. When her mom left, she went to go fight back for Jordan.

"Dear God."

I open a more recent file from Jessica's court cases, most DUI's, and see that it's another custody case. This one is over Jacqueline and her sister Peta. I quickly close all of the files and delete all of my search history, not the computer's, and shutdown the computer. I leave the computer lab and go to my car. I had to go talk to her. I had to stop her from doing anything crazy.

I go to my black Challenger and open the door. I see a teacher come out of the building and they spot me. I quickly get in my car and rev the engine to life and take off. The teacher, Mrs. Beckett, shakes her head at me as I pull out onto the street.

I switch my radio on to calm my nerves and Demons by Imagine Dragons blast through my speakers. I inhale the beauty the lyrics shape and show. My chest aches as I pass her driveway and I don't spot her car.

I drive to my place, a small apartment only five blocks from my mom's house. I turn on my laptop and search up more information about Jacqueline. Thank God she had an IPhone. I use her signal and Location to get her coordinates and send the link to my phone. I watch as her car is driving to the coast. I have to hurry because she is not taking the tourists route. She is going where the coast ends in cliffs and ridges. I never drove so fast in my life.

I call her phone which goes straight to voicemail.

"Jackie, I know you're upset but I need you to pick up the phone. Please."

My voice cracked as I hung up the phone and I crank the radio up even more. I watch the speedometer climb from 50 to 70 to 80. I finally catch up with her car, parked on a dead end. I run to the edge of the woods and stop and look at my clothes.

'They are just clothes!' I think and I run.

I feel the branches and leaves tug at my shirt and jeans, tearing holes in it I know I won't be able to repair.

"Jacqueline!" I shout. "Where are you?!"

The woods opened into a short clearing and I saw her sitting on the edge. Her legs dangled off the edge. The ran her fingers threw her hair and under her eyes. Tears fell off her cheeks. I ran to her but cut myself short to make her know I was there.

"Hey..."

She turned to see me and gasped.

"How did you know..."

"Don't leave your location on when you try to run off."

"You tracked me?! How?!" She looked partially amused and partially scared.

"Truth be told, I haven't been telling the truth about myself. I think you should know the truth."