A Heart Still

4 Missing

Friday morning hit and I was ready to go to school. Just on that day, mom had to go to work early, so I and Jake were walking to school.

“How are your grades, Jake?” I asked as we walked along the street. He groaned and shook his head.

“You’re starting to sound like mom, Becca.”

I gasped and stopped in my tracks. “Jacoby Stacey Grayson, you take that back right now!”

“Stop calling me Stacey, you know I hate that name!” He threw right back at me.

“Then stop comparing me to mom!” I yelled right back. Suddenly both of us stilled and we started laughing like two crazies right in the middle of the street.

We always liked to tease each other, but we knew we meant well, usually.

“C’mon egghead, let’s move or we’ll be late,” I said when we finally stopped laughing but Jake started jogging.

“Hey i***t, I ain’t running so slow down!” I called after him playfully and started walking but something on one of the street lamps caught my eye.

There was a flyer with a bright red title. I dragged my feet to the lamp and there it was.

‘Missing person

Claire Perrish, 18

Last seen on Monday,  April 14th

If you encounter her or have any information about her whereabouts, please contact Charlotte and Frank Perrish, 555 435 7829’

There was her photo right under the text. It was one of the photos I took in school. She was sitting on a desk in class, smiling from ear to ear. I remember she was laughing at my hair that day and I was acting like I was mad after, which I wasn’t. Claire was the kind of person you could not be mad at for long.

I stared at the flyer and tears started to well up in my eyes. I guess I was still holding onto some hope that she went to the next town with someone and would be back in a few days.

She was a little free-spirited but usually let people know about what she was doing, this was not that case.

Staring at the poster, I began to realize my best friend was officially missing.

“What are you doing Becca, let's go,” Jake called, dragging his feet slowly back to me, but I didn’t move.

He stood behind me and read what the flyer said. “Wait, is that Claire?”

“Yeah” I slowly nodded, my eyes still fixed on the photo.

Jake turned me around, wrapping his arms around me. “I’m so sorry Bee.” He said, calling me by my nickname.

He rarely called me that and it always melted my heart but right now I wasn’t fully focused on what was happening around me.

“Hey, why don’t we go home hmm? I’m sure you are not feeling like going to school right now.”

I let go of him, taking a step back. “You’re right, I’m staying home today, but you need to go.”

He threw me a doubtful look but I forced a smile his way. I’m sure he saw right through me but complied.

“Alright, but I’ll be back right after school, OK?”

I just nodded and waved him goodbye, dragging my feet back to my house.

Jake was right, I didn’t want to go to school. I was sure people would be talking about it and I was not ready to listen to them.

I threw the backpack with my things back on the chair in my room and threw myself on the bed.

What should I do? I couldn’t help all the scenarios going on in my head all at the same time and all with a terrible ending.

I needed to distract myself. I took my headphones and played the first song I saw.

The old rock-and-roll song started to play through the earphones and I hugged my knees to my chest, lying on the bed.

I managed to actually fall asleep after about an hour but after I woke up I had no idea what to do.

The day felt like it lasted an eternity. I tried reading a book, cooking and baking but nothing could ease my mind. At least not completely.

It was three-thirty when the sound of the door was heard and Jake came back.

I could tell it was him by the sound of his feet. He was clumsy and lumpish so his feet made a lot of noise when he went up the stairs.

He opened the door to my room and walked over to me, taking the book from my hands.

I finally looked up at him and he smiled warmly down at me, sitting on the bed.

“Hey, how are you?”

“Great,” I said sarcastically. “Were they talking about her?”

He looked like he didn’t want to tell me at first but gave in, nodding his head.

“Who?” I asked, curious to find out.

“Pretty much everyone,” Jake mumbled, his eyes fixed on my face as he waited for my reaction.

I just nodded, looking in my lap.

“Get up,” Jake called and started dragging me from my bed. I didn’t want to go anywhere, but he was quite clear about his intentions when he started pulling at my legs.

“No, I don’t wanna. Where are you taking me?” I cried, clutching the sheets in my hands.

“We are going to the park for a few rounds, it will stop you from overthinking and you can’t sit here, all alone. Also…” he dragged away. “I need to train. And you promised me today’s afternoon anyway.”

I groaned when he managed to pull me to the ground and I finally gave up, standing up on my own feet.

“Fine, but just a few, I want to come back home soon.”

He grinned at me and rushed me out of the house. After he grabbed his basketball, we headed to the playground at the end of our block.

We loved that playground as kids and it had a basketball area, so Jake often went to train there.

My clumsy little brother was dead set on getting to our basketball team and becoming a basketball player. He was technically in the team, but he was always sitting on the bench or cleaning after the other players.

The thing was, he was horrible. Even I was better than him and I was bad myself, but you couldn’t tell him that.

We tried to get him to realize this wasn’t something for him, but he wouldn’t listen. I made my peace with helping him with his training from time to time and thought about it as spending time with my little bro, so it wouldn’t be a total loss of my time.

We came to the playground and he started dribbling with the ball, trying to go around me but I took a step to the side, making him drop the ball.

I had no idea how he didn’t see how bad he was, but I admired that he never gave up.

He quickly picked up the ball and started dribbling again. “That doesn’t count Becca, you startled me.”

“Sure.” I rolled my eyes, crouching a little to take the ball from him.

He made a move to go around me again and I let him this time. He straightened with the ball in his hands and threw it, but it hit the hoop and fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Jake ran to take the ball again without saying anything. He was running after the ball more than playing with it and I regretted we didn’t have a soccer team.

“I think they might let me play during the match next week.” He said suddenly after he missed the hoop again. I looked at the ball bouncing away and then back at him with a raised eyebrow.

“You sure about that Jake?”

He smiled and dribbled with the ball again. “I think so.”

He tried to throw it and actually made the shot this time. “Hey, did you see that?” He asked, so excitedly and I had to smile at him.

“Yeah, great shot,” I told him, glad to see him this happy. I couldn’t be this happy at the moment.

He smiled at me and his eyes softened.

“You thinking about Claire, Bee?” I nodded and he dropped the ball, standing in front of me.

“I’m sure she’s fine and will show up in a couple of days.”

I nodded, hoping he was right.

“Hey, it’s getting dark. Why don’t you go home and take a hot bath or something? I’m going to stick around for a bit longer.”

I nodded again and waved him goodbye, heading back home. I could hear him cursing as he missed again before I left the playground.

The street seemed longer than it usually did when I went home, but I wasn’t really in a hurry.

Suddenly, I could hear the sound of things breaking and maybe glass shattering? I looked to my right and stared at the house it was coming from.

Of course, the old creepy house Mr Harris was living in.

I could hear him yelling at someone from the place I stood at and chills ran up my spine at hearing more things breaking.

My feet were glued to the ground. I knew I shouldn’t be listening to other people’s business but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the windows. After a moment, all the yelling and movement behind the curtains seemed to calm down and the front door opened.

Harris walked out with a bag of something in his hand and stopped at seeing me standing there.

“What are you looking at Grayson?” He asked in an irritated voice and walked over to me, throwing the bag in the dumpster along the way.

I started to panic a bit. What do I say? I was stalking you? Yeah, right, that would work.

“I was just going home. I live down the street.”

He glanced in the direction I was pointing in before he fixed his eyes back on me. I could see he was angry, but it wasn’t like I did anything.

“So, why aren’t you walking?”

I just stared at him and saw the bruise on his face was getting bigger and slowly turning green. My eyes travelled down and he had a cut on his neck. It wasn’t deep, but there was blood around it and on his shirt.

“Wait, are you bleeding?” I reached out my hand to touch him but he caught my wrist in his hand, glaring down at me.

“None of your business Grayson.”

“I just wanted to help Harris.” I mocked, snatching my hand back from his strong grip.

“What happened?” I asked in a low voice.

He frowned at me and I could see he wasn’t mad anymore, well at least not at me.

He sighed, sitting down on the curb. “Nothing.”

I sat down next to him and wanted to ask again, but he didn’t let me. He opened his mouth and asked.

“You are friends with Claire, right?”

My expression had to show my emotions because his green eyes softened a bit when he looked down at me.

“Sorry. I didn’t want to bring it up, I was just curious.” He looked sad talking about it as well. He reached his hand up to scratch his neck, but forgot about the cut and hissed when he touched it.

I stood up and taking tissue out of my pocket, I kneeled in front of him.

“Let me.” Surprisingly, he let me take his hand and I wiped the blood off of his palm before wiping his neck as well.

“It’s not that bad, but clean it when you get back inside.”

“Sure thing Doctor Grayson.” He said, making me chuckle when I sat back on the curb.

“Always happy to help Mr Harris.”

“Ethan.” He mumbled and looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

He sighed, not looking me in the eye. “I’m Ethan.”

I wanted to say something, but some shuffling was heard from the house again and he quickly stood up, dusting himself off.

“I need to go, bye Grayson.”

I couldn’t really register what happened before he was gone and I was left sitting alone on the curb in front of his house mumbling a quiet ‘bye Ethan’ all to myself.