Gone (Gone #1)

by Claflin, Stacy

  When she entered the kitchen, she saw two places set at the table. Her fake dad had his back to her, cooking something over the stove. She stood still, not wanting to alert him to her presence. She looked around the room, hoping to find a way of escape. Not that she expected to get away just yet—all she wanted was to eat, anyway. She would attempt to get away later, perhaps while he slept.

  Finally, unable to take the smell of the food, she cleared her throat. He turned around. "Oh, good. You're all cleaned up. You must be starving. Sit down and eat. Tomorrow's a big day."

  Macy raised an eyebrow. What did that mean? She didn't intend to stick around and find out. She would go along with him for the time being, but at night she could find a way to escape. Then she would never have to know what else was up his sleeve.

  He laughed. "Don't seem so surprised, Heather. We need to get you ready to see your grandparents again. Sit and eat. I know you're hungry." He turned back to the stove.

  She stared at the food on the table, the smells tempting her. Finally she walked to the table. As she pulled the chair out, her mouth watered enough that she had to swallow it to keep it from escaping.

  Sitting, she stared at the pasta, the fruit salad, and the cornbread. She was so hungry that she wasn't even going to question what was in it. She'd already broken her vegan diet, who cared if the bread had milk or butter in it?

  Piling the food on her plate, her hands shook from hunger. She stared at the full plate for a moment before picking up the fork.

  Then she dug in, barely stopping to breathe as she emptied the plate. When she was done, she was surprised to see him sitting at the table, also eating.

  He smiled at her. "So good to see you eating again, Heather. Have some more. I made it for you."

  She held her face still. Would she get used to being called Heather? Now that she finally had some food, she wasn't going to complain.

  "Tomorrow's a big day since you haven't seen your grandparents in so long. It's getting dark, so we'll get ready for bed soon."

  Macy's heart skipped a beat. What did he mean by getting ready for bed? This nightmare wasn't going to get even worse, was it?

  He set his glass down, and smiled again. "In case you forgot, my room is next to yours. So if you need anything tonight, that's where I'll be."

  She let out a sigh of relief. It was bad enough that he was trying to convince her that she was his daughter, but at least that was all it was. At least he wasn't trying to make her into a wife.

  "I'm not used to you being so quiet. Hopefully after a good night's sleep, we'll be able to pick up where we left off." He went back to eating.

  Pick up from where? What had happened to the real Heather? Macy took the glass in front of her and drank it down. She looked at the food sitting on the table, but didn't dare take more, even though she could have eaten it all. Her stomach had been empty, so she had to take it easy or she would throw up, and he would make her clean it up again.

  "Are you full?"

  She nodded.

  "You want dessert? I can save it for tomorrow. I know how much you like cold pie for breakfast."

  Cold pie for breakfast? That sounded weird, but also good. She shrugged her shoulders. Then she went back to the bathroom, with her mind racing. As she brushed her teeth, ignoring the fact that the toothbrush was obviously not new, she decided to stay awake as long as possible. She would make her escape after he went to bed.

  Communication

  Chad entered the bedroom, relieved to see Alyssa sleeping. He hadn't wanted to deal with her any more than he had to. The looks she shot him while they spoke with the cops told him that she blamed him for all of this. It wasn't his fault Macy had run off with that kid. He didn't tell her to do that. In fact, he had set up the rules to avoid exactly this.

  He didn't buy the story the cops were trying to sell them. He'd been studying her online profiles, and Macy's latest status update was nothing more than her flipping the bird at him in front of the whole world, especially since the post was public. She was saying loud and clear that she wouldn't be controlled. At least that's what he hoped. He couldn't bring himself to think about the alternative.

  Reading through the comments on her post, it looked like a lot of her friends agreed with him. They were begging her to come back, and some kids were even apologizing for making fun of her at school. Everyone but the police and his family thought she was off having fun, and probably checking her account to see everyone's reactions.

  Chad sat down next to Alyssa and picked up one of the photo albums. It opened to a page full of pictures of a camping trip they'd taken when the kids were younger. They all looked so happy roasting marshmallows. There was even a picture of him kissing Alyssa. A smile crept across his face as he remembered Macy snatching the camera and taking the picture, giggling and teasing them.

  He set the scrapbook down and ran his fingers over Alyssa's hair. What had happened to them? They had been high school sweethearts, and each other's first love. Neither one had ever even gone on a date with anyone else. Maybe that was the problem. They knew each other too well. There was no more mystery or magic.

  Only laundry and errands.

  Chad had thought that would improve once Alyssa stopped working. Instead, the house was no cleaner, and they argued more. Apparently, not working only magnified the fact that he was so busy. It gave her more time to fret and fuss about them not spending as much time together as they used to.

  Didn't she understand that it wouldn't last forever? Once he made enough with his blog to support the family, he would be able to quit his job. He could work on his blog at night and they could have the days to spend together. Or he could work during the day, and they could have long romantic evenings like they used to.

  Alyssa stirred in her sleep. He brushed some hair away from her face. Her eyes opened and a look of surprise covered her face—but he saw none of her usual disdain.

  "Shh." He moved some of her hair behind her ear. Looking at her ear, he remembered how much he used to love nibbling on it and making her giggle. He ran a finger along it. He looked back to her face, surprised to see her looking directly into his eyes.

  "What are we going to do, Chad?" Tears shone in her eyes.

  His heart nearly leapt out of his chest. He felt like he was young again, when he would have done anything to keep her from hurting. He pulled her up and held her in his arms. She shook and he rubbed her back, whispering that everything would be okay. He expected her to snap at him that he didn't know that, but she didn't.

  Chad knew he should say something. If only his parents were alive. Oh how he missed being able to talk to them. His dad always knew the right thing to say.

  Finally, she leaned back and looked at him again. "I don't know what I'll do if—"

  Chad put a finger to her lips. "We can't think like that. We can't let ourselves go there. She just ran away, like her status update says, and then she'll be back."

  "We don't know that. Don't we need to prepare ourselves in case…?"

  "Remember those CDs you used to make us listen to? We have to think positive."

  Alyssa frowned.

  "If the cops are right and Macy is in trouble—which I don't think is the case—then we need to do what we can to help her."

  "Do you really believe that?" Alyssa asked.

  "You don't?"

  "Haven't you noticed I threw those CDs out?"

  "Of course. You still know what was on them. We all do."

  Alyssa's cell phone rang, and she glanced at it. "It looks like Sherry from down the street. I'm so tired of talking on the phone. I only want to leave it on in case Macy tries to call." She pushed ignore.

  Chad nodded. "Between my phone and the land line, I'm ready to smash them all."

  "If it weren't for the chance of Macy calling, I would join you."

  He smiled. "Could you imagine that? Us running around, destroying the phones?"

  One corner of Alyssa's mouth curled up. "That would be
quite a sight."

  Chad's phone rang. "We could always start now. I've been wanting to upgrade anyway."

  She shook her head. "Who's calling now?"

  He looked at his phone. "Sherry again."

  "Maybe we should answer. What if it's important?"

  Chad handed her his phone.

  Alyssa rolled her eyes, but took it anyway. "Sherry?"

  "Hi, Alyssa. I'm sorry to bother you, and I won't keep you. I want to let you know that a bunch of the kids from the high school put together a candlelight service at the park near your house. It's supposed to start around seven. Then in the morning, there's going to be a rally. Missing posters have been printing all day and people are going to hand them out."

  Alyssa stared into space, trying to take it all in. "I'm a terrible mother."

  Chad gave her a questioning look.

  "What do you mean?" Sherry asked. "Of course you're a wonderful mom."

  "I should have been the one to put all that stuff together. I've been sitting around feeling sorry for myself."

  "You're doing everything you can. You've been talking with the police and everything, dear. The community wants to rally around you. The news keeps talking about the worst, but the good news is that everyone is banding together. Everyone wants to help Macy return safely."

  "Thanks, Sherry. Where's the rally?"

  "Everyone is meeting at the high school around eight in the morning. You guys don't need to show up, but I think the support would really help."

  "Of course we'll help. We'll be at the front of the line."

  "We'll see you tonight. Just to let you know, the news media will probably be there."

  "Good. The more coverage, the better. Thanks, Sherry." Alyssa ended the call and looked at Chad.

  "What's going on?"

  She repeated everything Sherry had told her, barely getting through without tears.

  Chad held her again. "We'll get through all of this—and of course you're not a bad mom. How could you say that? You're the best mom around."

  Alyssa couldn't hold the tears in any longer. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed.

  The broken look on her face made him want to make everything right again. He kissed the top of her head and held her until she calmed down. "We've done what we could. Dealing with the police has been time consuming and stressful. They're being nice enough, but still treating us like we could be criminals. Family is always the first suspect."

  "They need to get out there and find Macy."

  "Between the fliers and the news coverage, everyone is going to know what Macy looks like, and hopefully someone will see her. When they do, they'll recognize her immediately."

  "I hope she didn't get kidnapped. Do you think that's what happened?"

  "I've been staring at that status update, and it sounded exactly like her. They say a predator could have forced her to log in and write that, but I don't know what to think. I've been so sure she was flipping us a giant bird for all to see, but with each passing hour, I start to doubt a bit more. She wouldn't be gone this long on purpose, would she?"

  Alyssa shook again, more tears falling down her face. "It's not like her. She always threatens us before she does something. Even before going vegan, remember? She told us several times if we didn't start making healthier meals, she was going to follow the Hollywood trend and get skinny like the actors."

  "I don't want to think about her being abducted. I can't." Chad blinked away tears of his own. "Teenagers are impulsive. They don't think anything through. She's been complaining that I let Alex get away with murder. She may have decided to stick it to me, and now she's afraid to come back, knowing I'll ground her."

  "We need to give her more freedom. We have to. She's right. Her younger brother can do more than her."

  Chad took a deep breath. "I don't want to have this argument now. We need to stick together. I don't know about you, but I can't make it through this, living at odds like we have been."

  Alyssa looked like she was going to say something, but nodded instead. Chad moved the scrapbooks out of the way. "Let's get some rest before the rally." He grabbed his phone. "What time should I set the alarm?"

  "Six."

  He got comfortable and extended his arm. She crawled next to him and for the first time in a long while, they fell asleep in each other's arms.

  Thwarted

  Macy sat in the bed, listening for sounds of her fake dad going to bed. She could hear a sitcom, and every once in a while, his laughter. She didn't want to lie down—if her head felt the pillow, she knew she would be asleep right away.

  It had already been two hours. When was he going to go to bed? She yawned, unable to deny how tired she was. Sleeping in a bale of hay had been almost as bad as not sleeping at all. Sleeping in the truck had been even worse.

  She could hear music, and it sounded like a new show starting. Maybe he was staying up on purpose—to keep her inside. His laughter drifted in through the door along with canned laughter from the sitcom, as though in response to her thoughts.

  Perhaps sleep was her best option, at least for the time being. Maybe it would take a couple of days for him to trust her enough for her to get away.

  Giving into her heavy eyes, she set the alarm for eight, figuring that would be enough time. She wouldn't need a shower, and the cold pie would already be ready.

  She dug through the drawers for some pajamas. At least Heather had comfortable ones.

  Who was Heather, anyway? Aside from being his daughter, of course. Being in her room, Macy had a feel for the kinds of things she liked, but still knew nothing about her. Most importantly, where was she?

  It sounded like her mom had been killed, but she didn't know for sure. She was supposed to say the mother was staying in Paris. Macy shook her head. Whatever had happened to Heather, it couldn't have been good.

  Unless she and her mom really had stayed in Paris. It stood to reason that they would have wanted to get away from Chester. Maybe they were living it up under the Eiffel Tower—eating cold pie for breakfast—while Macy was forced to be the fill-in daughter.

  She climbed into bed and pulled the covers up. She looked around the room before lying down. If she wasn't able to make her escape soon, she would go through the room to figure out what she could. She turned off the light on the nightstand.

  As her head hit the pillow, she fell right to sleep. She dreamed of her family and Zoey. In her dreams, she was back home and everything was back to normal, except for everyone asking her where she had gone.

  Macy sat up in bed, clutching the blankets. She didn't know what had woken her. She couldn't remember any bad dreams, nor did she think she heard any sounds. The house was quiet, so much so that she could hear some of the animals from the barn. Maybe that was what had woken her.

  She certainly wasn't used to those noises when she slept in a bed.

  The sun was starting to come up.

  Could this be her chance? She climbed out of bed, holding her breath, fearful to make even a small noise. She tip-toed to the door, cringing each time her foot found a squeaky board.

  Macy took a slow, quiet, deep breath before grabbing the doorknob. Should she get dressed first? In case she was able to make a run for it? She shook her head, holding her breath. She needed to check everything out first.

  Turning the knob as slow as possible, she was relieved to find that it made no noise. She pulled the door open, silent except the noise of it sliding over the carpet. She stepped out of the room and gasped, covering her mouth.

  Leaning against the wall, on the floor in front of her was the picture he had stolen from her house. Her parents, her brother and herself all smiled from the frame. She stared at it for a moment before closing the door as quietly as she could, her heart pounding nearly out of her chest.

  She leaned against the closed door, trying to catch her breath.

  He was reminding her of his threat to kill her family if she tried to get away. He was letting her know tha
t he had gotten into her house once, and he could do it again.

  Her heart sank. She couldn't risk the lives of her family.

  What if she ran away, and then he went straight to her home and killed them?

  She looked around the room. What if Chester had killed Heather and her mother? Someone crazy enough to kidnap would be nuts enough to kill.

  Shaking, she climbed back into the warm bed. Even with the covers pulled up, she couldn't stop shivering.

  What was she going to do? She couldn't live here, pretending to be Heather. Someone would have to figure it out, wouldn't they? He had said something about grandparents. Surely they would know Macy wasn't their granddaughter. They would have to. Even if Macy looked exactly like her, there was no way she spoke and acted like her.

  Heather had to have gone to school and had friends. They would know she wasn't Heather. Zoey would know right away if someone posed as Macy.

  Pulling her knees to her chest, Macy held her legs close, and took deep breaths. She couldn't stop shaking, nor would her heart slow down.

  Even though she had called Chester "dad," he didn't trust her yet. How long would that take? When would she have enough trust to be able to sneak away?

  She sighed and looked around the room, which was slowly getting lighter. If she stayed up a little longer, she'd have enough light to go through the room and see if she could find anything out about the girl who had lived there.

  Hopefully, Heather was in Paris with her mom, but what were the chances of that? Who was Macy kidding? She couldn't imagine Chester leaving without them. He would have insisted they come with him, even if he had to threaten them. Either they had run away, like Macy wanted to, or Chester had done something to them, like he had threatened to do to her family.

  She had finally stopped shaking. Even though she knew she would have to get up soon, she still felt sleepy. With a little more rest, she would have the energy to get away if given the chance.

  Sometime later a loud, obnoxious beeping woke her up. She sat up, looking for the alarm, not remembering where it was. When she saw it, she hit every button until it turned off.