The rain was pouring loudly, waking up Serena from her sleep. She woke up later than usual, though she half expected her father to yell out her name, she heard nothing but the sound of the outside roaring. She got up from her bed and made her way down the hallway to the kitchen, still wearing her t-shirt and shorts, where she found a half-empty dish and a note held by a cup filled with orange juice.
"Good morning, Serena. You probably woke up at this time ( yes I know, you wanted to help me with breakfast.) However, I had to go to work earlier than usual ;(. Anyway, I made you your favourite meal. Breakfast burrito!! I would love to take a bite with you but the school called me. With all the stuff that has been going on these past few days, I hate to ask but please call your friend Nick to pick you up. Thank you, love your one and only father. <3"
Serena sighed, placing the note on the counter before grabbing the half-eaten food and bringing it to the fridge where she would leave it for him when he comes home. Usually, people would dispose of uneaten food but since they were struggling with money, they couldn't afford to waste any. She then grabbed the glass of orange juice and drank it all in one shot, leaving no trace of liquid inside. She washed the cup and placed it in the dish rack to dry off with the rest of the plates and glasses. After cleaning up and putting away appliances that her father used, she sat down and started eating her cold food at the small kitchen table. While she was eating, Lucy came in and meowed at her, signalling that she was hungry. She sighed, getting up and making her way to the small pantry next to the fridge. She poured the cat food into the bowl and put it on the ground to let her cat feast on the food.
"Good girl." she petted Lucy with a smile on her face. "I wonder what it is like to be you. You don't need to worry about anything while I'm scared for my life." she swallows the lump in her throat but still held a smile on her face. She got up from petting her cat as she held back the tears that were threatening to spill out. She knew that yesterday wasn't a dream right when she saw the letter peeking out of her coat pocket. She got goosebumps just thinking about yesterday evening when she found out that she was being watched by what could be the person who kidnapped Josie. And just thinking about it made her lose her appetite, imagining what could've happened if things worked out differently. She gazed at her breakfast with uneasiness and back to the letter that was peering out of her coat pocket.
"Guess I won't be eating." she sighed, taking the plate to the fridge for later, next to her father's unfinished meal.
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Serena waited for Nick to arrive at her front porch, holding her backpack and her purple umbrella. She knew that the rain wouldn't stop any time soon and there was likely chance it would continue on to the next day but nevertheless, she still wore that coat she wore last night. She was contemplating leaving the note at home, however, she was afraid that her father would see it and question her about it. So, she left it in her pocket, making sure it wasn't peeking out to the rest of the world but she definitely didn't want Nick seeing it. The only option she had to do was crumbling it until it didn't show.
Finally, what seemed like forever, his blue car made its appearance around the corner. She smiled and waved at him before opening her umbrella and making her way down the steps to the sidewalk. She opened the passenger side door and got in, putting her wet umbrella in between her legs as she closed the door.
"Hey," she said while fastening her seat belt.
"Hey. How are you?" he asked, unparking his car and starting to make his way to the school.
"I'm doing fine." that was a lie. She was most definitely not all right but she didn't want to tell him what had happened yesterday night; she didn't want him to be involved and get hurt by whoever was watching her.
"You?" she asked back, making no eye contact with him.
"Doing alright. How is your father?"
"He's doing good. He had to leave early this morning. That's why I called you."
"No wonder he had to go early especially with everything that's been going on." he sighed, putting his indicator light on.
"Yeah..."
"You sure you're doing okay?"
"Absolutely. Just tired. I wish they would just find whoever did this."
"Same here. Can't sleep knowing that that person is still out there."
Serena held back her tears yet again. She was more afraid now than ever. Saturday she thought that Josie just ran away and that nothing happened to her but now she felt certain that that wasn't the case at all. That someone is capable of kidnap and possibly murder. At last, they made their way to the parking lot of the school where he parked next to the gym.
Serena opened the passenger side door, grabbing her umbrella and her backpack before closing it. She waited for Nick to get his belongings, her back facing the door when she noticed Aidan, Josie's boyfriend, picking a freshman. Aidan was always the mean type, bullying smaller kids and stealing their money. None of the students cared, however, they were encouraging his behaviour, laughing at his actions while patting his back, making his ego grow bigger and bigger. And when she was about to call out his attitude, a cop car made its way to the parking lot with its sirens full-on blaring. It stopped and a police officer came out. He made his way to Aidan with his handcuffs in hand.
"Aidan, I need you to come with me to the police station. We need to question you about Josie's disappearance. "