The Vanishing

Chapter 13

We left the school in Morghan's car. I was feeling really nervous, especially now that we were so close to my old house.

We spent the lengthy car ride talking about everything but our plan, much to my relief.

"I know we've been avoiding the subject, but what the hell are we going to say when we get there?" Morghan asked.

So much for blissful avoidance.

"I'll tell them that I used to live there, and that I'm looking for an old book." I said.

"And if no one's home?" Nina asked.

"Improvise?" Morghan asked as we pulled into the driveway.

My childhood home came into view, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

It was a small, cottage-style home. It was warm and inviting, even from the outside. As we got out of the car, I admired the little stone house before us. The small garden off of the front porch still smelled like lavender and rosemary, and I felt calmer than I had in weeks.

"The lights are off." Morghan said.

"I guess no one is home?" I shrugged.

Walking up to the door, I pulled my old key from my pocket and inserted it into the lock, smiling a little when it opened.

Before I could grab the knob to open the door further, Nina sucked in air and hit my hand so fast I didn't even register it was happening.

"Are you crazy?!" She demanded.

"Have you met me?" I asked.

"I'll keep a lookout." Morghan said.

There you have it. Me: the chaotic one, Nina: the voice of reason, and Morghan: the enabler.

The inside of my old home smelled like roses and honey, and I felt right at home.

I ran my hand across the small tan-coloured couch and walked into the kitchen. It looked exactly the same, but with new photos of a charming couple in picture frames on the walls and new cookbooks lining the countertops.

Nina stomped into the room. "Stop raiding the kitchen and look for whatever it is that you came for."

"I wasn't raiding the kitchen." I laughed as I went back into the living room and tried to rifle through the couple's things without disturbing their original placement too much.

After giving up in the living room, we decided to try the attic.

After searching through various boxes of junk and breathing in way too much dust, I found a box marked Previous Owners.

Using my key as a knife, I opened the box quickly, taking in the contents with a gasp.

"So that's where my skateboard went." I remarked.

"You can skateboard?" Nina asked.

"Not well, but yes." I replied, rifling through the box.

I found unmarked letters, photos, and the book.

I leafed through photos of a woman I didn't know, coming across a photo of her and a man with a familiar face. A thought popped into my brain about who the man might be but I shoved it away.

Nina peered over my shoulder.

"Wow, you look just like them. That guy looks familiar..." She said, looking wistfully at the picture for a moment.

"Is this all you were looking for? We should get out of here before whoever lives here gets back." Nina said.

"You're right." I said as I closed up the box and hastily made my way out of the house with Nina following close behind.