Diary of the Gone by Ivan Amberlake

mysterious smile. “Be
careful, Callum. Shadows are close by.”
    I nodded, knowing she wouldn’t
elaborate on what she’d just said. The air outside seemed so light,
free from the sandalwood aroma of the library.
    “ She’s definitely got bats
in the belfry,” Wayne said, combing his blond hair back.
    “ Yeah.” I gave a long
sigh.
    “ I’ll ask my parents if
they knew that girl, Cynthia Abbott,” he said. “Can’t believe it
started so long ago.”
    “ Me neither.”
    “ I swear I saw a man
taking Audrey to the woods,” he said.
    Wayne and I were alike in a way. Each
lost a person we considered best friends. I’d lost Nathan. He’d
lost Audrey.
    Like Wayne, I thought at first Mrs.
Palmer was just playing with us, but the more I was pondering over
the manner in which she was acting, the more it looked like there
was something that kept her from telling us more. Why hadn’t she
shown the rest of the papers to us?
    Nevertheless, our visit to the library
wasn’t overly pointless. Mrs. Palmer hinted to me where to look for
more clues.
    The picture of the girl etched into my
memory. I licked my dry lips. It was probably the first time ever
that I looked forward to seeing the dead.
     
     

Chapter 9
     
    Entry #122
    May 28
     
    Mom is upset about
something. She doesn’t tell me what’s wrong. Our family is a
collection of strangers who don’t share anything with one
another.
     
     
    When I came home and kicked off my
shoes, I heard Mom’s voice coming from upstairs. Taking two stairs
at a time, I was about to call her that I was home, when I heard
her say my name.
    Mom’s voice quivered. Was she crying?
I reached the top of the stairs without making a sound, listening
to what she was saying.
    “… no, you’ll have to make
sure he’s going to be safe. I’m scared, Geoffrey.”
    Geoffrey? Chief Coleman? Why was Mom
so scared?
    I peeked into the room, careful not to
give myself away. She was standing in the middle of the room,
talking over the phone with her back to me. Then she turned, and I
saw how agitated she was. Her hair was tousled as if she’d just
woken from a restless sleep, her fingers scratching her cheek, her
lower lips trembling.
    She collapsed on her bed, nearly
sobbing. “Yes, I understand. But what if he’s going to leave at
night again?”
    She listened attentively to what the
chief had to say, her eyes going from left to right. She sighed.
“Thank you, Geoffrey. You have no idea how much it means to
me.”
    I thought I’d heard enough, so I
retreated carefully, climbed down the stairs and went towards the
fridge. My stomach rumbled, warning me that I needed to eat, but I
grabbed only a can of Mountain Dew. As I looked out of the window I
noticed Bev coming back home with her boyfriend. They were holding
hands, Bev laughing at some joke Terry Haubert was telling her.
Something jolted inside me, my stomach growling, but not from
hunger this time. Was it jealousy? No, no way.
    Terry’s hand snaked its way around
Bev’s waist, and he leaned forward to kiss her.
    “ Oh, please.” I cringed,
looking away.
    They said goodbye, then the door
opened, and Bev entered, a smile on her face. It faltered and
withered to a scowl when she spotted me.
    “ Why didn’t you invite him
in?” I asked, laying my sarcasm thick.
    “ Have you been watching
us?” she said, blushing.
    “ As if I had a choice,” I
scoffed then took a sip of Mountain Dew.
    Mom came down the stairs giving me a
suspicious glance. “I didn’t hear you come back,” she said. Her
hair was combed, but her rheumy eyes still were a giveaway of her
stress.
    “ We didn’t want to
interrupt your conversation,” I said, willing to make her feel
uncomfortable.
    “ What conversation?” Bev
asked.
    “ Yes, I w-was talking to
Chief Coleman.” Mom seemed to recover from my response. “I’m really
worried about you two.”
    “ It’s him you should be
worried about,” Bev said, glaring at me.
    “ No, Bev, stop it. I