"Maybe you should rest." Xavier watched from my bed as I paced the length of my bedroom, holding the last note I found of Addison's. He arrived a couple of minutes after I came home and I just pretended like I didn't see him with that man, which I'm too afraid to bring up right now.
"I'm not resting. I need to figure out where to go. The only clue she left was 'your favourite toy'." My eyes caught sight of the picture of Mum, Addy and I. In the picture, I was holding my little stuffed teddy bear. The one that I broke my arm for. But what could that have to do with a cafe?
"Look, we will find her eventually. Just rest before you pass out from sleep deprivation." Xavier tried reasoning.
"It's not like I haven't slept, Xavier." I rolled my eyes.
"It looks like you haven't, stress does not look good on you. Have you tried messaging her again?"
"Of course I have!" Raising my voice a little too high. "She won't reply. She probably got rid of her phone or something. Do you know the names of any cafes around here?"
"Nope. I'm not really a cafe type person." I didn't even feel like continuing this stupidly useless conversation. Also the fact that I was avoiding my phone all together. What if I had another message from the untraceable number. "Well, call me when you find something." He stood up.
"You're not going to help?"
"It's not my best friend we're looking for." He stood in my doorway, wearing his leather jacket. "Plus, I wouldn't like it if people were snooping around in my stuff." Raising his eyebrows at me.
Shit. He knows I was there. Well, I wasn't the most unnoticeable. "Well, I'm not snooping around in your stuff." I tried playing off, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Then what were you doing this afternoon?" A smirk threatened to cross his face.
"Cloud... Gazing..."
"You're not good at lying to people, you know that right."
"Wrong. I'm just not good at lying to you."
"Well it's not hard for you to tell the truth, is it." The smirk grew. Bastard. "Try not following me next time."
"I wasn't even following you! I just simply went outside to get some fresh air and bam! There you were." If I yell any louder the neighbours might hear. "Who was he anyway? An Uncle?"
"You could say that." He avoided my gaze, looking everywhere but my face. "Just don't stress yourself out so much. We'll find her eventually, but until then, have a day where you don't have to worry about your angsty and rebellious friend." And with that he strolled down the hall towards the stairs.
"She's not angsty!" I yelled after him. He probably ignored me. I don't get what his problem is, but I need to focus on mine right now.
Walking down the hall, I stopped in front of one of the closets. I pulled out old photo albums that had pictures of me as a baby and my parents wedding day. I sunk to the floor and let the memories surround me, like a tight hug. Mum always liked to capture the moment. Pictures of me with food around my mouth and pictures of mum and dad dancing brought a smile to my face. I haven't seen dad that happy since.
One picture stood out to me though. It was when I was five and my parents took me to the zoo. I was holding onto Bear with all my strength as dad and I stood next to a real life bear (There was a fence, obviously.) I looked so happy, and dad looked like he was worried I was going to jump in the pen with it. I remember that day vividly.
"Having fun there?" I jumped as Patrick loomed over me.
"How did you get in?" I took deep breaths to calm myself.
"I used the spare key. I kept knocking but no one answered." He explained, taking a seat next to me.
"What if I wasn't home?"
"Then I would've found out." Couldn't help but laugh. I hope he never gets caught trying to break into my house. We sat in silence for a short period of time as we just stared at the hundreds of pictures around us. "You were a cute kid." Patrick broke the silence with his whisper. I chose not to say anything back, but I couldn't help the smile grow across my face.
"Are you hungry?"
"Yeah. Wanna go get something from downtown?" I nodded and Patrick helped me pack up my memories and store them away for another couple of years before they will be opened again.
«---»
We stopped in front of a shop that had a black and white exterior and beautiful green plants surrounding the front. There was no bell when the door was pushed open by Patrick and instead of going straight to ordering, we picked our seats in a black booth and waited for a waitress.
"What's this place called again?" I asked, looking at the menu. Grilled cheese sounds really good right now.
"Three Little Bears." Something clicked in my brain, but I ignored it because my hunger was taking over. A waitress came over and took our orders but whilst writing it down, she started yelling the orders to the chefs out back.
"Aye, Mrs B, we need a grilled cheese. Stat!" Mrs B. That's when it clicked. Three Little Bears. I liked- actually adored-bears growing up. This is where I'm suppose to be. The waitress walked back towards the counter as a warm hand enveloped my own.
"You ok Sash?" Patrick's worried eyes looked through to my soul. He seems to always look at me like that, recently anyway.
"Yeah, um, I'll be back." I slid out of the booth and walked over to the counter. The waitress was standing with a peace of gum twirled around her finger. "Um, can I please talk to Mrs. B?"
"Why?" She asked flatly.
"It's really important. Like, really." The girl rolled her eyes before yelling into the kitchen. Out came a woman in at least her late thirties, maybe early forties, wearing the same apron as the waitress. Her brown hair was tied back into a bun and her lips were curved down at the sight of me. Or maybe it was her co worker.
"Somebody wanted me?" Her voice was so melodic.
"I did. I'm Sasha Grace. Did you happen to know a Addison Emerson?" At the mention of mine and Addy's name, Mrs. B's frown deepened and her eyes held an unrecognisable emotion. She gestured for me to follow her, leading me to a booth all the way at the back of the cafe.
"You're Addison's best friend?" I nodded slowly, remaining eye contact.
"Why would she send me here? How do you know Addison?"
"I met Addison a couple of months, maybe a year, ago. It was her father I was more familiar with." Her eyes went distant as she looked out the window as the sun was setting.
"What do you mean?" What she said next was something I wasn't expecting.
"We used to be in love."
«---»
YOU ARE READING
Vanish: Sasha
Mystery / Thriller2 Girls. 1 Missing. Life was easy for Sasha Grace. She had a father that treasured her and friends that stood by her side through everything. But one night when her best friend Addison Emerson goes missing, she realises everything wasn't as perfect...
