Diaries of the Dead

10 | Lack of Sympathy

10 | L a c k O f S y m p a t h y

Aiden scrambled out of bed and collapsed to the floor. His breath was frozen in his lungs as his heart began to hammer painfully. He slowly stood on his knees and peered over the bed.

Sure enough, the diary was still there.

He shuddered and placed his back against the bed. He was dreaming. He had to be. He remembered tearing out the pages and throwing them away but the diary was still here.

As he thought over the possibilities, he heard a ruffling of papers. He looked over the bed once more and saw that the diary had opened. With curiosity flooding his mind, he grabbed the leather journal and began to read the page that it was turned to.

Dear Reader,

Dad and Mom split up. Turns out all those times that Mom came home late, she wasn't working. I expected this. Dad kicked her out. I really wish he hadn't, considering that he's never home and I'll be alone. But I'm kinda glad he did. Maybe Mom can finally be happy.

But the good news this time is...Gray and I are dating! He took me to a fancy restaraunt and we talked all night before he finally asked me to be his girlfriend. I think I'm happy about it, but knowing that he has sex with minors is a major turn off. But, I really like him and this can be overlooked. Especially since he says it's something he has to do. I don't understand why it is so important but I'm going to support him in every decision he makes because I'd hate to end up like those other girls.

Aiden groaned. He knew there was something off about Mitch. His charming good looks and rich wardrobe were guaranteed to make girls drool over him. Besides, any naïve teenage girl would love to brag about having an older boyfriend so it seemed plausible.

He snapped the journal shut and threw it on the bed. Once again, he had gotten himself involved. He wanted to know what happened to Jessica just as much as she did. But she was interfering with his life and his main focus was not on his novel anymore.

He rubbed his throbbing temples and began to pace around his bedroom. He had no idea how to get Jessica back. Did he have to call her name? Did he have to get an Ouija board and call her forth? "Jessica," he said softly, "I need you. I'll help you figure out who killed you and I even have evidence. I know where we can start looking. Just come back."

His shoulders fell and he fell back onto his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling fan.

* * * *

Vanessa had slept in later than she had intended, and now she was in a rush. She exited her apartment and descended the flight of stairs, rushing to her car. She would be late, once again, and Grace would scold her. It was a routine, one that she knew all too well.

When she got to the diner, she headed towards the familiar back room. Moving past her coworkers, she muttered a quick 'hello' before sliding off her jacket and hanging it on the coat rack.

She huffed a sigh and tilted her head forward, tying her blonde hair back. She pushed back any stray hairs and dumped her purse in her locker. As she was about to shut her locker, she caught a glimpse at the picture of a little girl taped on the inside of her locker.

She smiled just as Grace called out, "Vanessa, table five."

"Sure thing," she responded and grabbed her notepad. As she approached table five, she sent a grin to a familiar curly haired man. The wide-rimmed glasses that he rarely wore sat on the tip of his nose as he stared at the open pages of his book. "Hello Nate." She pulled out her pen, clicked it and began to write on her notepad. "What would you like?"