Black Into Gold // Demi Lovato // 3

10. Stakeout

Over the next few days, Demi seemed really upset by something every time she came back from somewhere.

On the fifth day, she came back with groceries and had tears in her eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked, hugging her.

"It's complicated," she said with a sigh. "Help me put this away and I'll explain." 

I started packing the fridge and freezer while she put things in cabinets while she talked.

"So... there's this girl I keep seeing walking around. She looks kinda young. Too young to be walking around LA alone, anyway." She shook her head, eyes closed. "I just... I'm worried. I don't know what it is."

She opened her eyes while I stared, unsure what to say.

"I feel like I have to help her. But I have no idea how."

I tossed some of the bags on the counter and pulled her into my arms again. "I'll help you figure it out. We can both go out tomorrow and try to spot her."

"And then what?"

"Try to talk to her?" I shrugged. "I've never been good with young people."

Demi rolled her eyes and picked up the rest of the bags. "Thanks for not judging me."

"Why would I judge you for something that's obviously important to you? I may not understand why, but then again, even you don't know why."

"True." She pulled a water from the fridge. She was taking a long drink, then suddenly stopped, nearly choking herself. "I totally forgot!" She set the uncapped bottle on the counter and ran up the steps.

"Wait!" I chased after her, but she didn't wait. She was sitting on the bed in our room, holding a small box.

"I found these and I forgot to tell you before." She held up the box, a small wooden jewelry box with a glass window on top. It showed a ring holder and three other compartments. The only thing in the box were two rings.

The rings she had gotten us for our first Christmas together. For our second, she got me a new makeup case since mine was beaten up from use and I got her a necklace with her name and birthstone in the shape of a heart at the end of the "i."

She lifted the lid and I pulled out my ring, knowing it was mine from a smudge of lipstick on it. I cleaned it off with a tissue. It had been so long since we'd worn them, and I couldn't even remember why or when we stopped. And how did she find them?

Like she read my mind, she told me she found them in my room and we had taken them off one night when we both showered at my house and had forgotten to put them back on. With everything that had happened after we got back together after our break, I wasn't surprised.

Demi slipped hers on and I followed suit. "I can't wait to get the real thing," Demi murmured, gazing at her ring while I made my way out of the room.

I glanced back at her in confusion, but kept going until I was back in the kitchen. Demi had been begging me to make cookies again.

~//~//~//~//~//~//~

The next day, we woke up early and dressed in casual outfits. We ate a small breakfast of two pancakes and some chocolate milk before grabbing our bags and phones.

Demi drove, showing me the main places she saw the girl. They were busy areas of LA, and Demi pointed out an alleyway she saw the girl come out of it go into a few times. She parked in front of it and we looked at each other.

"Well, wanna check it out?" I asked.

Demi licked her lips, swallowing, and nodded. I imagined her heart was pounding as we walked down the alley. Neither of us knew where it led, or what we might find. It seemed like a regular alley, not wide enough for cars though. There were trash cans and surprisingly, the alley was free of litter.

At the end, we found the backs of buildings and a parking lot. On the other side, we saw houses, but not nice ones. They were rundown, with peeling paint from the 1900s.

"People live here?" I asked. We crossed the parking lot which was dotted with potholes closer to the houses. My feet slipped under me on the loose gravel and Demi held on to me.

We came to a stop at the road, which looked older than the houses. It was basically a dirt road with small bits of gravel, mostly clustered in the middle and on the sides from all the traffic that passed.

"Yeah, this is one of the less-than-nice parts of this city," Demi said. I saw the unease in her eyes as she held onto my arm with both hands. "D-Do you think the girl lives in one of these houses? They look abandoned."

"I couldn't say," I said. I wished I had all the answers so we could find this girl and make sure she was safe.

"I can't believe we didn't see her today."

"It's only 11," I said, checking my phone. "We'll find her. Maybe she's in school?"

Demi shook her head. "She wasn't in school the rest of the week." She sighed and turned to go back. "Come on, let's wait in the car. Maybe she'll show up soon."

I couldn't help but think what a wild goose chase this was becoming. Part of me questioned if there really was a girl. Demi had her issues, but I doubted hallucinations were part of them.