I woke to dead silence. It was cold and I realised I must've fallen asleep after I'd shut myself away last night. I pulled myself off the floor and just hoped my siblings were gone. As much as I wanted answers, I needed time to think. I couldn't comprehend all of this. I had just done one of the hardest things I had done in my entire life and now my siblings had risen from the dead and told me the family history.
I pull myself off of the floor and face myself in the mirror. I run my fingers through my hair and sigh at my reflection. "When did you become this?" My reflection screams at me. I shake her away, wipe the mascara off of my face and slowly open the bathroom door. As I thought, everyone's gone. I step into the room and something crumples under my foot. Reaching down I find it's a note from Joey.
"Sorry Meg, I know it was a lot to take on last night. We've gone to run a couple of errands, call us if you need anything, ok? Love Jo"
I gather all of my belongings and jump back into the car. I need to breathe. I need to charge my phone. I need some space. I plug my phone in to charge and I drive. It's not clear exactly where I end up, but I find myself in front of a roadside coffee shop. I head inside and order a coffee and muffin. I sit in a booth at the far corner and pull out my phone. I plug in my headphones and lose myself in whatever Spotify has to offer while I devour my muffin and coffee. I didn't realise how hungry I was.
Suddenly my music is dulled by a notification sound and I pick up my phone. Eventually, it sounds like the music isn't playing anymore. The noise won't stop, making my flurry of emotions from the last few days, spiral out of control. I start to fiddle with the pendant hanging around my neck as the tears gather in my eyes. I want to tell myself that it's ok to cry but I know that I cant do it here. There are too many people around me and I feel like I'm suffocating. I pick up my belongings and walk back through the cafe as quickly as possible. Once outside, I run. I don't go to my car, instead, I turn the other way and head for what's directly in front of me. The forest.
I run until my legs feel heavy and my lungs hurt and I collapse on the grass under a tree, trying to catch my breath. I can't believe it. I pull my phone out of my hoodie and see the notifications again.
23 new voicemails
With a shaky hand, I put my earphones back in and unlock my phone.
"You have 23 new voice messages. Message 1 …".
My breath stops in my throat. The tears well in my eyes as I hear his voice.
" Meg, where did you go? I'm worried about you. Please just call me back and let me know that you're ok. Please."
I don't know when the tears soaked my shirt or when I got extremely tired. I turn my phone off and go to stand up when I hear a suspicious noise. I hear footsteps and whispers. I know I'm not alone. I stand as silently as possible and look around. There are a few shorter trees within the distance that I could get to. I nod to myself and quickly look around. I make my way over to one of the smaller trees and start to climb. As the trees are close to each other, I'm able to cross into different trees as I keep climbing. The boughs give a little as I walk across them but they hold steady and I'm able to keep my cover in the trees. I crouch on a branch as the I'm able to make out what the people are saying.
"Surely she's around here somewhere" I hear someone ask. I can't see anyone so I lean forward a little. I'm able to see a few men gathered down below.
"Mark, how the hell did you lose her. She was sitting right in front of you at that damned cafe! I can't believe you let her disappear. What are we going to tell the boss"? At the edge of my vision, I see a guy shrug. Assuming this is Mark, I try to get a better view of him so that I know exactly which one he is. As I lean forward I hear the branch beneath me creak and as I try to lean back, it snaps beneath me and I go crashing to the ground. I look up at the four pairs of eyes looking back at me.
"Hi fellas, just dropping by". Before they can register what happened get up and run as fast as my legs can carry me. All I can hope is that I'm running back in the direction of the cafe and my car. I hear the men finally shake off the shock and yell after me as they begin their pursuit again. I don't chance a look back, instead, I push myself even further, feeling the strain of my legs in each stride. I really need to work out more I think as the trees start to thin and I can hear cars in the distance again. I feel some relief as I leave the forest behind me and head for the cafe. The men are behind me but I've been able to put some distance between us. The odds aren't good but they have increased in my favour.
I try to catch my breath a little as I try and walk calmly back through the cafe door. It kind of works, some people still look my way as I enter but I haven't alerted every single person to my presence. I head toward the bathrooms and on my way, I see a bag of dirty uniforms. I pick out a cap and apron and enter the bathrooms. I lock the stall and fall onto the toilet. I desperately try to catch my breath but it feels pointless. I throw the apron over my head and tie it behind me. I stand up and head to the mirror to assess my situation. With a tightening of my ponytail and a splash of water to my face, I secure the cap on my head and give myself a nod.
The cafe has started to get busy and I head behind the counter to help out the girl on the register. It's so busy that no one questions my presence. The girl at the register even turns and gives me a thankful smile. I give her a friendly smile and nod in return. As I'm passing her a muffin for an order, I see the group of guys frantically looking around at all the people seated in the cafe. Two of them are furiously kicking down the bathroom doors and I'm grateful that I was able to push ahead and buy myself enough time to find a disguise. After about 10 minutes I tell the girl my shift is over and that I hope to see her tomorrow. I wave goodbye to everyone else and because it's so busy, they wave back, thinking I'm one of them.
Grabbing someones empty tote bag from the lost and found behind the counter, I throw my phone, keys and some extra random things in there to make it look full. With that, I wave goodbye to all the employees with a smile on my face as I head out the front door. I get to my car when I hear a voice behind me, turning I face one of the four men who chased me.
"Hi miss, did you happen to see a girl about your height run through here about 10 minutes ago"?. I shake my head and apologise.
"Sorry sir, I did hear a car speed away from here a while ago though. I'm not sure if it was her or not but it went that way."
I point in the opposite direction that I came from. He thanks me and heads back inside to inform his buddies. I unlock my car and get inside. I turn the car on and plug my phone in to play some music. I don't want these guys to be able to follow me after I've left so I choose to wait them out. Surely, soon enough, they leave the cafe and head toward their car. I pretend to be dancing to music so they don't get any suspicions toward me. I soon hear their engine start-up and I look in my rearview mirror, writing the number plate down and text it to Joey with one word 'trace'. The men speed out of the car park and I wait a few seconds before I head out, in the opposite direction and back to the motel.