The Bad Boy And The Nerd

Chapter 12

I shifted from one foot to the other as I stood on the porch. My heart was thumping and I knew that this had been a bad idea. The beautiful glass door with a gold handle stared back at me as I was deciding if I should knock or not.

A whole week has passed by since the incident at the Halloween party. We were able to clean the house before my mom got home from work and moved Hunter to my brothers bedroom floor.

Since that night Matt and I kept in touch, texting every once in a while. I barely saw him outside or at home since his car was always gone by the time I made it home from school.

Hunter started to come over everyday after football practice and started to spend every night in the guest room. He had mentioned briefly that his dad had come back home and I already knew that his dad wasn't someone you would want to be around.

After finding the note in the alleyway I tried not to read into it too much. I did my best to focus on my studies and keeping a social life but the note sat in my desk drawer waiting to be looked at again. I could only come up with a few theories of my own as to what the note would be referring to:

Hunter - we've gotten close to each other within the few weeks. He's been oddly nice to me one second and then mean the next. Is he playing me? Did he want Laura gone because she knows the truth?
Jessica - She hasn't bothered me ever since Laura went missing. Could she have something to do with her disappearance? Did Laura tell the truth and Jessica had a bad reaction to it?
Matt - It just so happened I run into Hunter's cousin at the Halloween store. Doesn't seem like much of a coincidence that he's the only person who saw Laura on Halloween night.
Laura - Is she even the one I chased in the alleyway?

Everyone in the town had created theories of where Laura could be, but I was creating my own list of everyone that could be the reason why she was missing.

The notes I have on this are in a notebook that I keep hidden under my mattress. I definitely don't need anyone finding it and asking why I'm accusing people I know.

I decided against the voice in my head telling me to turn around and go back home. I knocked twice and waited for someone to answer. When no one came I knocked two more times, but with more force. Within a few seconds the door opened and a middle aged woman appeared. She had a few wrinkles on her face and bags under her eyes. She looked like she hadn't slept properly in weeks.

"May I help you?" She questioned me with a small smile.

I shook my nerves away and gave a small smile back. "Hi, my names Chachi. I'm a friend of Laura's."

Her eyes lit up and she stood straighter at the sound of Laura's name. "Please come in," she said opening the door wider. I walked in and she closed the door behind me. "It's been a while since we've had a visitor. Not many people stop by anymore."

I looked around my surroundings and found everything to be packed away. Shelves were bare and glass tables were wrapped up. The only thing that didn't looked like it should be packed away were the couches.

"I apologize for the emptiness. We're holding off on moving for now.. Just until Laura comes back home. My names Lizzy, I'm Laura's mother."

It was no surprise that she was Laura's mother. They both shared similar facial features that would not have gone unnoticed by someone who had seen or met Laura. I initially came her with a plan to sit down with her mother and ask her questions, anything that could give me an idea as to where Laura would be.

After leaving the alleyway on Halloween night, I haven't been able to shake off an odd feeling. A feeling that Laura was watching over me in some odd twisted way. I wanted more than anything for her to be found so the worrying could end. Many people in our school have theories of her overdosing on drugs, running away with a group of guys, being killed by the biker men in our community and much more brutal and graphic deaths.