“I saw them! I saw her with him, with my own two eyes. And so did he,” Gabriel said and gestured to Yoshi who stood beside him.
“Look, I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about or what you think you saw, but she definitely does not have a boyfriend.”
“Alex, stop it. I know okay, I know about Eric Sala, that she’s dating him.”
Alexandra wrinkled her nose in disgust.
“Are you out of your fucking mind!” she exploded. “You must be if you think she’d date that asshole! You must have taken up smoking crack while you were gone if something that fucking stupid sounds right to you!”
“We saw them together at her house, on her bed. They were hugging,” Gabriel spat. “Tell her Yoshi.”
Gabriel turned to Yoshi expecting him to deliver a full report to Alexandra. But instead of a detailed account of what he saw at Melissa’s, he simply stood, as if frozen, with his lips slightly parted, unblinking, staring at Alexandra.
“Yoshi!” Gabriel barked.
Yoshi remained silent as if entranced by Alexandra’s presence. The only discernible change in his demeanor was his coloring. His cheeks flushed to a shade of scarlet Gabriel had only seen him wear when training intensely.
“Tell her what we saw,” Gabriel attempted again.
Finally, his friend responded with pressured speech that was almost unintelligible.
“We saw them at her house,” he said firing the words in rapid succession before tuning a deeper shade of garnet.
“What?” Alexandra asked incredulously. “There’s no way. I don’t know what you think you saw, but I would know if she was hanging out with Eric.”
“Where is she today then?” Gabriel questioned.
“I don’t know. I was getting a little worried she was sick or something because I’ve been calling her cell phone since last night and she hasn’t returned any of my calls.”
“That’s because she’s with Eric,” Gabriel enunciated each word to punctuate his point. “Eric isn’t in school today either. You do the math.”
“There is no fucking way. Something’s wrong here.”
“Well, we are going to find her. I don’t care who she’s dating,” Gabriel lied. “I just need to make sure she’s safe.”
“Safe from what?”
“From Kevin, Chris, and John.”
“Let me get the rest of my stuff from my car and I’ll come with you.”
“No. Just stay here. I don’t want you cutting school and getting your car taken away again.”
“Cut the shit, Gabriel! I’m coming with you.”
“Alex, no!”
Alexandra pushed passed Gabriel and Yoshi and then turned back to them.
“If something’s wrong with my friend and you think I’m staying here, you’re definitely on crack,” she asserted then tapped her foot impatiently.
Gabriel unlocked the Cherokee with a push of a button on his keychain. The car beeped twice and the headlights flashed.
Alexandra called out “Shotgun!” then proceeded to climb into the front seat. Yoshi stood with his hands out, palms facing upward with a look of bewilderment on his face. Shocked by the turn of events, he reluctantly assumed his seat in the rear of the vehicle.
Gabriel climbed into the driver’s seat, turned the key in the ignition and they left the grounds of Harbingers High School in search of Melissa.
Chapter 21
The faceless man hid in the kitchen as Melissa napped on the floor of the living room. He’d heard her struggle before a loud crash had sounded. He had covered his ears, terrified of the noise. When silence had followed, he’d thought it safe to remove his hands. He had peeked around the corner into the living room and had seen the rocking chair overturned, had heard her sobbing. He had covered his ears and curled into a ball once again on the cold, vinyl flooring.
He remained, in a bowed position, for an undefined amount of time, uncertain of many things. All he knew was that the sobbing had ceased and that the house was far brighter.
Long shadows stretched languidly across the dingy dark-yellow walls. Scary shapes emerged from oddly shaped appliances, made it difficult for him to relax, to rest.
He had fretted incessantly throughout the night, fretted still. Things were not going as he’d hoped they would and he was destroying his last chance at friendship.
He tensed briefly in his bent pose then released his hand from its resting place between his knees, retracted it and promptly thumped it against his temple. He silently scolded himself for being such a fool. He drew his fist back farther and punched himself a second time in frustration.
He gradually pushed himself up to a seated position. His head throbbed, his hand ached. He felt sad for himself.
He had not had an easy stretch of time. He had held Melissa captive for an entire night. He knew that friends did not do things like that; they did not hold one another hostage for hours on end. He was uncertain of the details of friendship, of the specifications entailed in such a social contract, but he was sure kidnapping and captivity were not included within them. But he’d had no other option. If he had untied her, she would have fled. Even still, he knew if were were to march into the living room and cut the rope from her wrists and ankles, she would run away from him, run away forever to Gabriel and forget all about him. He did not want to be abandoned or forgotten.
In an effort to prevent such an occurrence, he had attempted several times during the night to make her understand that his intentions were innocent, that he wanted to make her more comfortable and happy. He wanted her to see that she’d been contented by friendship with him, that he was pleasing. But each time he appeared, she would become agitated and upset. The sound of her crying, her tear-riddled pleas for release, were more than he could bear. She hadn’t been cruel like the other horrible people he’d encountered but she was very emotional.
Her emotional state did not appear overly volatile. She did not seem as though she would attack him with a mop, or a rolling pin, or her hands, but she did seem as if she was intent on leaving. She had said repeatedly that she wanted to leave.
Melissa’s desire to leave had hurt him deeply.
His hurt motivated him to try harder, though. Sitting on the vinyl floor patterned with mustard and brown-colored flowers and trailed with alarming, darkened shapes, the faceless man resolved to try again. He had to. She needed to see that he needed her and that he would be the best friend she would ever have, that he would never disappoint her.
The faceless man rose to his feet and straightened his posture as much as his curved torso allowed. He walked to the sink and turned on both faucets. He touched the stream of water that flowed gingerly. Once confident he would not burn his delicate skin, he cupped his hands and filled them with water and began splashing it on his face. He wanted to cleanse himself before his final attempt at convincing Melissa. He pumped soap from the dispenser and scrubbed his entire head before dispensing more to just his forefinger then running it across his small, pointed teeth. Hygiene could only help matters.
When he felt he’d been sufficiently cleaned, he walked slowly into the living room. He saw her on the floor. She rested on her side with the rocking chair tipped over. She saw him as well. Tears welled in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.
He wondered how she could do such a thing to him, to cry at the sight of him. He felt sympathy for her predicament but at the same time felt entitled to happiness. She was the linchpin to his happiness yet she cried. The entire arrangement presented a conundrum. The only point that was clear to him was that he could not endure more crying. Her tears pained him too greatly. And he did not deserve to be pained.
He began backing out of the room.
“Where are you going?” she asked him between sobs. “Please don’t leave!”
He covered his ears with his hands again.
“You have to let me go. Please! People will be looking for me!”
Her desperate weeping was dreadful. The facele
ss man began to feel his heart rate accelerate dangerously at the sound of it. His breathing became shallow and his brow dampened with beads of perspiration. In his stomach, it felt as though thousands of butterflies emerged from their chrysalides and beat their wings against its lining. He needed to leave, immediately.
He turned on his heels then on legs that trembled, he ran back to the safety of the kitchen.
Melissa continued to cry; he could still hear her. He didn’t know what to do. He was going to have to untie her sooner or later. Untying her was the only way to earn her trust, and he knew trust was implicit in the terms of friendship. Buy if he untied her and she tried to leave or hurt him, she might be lost forever just as the others before her had been.
Chapter 22
Gabriel, Yoshi and Alexandra turned on to Blackstone Drive. Direct sunlight blinded them as they rounded the corner and the Jeep Cherokee managed the steep incline with ease. The street was lit by afternoon light, lemon-hued, pale and dazzling. The nighttime rainfall enriched the lushness of the surrounding greenery and deepened their color to a rich shade of emerald. The landscape was a vibrant palette illuminated by pastel sunlight.
Gabriel squinted against the glare then remembered his disguise that included dark sunglasses that rested on the back seat next to Yoshi. He regretted not wearing both, but not as much as regretted leaving Harbingers Falls five months ago. He felt the same sensation of nervousness in his stomach as he had the previous night, but his current feeling was a result of uneasiness rather than anticipation. With his insides quavering, he turned in to Melissa’s driveway and immediately noticed an older model Camry parked in it.
“See, what did I tell you? That’s the same car that was here last night, Eric’s car I presume,” Gabriel told Yoshi and Alexandra.
“Uh, no jerkwad, that’s Melissa’s car,” she said gesturing to a late model Toyota. “Her dad let her get her license and use some of her savings to buy that thing.”
“Oh, she didn’t tell me,” Gabriel said quietly.
“Well maybe if you would have called her more often, you would have known,” Alexandra accused.
Gabriel was stunned by her words. And hurt. He did not have a biting comeback, didn’t need one. Alexandra was right. She was right to be mad with him just as Melissa was right to move on. He chose to disappear to one of the remotest places on Earth. The fault rested with him, for everything. He blamed himself for every moment of Melissa’s life that he’d missed, every significant event. She had needed him, but he had been gone.
Downcast, he reluctantly got out of the car and moved to the front door. Alexandra and Yoshi followed. Alexandra pushed in front of him and Yoshi and rang the doorbell. They waited several seconds. No one answered. All was quiet at the Martin residence.
Alexandra wrapped her knuckle against the door, and still, no one answered.
“I don’t get it. Her car is here,” Alex said with concern.
“That’s because she’s not here and is probably out with Eric,” Gabriel said miserably.
Alexandra spun on her heels to face him. Her deep-brown eyes darkened dangerously to a smoldering onyx. She wore her anger plainly.
“She is not out with Eric!” Alexandra pronounced each slowly and loudly. “You are starting to really piss me off, Gabriel! I made it clear to you back at the school that all she’s done is cry about you since you left. She’s only gone out, like, one time. She was so miserable, I was actually starting to get worried about her, and you have the balls to start this shit about Eric again!” she fumed.
“Alex, I’m sorry. I’m not trying to upset you, and I believe you when you say she had a hard time after I left, but is it possible she didn’t tell you about Eric because of what happened, because maybe she thought you’d freak out about it?”
“Not possible,” Alexandra said confidently then added, “Forget about the Eric shit for a second if that’s possible. I’m starting to get worried. Maybe something’s wrong.”
“If something happened, her father would have called you, right?”
“Yeah, if he was home but he’s away this weekend. In fact, she said she was probably going to stay with me. She didn’t want to be alone when he was gone. But she never called me. I just assumed she changed her mind or that her dad decided not to go. He’s clearly not here, and she’s not answering the door, or her phone. I’m really worried now.”
Yoshi, who had been silently observing Gabriel’s interaction with Alexandra, turned from them and began inspecting the exterior of the house. He stood on his tippy toes and peered into the windows of the garage.
“Alexandra’s right,” Yoshi said. “There’s no car in the garage, so her dad’s not here.”
“I’ll go look around back and see if there are any broken windows,” Alexandra added, worry lacing her words. “Or if anyone’s inside. For all we know, Melissa’s asleep on the couch.”
“I hope she’s alone,” Gabriel muttered to himself.
Alexandra overheard his comment and shot him a withering glance.
“What?” he asked.
“So you think she’s doing it with Eric on the couch or something?” she said through her teeth.
“I didn’t mean, I wasn’t trying to imply,” he stammered. “I wasn’t saying that I think she and Eric are sleeping together on the couch, Alex. Get your mind out of the gutter!”
“Then what did you mean?”
“I meant I hope Melissa is alone, that’s all. If she’s sick, I hope he is not with her.”
Alexandra stared hard at Gabriel. He wondered if she were contemplating an attack of some sort until she turned from him suddenly and began walking around the house. She paused in the driveway and pointed up above it.
“Look! Do you see that?” Alexandra asked both he and Yoshi.
“The window,” Yoshi replied. “It’s wide open. The screen is up, too.”
Gabriel looked up to the window and saw that her curtain billowed in the slight breeze, that the screen was lifted as was the pane. He felt his mind unravel like a spool of thread only the reel had disappeared, rolled off into the void, his only lead a seemingly unlimited length of ribbon he intuited he must follow.
He rushed to the oak that stood beside her house and scaled it with speed her never knew he possessed. He did not know what he rushed toward, just knew that time was somehow constrained, like an enormous hourglass had been overturned and each grain of sand that fell profoundly impacted Melissa’s fate.
Once on the roof of the garage, he quickly scrambled up the shingles and dove headlong into her opened window.
“Gabriel, is she in there?” Alexandra shouted from the ground below.
Gabriel did not respond right away. He looked around her room, processing every detail of its condition. The room was in shambles. Melissa had never been the neatest of people but the room was messy by her standards. The chair by her desk that sat just under the window had been knocked over. Her purse sat atop her dresser and her cell phone beeped from beneath a sweater.
Gabriel crossed her room, ran down the hallway and descended the staircase.
“Melissa!” he shouted as he quickly scanned each room.
He did not search the basement. Instead, he opened the front door. Alexandra burst through, her eyeliner-rimmed eyes brimming with tears.
“Why didn’t you answer me?” she screamed. “Didn’t you hear me call you? She’s not there is she? But something happened. I can see it on your face.”
Alexandra’s voice was shrill, bordering on hysterical.
“Calm down, Alex. Let me check downstairs then we’ll be certain she’s not here, okay?”
“I’m coming with you,” she said tearfully.
“Fine, we’ll go together.”
Gabriel stepped from the foyer into the main hallway followed by Yoshi and Alexandra and opened a door along the wall. Beyond the entryway was a painted, wooden flight of steps leading to the basement.
Once the door was opened, he was immediat
ely greeted with silence. The silence unsettled him, profoundly. He remembered the last time he entered the Martin household and was met with preternatural stillness. Death had not claimed a loved one then, he hoped it did not claim one now. He would not survive Melissa’s demise. And in the darkest recesses of his core, he felt Melissa was in danger.
With Melissa’s imperiled image in his mind, he stepped cautiously from each tread to the next and held fast to the guardrails on either side of the partially finished staircase. He stepped off the last rung of the staircase and on to the black linoleum flooring. He found the light switch and turned on the overhead fixtures then quickly surveyed the room. The furnishing remained the same. A weight bench and an array of free-weight plates and bars, a Bowflex exercise machine, a treadmill, an elliptical trainer and a power cage were exactly as they when last he saw them.
The open floor plan afforded him an unobstructed view of the entire room. Melissa was not there.
“This is bizarre, Gabriel,” Alexandra said in a composed voice. “Where the hell could she be?”
“I don’t know,” Gabriel replied.
“I know you think I’m overreacting about this, that she’s just off with that douche, Eric. But I really feel something is wrong here.”
“So do I,” Gabriel admitted.
“Let’s go back upstairs to Melissa’s room and see if there’s anything to suggest her whereabouts,” Yoshi offered.
“Good idea, Yoshi. Come on Alex,” Gabriel said and gestured for both she and Yoshi to go ahead of him up the staircase.
At the top of the basement steps, he closed the door behind him and paused to listen. The house was still except for the hum and whir of major appliances in the kitchen.
Alexandra and Yoshi moved quickly up the main staircase in the house toward Melissa’s room. Gabriel scanned Christopher Martin’s room. Nothing appeared to be disturbed. The spare bedroom remained untouched as well. Just Melissa’s room was in a state of disarray.
“What the fuck?” Alexandra exclaimed as she entered Melissa’s bedroom. She covered her mouth with both hands and a pained expression overtook her aspect.
Planet Urth Boxed Set Page 113
