Where is Louise Bauman? + Original, Book 1 ✔

27

- guilty conscience; Tate McRae -

By Monday morning, things were different in Walden. Cops were on patrol more than usual, watching everyone's every move. Everyone talked per usual, but it wasn't as obvious as it usually was. Nobody talked the way they usually did, nobody was in a happy mood. Everyone was thrown off because of what happened Saturday night at the homecoming dance, and nobody knew when something else was going to happen.

"Think school's going to be just as different?" Ren asked, watching as cops littered the streets more than usual. He glanced over at Charlie, who'd stared at the worn-out diary in her lap. She'd had it for over twenty-four hours but had yet to open it and start reading it.

"Charls," He said, trying to get her attention. "You good?" He asked, reaching over the center console and grabbing her hand.

The blonde looked up, clearing her throat as she nodded. "Uh, yeah. It's just - there's going to be a lot in here. I don't know if I'm ready to read it - or if I even should, you know? What if there's nothing in here?" She asked, biting the inside of her lip. "I know I was saying all of those things before but now that I actually have it, I feel like I'm invading her privacy."

"I'm not going to lie to you, you are." Ren let out a sigh, "But Charlie-" He stopped, pulling up to a red light. "This is all we really got right now. We're stumped on what else to do. Talking to people didn't get us anywhere, we lost everyone in our group except for Michael. I hate the idea of looking through her private thoughts but what if there's something really important in there and we're missing it because we don't look?"

Charlie sighed, looking out of the window. She knew Ren had a point, she made those exact same points when she was trying to convince him before. It was as if they had switched sides, and she was the one not wanting to do it and he was. It just felt different now, and she didn't know how to explain it and didn't think he'd understand.

"I guess you're right. But I definitely don't want to read the whole thing. Maybe if I just skip through till the end, and if I don't see anything interesting or worth it then I'll stop. Then I won't be invading her privacy too much." Charlie pulled her hand away from Ren's, grabbing onto the diary. Ren rested his hand on her thigh instead of pulling it away, but instead of saying anything to the boy Charlie just focused on the book.

She slowly opened the book, flipping through the pages quickly without reading through them. When she got to the very last page, her eyebrows knit together at the very last entry.

Dear Diary,

I think I'm being followed.

"Holy shit," Charlie spoke as she sat up straight. "Renny, there's something in here."

"Seriously?" He asked, pulling into the school parking lot. It didn't take long for Ren to find a decent parking space, one that was close to his usual one, and once he parked he leaned across the middle. Charlie held the diary out so he could get a good look. "Oh my God." His eyes widened, the messy handwriting horrifying to both of them.

"What are we supposed to do with this, Renny?" Charlie asked, her voice shaky as she looked at the boy. "This- this is something."

"It definitely is." He swallowed with a nod. "Do you- you think there's more before that?"

"There's only one way to find out." Charlie slowly flipped the page backward, taking a deep breath as she bit her lip.

They began to read the entry, but Charlie immediately closed it when it just began to talk about something personal and realized it was stuff that they didn't need to know. Charlie shoved the diary back into her bag, silence creeping between the two of them.