Two weeks have passed since Sara accident. The police still don't know who killed Thomas, and they still haven't found the missing cheerleaders. However, things at my house are getting better. I haven't heard any noises from outside, woke up randomly, or had any nightmares.
I though that Sara was going to bug and whine until so got to go out looking for her friends but she hasn't. At first, I thought it was weird but now I know why. "Mom please I have to go!" I hear Sara whine in the kitchen. "Honey, your dad and I talked about it and we just don't think it's a good idea this year." My mom says in her most caring voice. "But it's my last year mom, and I'm the Captain!" Sara says full on sobbing now.
Cheer camp. Sara actually wants to still go with everything that has been going on. Sara storms out of the living room and into the kitchen. "Can you believe her? I have to have my paperwork in, in the next two days and she's still saying no. It starts next week!" Sara says all without stopping for air. I'm not sure what to say. I know she wasn't asking for an answer but I feel like I should say something.
After starring at each other for what feeling like an eternity. Sara huffs and walks away. I sit in the living room dumbfounded. Sara has changed. When her friends first disappeared, she made me and mom go out looking for them every day, now all she seems to care about is cheer camp.
The day drags on way to slow. Mom and Sara haven't spoken since their argument this morning. By the time dad gets home the tension in the house is almost too thick to breath. Luckily dad comes through. "Let's go out to eat tonight!" He says as soon as he walks in. We all pile into dad's car and end up at the fanciest restaurant in town.
We have only been here twice. Once for mine and Sara's 16th birthday and the other was when for mine and Sara's grade 8 graduation. Dad must have big news. "I bet your all wondering way we are here." Dad starts. I knew it. "I got some exciting news; I got a promotion!" He says way to loudly.
Mom starts to cry and gets up and hugs my dad. I have never seen them even hold hands in public. I follow Sara's lead and get up to hug our dad once mom sits down.
Once we are all back in our seat's dad tells us all about what his new title means. Making it well known that he will now be getting a huge pay raise. Our family is far from rich, but we are no where near poor. Me and Sara have always had the newest phones and Sara always got the coolest clothes, and we go to a private high school with all the kids we grew up with. We live in a nice two-story house, we always had food, cable, internet, and even though we definitely had less money than everyone else on our street no one knew. My mom was a stay-at-home mom, we hosted BBQs and dinner parties, went on trips, just like everyone else. Only difference our dad worked his ass off to make sure we could fit in. Now this is no longer an issue. My dad will be making the money my mom always pretended we had.
I feel so relieved. I'm not overly close either of my parents but, if I had to pick which one, I was closest to I would definitely pick my dad. However, saying I'm close to anyone in this family isn't really true.
The rest of dinner and the car ride back home, is spent talking about how excited and proud everyone is. When we get home, everyone separates into their own rooms. I lay in my bed and close my eyes waiting to fall asleep when I hear my phone ring. It's Mike. I haven't talked to him all summer.
By the time we get off the phone its nearly 3:00am. I lay back down hoping to finally get some sleep. Unfortunately, as soon as I start to drift off to sleep, I hear the familiar sound coming from just below my window. It's been so long since I heard it, but somehow, I still know it's the same sound from the beginning of the summer.
Walk to my window but as per usually I can't see anything. It's pitch black out. I go back to my bed and stare at my ceiling, hoping and praying for sleep.
When sleep finally comes I regret it. I'm back in the dark, damp, cold room. This time it different it feels like I'm standing in grass. I try to walk forward but I hit a wall. I reach my arms out and feel a wall on both sides. I turn around and another wall. I start to panic. I start screaming and punching the walls as hard as can, then I feel my body start sinking so start scream louder and punch harder.
Just as my head in about to sucked into the ground wake up, to my dad shaking me and Sara and my mom standing beside my bed. Once my dad realizes I'm awake he wraps both his arms around me and hugs me tighter then he has in years. "What's going on?" I ask. "You woke us all up screaming. What was going on?" Sara asks, she looks like she's about to cry. "I'm not sure." I lie. I can't tell them I was having a nightmare. Sara gives me the look and I know she knows I'm lying. "Must have been a nasty nightmare, good thing you don't remember." My dad says as he finally loosens his grip on his hug. "Well might as well start breakfast now." My mom says as she walks out of my room.
The rest of the family follows her. I take a few minutes to calm down and pull myself together. I look at my phone 5:45am. I go the bathroom and splash water on my face. I look like the mirror. Surprisingly I don't look as bad as I feel.
My terrible feeling multiplies when I reach the bottom of the stairs. "Our small town is in pieces again today with the announce me of another missing teen bringing the total to four." I hear the new repost say. I reach the living room just in time to see the faces of Meghan, Libby, Stella, and now Lindsay.
I look at Sara she doesn't seem to be affected by it this time. "She went to the mall last night to get new clothes for cheer camp and never went back home. I was supposed to go with her but canceled since mom said I wasn't allowed to go to cheer camp, I feel terrible." Sara says.
She's lying. I can always tell. But I know she did have plans to go to the mall and I know she didn't end up going. So, what is she lying about? I brush it off and sit down on the couch. Sara sits down beside me and she talks about how unfair it is that mom won't let her go to cheer camp and how this could of all been avoided if she was allowed to go because she would have been with her.
This is a different Sara then the Sara that was sobbing over her missing friends at the beginning of summer. Mind you Lindsay and Sara weren't actually friends anymore. Lindsay hated Sara since Sara was voted captain over her. Also didn't help that once she won, she made it a point to rub it in Lindsay's face every chance she got.
In the middle of Sara's rant our mom walks in. "Cheer camp is cancelled for your school this year." My mom informs us and walks away. She must of her Sara talking about her. "Really! Now I can't even convince mom to let me go." Sara says with a pout. "It's makes since a third of your team is missing." I say trying to spark some thing in her. "Yeah, but there is still 8 of us left." She says continuing to pout.
I can't do this with her anymore so I head to my room without saying another word to her. How can she be so cold about her friends? No one has seen Meghan since the last day of school almost a month ago. I decide to check on my "friends" I call Morgan no answer so I try Mel still no answer. Then I remember they went camping at the beginning of summer, I can't remember how long they were going for. I call Mike even though I talked to him for hours last night.
"Hey have you heard from Morgan or Mel lately?" I ask as soon as he answers. "Yeah, they extend their trip into a whole summer thing. They are calling it a summer long road trip. They said something about last summer before college." Mike says. Since our other friends are gone, we decide to hang out.
As soon as Mike gets to my house we go to the backyard. Mid conversation Sara walks out. She is acting weird. She usually never talks to any of my friends but today it's almost like she's interviewing Mike, she is even asking about Morgan and Mel. Even though she calls Mel Melissa when her name is actually Mel it's not short for anything; which make me and Mike both laugh a little.
Even with Sara hanging out with us this has been the best day I have had since summer started. Maybe even the best day I have had in years. Just before supper Mike decides to go home. "Your sister isn't as bad as I though." Mike tells me. "Yeah, I guess." I say with a laugh. Lately she hasn't been so bad. To be honest she never really did anything wrong. She got popular and I didn't but that wasn't her fault. When all her cheerleader friends were rude to kids at the school she would always walk away. Come to think about it they only people she has ever been rude to was the other cheerleaders.