The house was eerily quiet, which unnerved me because I was alone. After locking the door, I headed quickly toward the kitchen to put the groceries away. Upon entering the room, it felt warm and inviting with the sunshine streaming through the window above the sink. I carefully laid my bags on the countertops and started to put the items away with meticulous care, each one going in its designated spot. All the while, the envelope was weighing on my mind, begging me to open it. Finally, I sit at the kitchen table, the envelope resting in front of me. I can't help but wonder what could be inside, and I feel a sense of trepidation take over.
The moment my hands touch the envelope, the temperature in the room drops to the point I can see my breath in front of me as I breathe. Shivering from the piercing cold, I cautiously started to tear the letter open. My fingers tremble as I unfold the paper inside. It's a typed message that reads, "LEAVE NOW OR REGRET IT. YOU CAN DISAPPEAR TOO." The words seem to jump off the page at me, causing my heart to race and my mind to spin.
I can't help but read the message repeatedly, each time feeling a deeper sense of dread. The frigid air seems to amplify my fear, making me wonder why someone is threatening my life. No one knows I'm looking into the Catalano's disappearance, unless they suspect my intentions from my trip to the library and town hall. This will not deter me from my investigation. I have to know what happened to them and how we are connected, if at all.
Carefully, I place the letter and envelope into a Ziplock bag to seal it tightly to preserve any evidence that may be on it. Quickly, I grab the bag, leaving the frigid cold of the kitchen to escape to the warmth of the living room. The temperature change was strange. How could it drop so quickly? Would Zeke believe me if I told him about it? He was already struggling to make sense of everything that had happened.
Turning on the TV for some background noise, I can't help but hope Zeke comes home soon. Despite my plans to start painting the living room, tiredness sets in, and I find myself drifting off to dreamland. As I sleep, the world around me melts away, and I am left with only my dreams of the surreal events that brought me to this moment. I start to hear my name being called from a distance. First, I think it's part of my dream, only to realize the voice is getting louder and more persistent as I start to wake up. Someone is gently shaking my shoulder. Still in a sleep daze, my ears finally hear the person saying something to me.
"Wake up, Rocky, I brought tacos home for dinner." I was still disoriented, and it to me a minute to place the voice; it was Zeke standing over me with a grin.
Sitting up on the couch, I rub my eyes and greet him, "Hey, Z, I didn't mean to doze off."
Zeke chuckled and replied, "It's alright. I knew you were still exhausted from last night's events." I couldn't help but smile at his thoughtfulness and gratefully accepted the delicious tacos he brought home. We sat comfortably together on the couch, eating dinner.
Curiously, I asked, "Did you find any good locations today?"
Zeke, with a mouthful of food, says, "A couple, but I am going to have Dad come down and look at them, too. We'll see which one he likes the best."
I nodded my head in agreement and took another bite of my taco. I was worried about the threatening letter from earlier, but didn't want to ruin the evening by bringing it up. However, I knew I couldn't put off telling him about it forever.
"Today, when I returned home from grocery shopping, an envelope was taped to the front door. There was a threatening letter inside."
"What did the letter say?" he asks in a concerned voice.
Grabbing it from under my laptop, I hand it to him. I watch as he reads the letter carefully, and can see the growing fear and anger in his eyes.
"Did you see anybody when you got home?" he asked, his tone protective.
"No Z, no one was here. I didn't even see the weirdo neighbor anywhere around."
"Rocky, should we report this to the sheriff's office?" he asks.
"No! They won't do anything about it, and I don't trust Sheriff Dawson." We needed to be careful with whom we confided or trusted. We were stacking up unseen enemies by the day.
"Ok, for now, we will keep it to ourselves, but if it gets worse, I'm reporting it," Zeke stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
Upon finishing our delicious dinner, we decided to move the furniture in the living room. Once it was all moved, we began the task of painting the walls.
Neither of us spoke a word as we worked, each of us lost in our own thoughts and concentrating solely on the task at hand. We worked diligently side by side for several hours, carefully priming and painting walls. We only got two of the four walls done; the fresh paint smell filled the air, and the room began to take on a new life as the old, worn-out paint was replaced with a fresh coat. Tired, we decided to call it a night. As we left the living room to head upstairs, I grabbed his arm.
"Z, would you stay in my room again tonight?" I asked shyly. I didn't feel comfortable being alone, fearing that the things that go bump in the night would jump out and get me.
"Yeah, no problem. Honestly, I would feel better if we were together." He says, smiling as he grabs my hand and leads me upstairs to my room.
He leaves me at the door and says, "I need to go change, and then I'll be back. Will you be ok?"
"Go ahead. I'll be fine," I reassure him. After he leaves, I quickly pull on my favorite t-shirt over my head. As I do, a loud noise starts to come from down the hall. Standing very still by my door, I listen to see if I am hearing things, but the same noise happens again.
"What in the world is that?" I say out loud. Quickly, I throw on a pair of sleep pants and pad out into the hallway. Thankfully, we turned the light on when we came up. Zeke's door opens beside me. He listens for the noise as well. We hear it again coming from the bedroom furthest down the hall. We realize it is the rattling of the doorknob like someone is trying to get out but is stuck.
We slowly start to move towards the door. Zeke instinctively pushes me behind him, and I grab his shirt from behind for safety. As we approach the door, the handle goes quiet. There is no sound or movement now. I watch as Zeke wraps his hand around the brass doorknob. He flings the door open, revealing a spacious room. The moon's soft glow streams through the two windows facing the outside on the farthest wall.
We enter the room to take in the grandeur of it all. The intricately carved wooden post of the four-poster bed is in the center of the room. Two sturdy wooden dressers with brass handles were positioned near the end of the bed, and a white-painted vanity table sat near the windows, providing an unobstructed view of the backyard.
As we scanned the room, our eyes darting from one corner to another, expecting to find someone or something that caused the commotion. But the room was empty. My eyes came across the framed photographs sitting on top of the dressers. I walked closer, picking one up, it was the same girl in the photo who resembled her mom.
"Z, this must be Amber's room," I said excitedly. Going over to the vanity, I opened the large drawer, hoping to find something that would help connect the dots between me and this family. Zeke quickly went to the closet and began looking through it. At the bottom of the drawer, my hand brushed against a leather-bound book with the initials A.R.C. engraved on the surface.
"I think I found a diary or journal," I say to Zeke.
"Are you going to read it?"
"Yes, I'm curious about the people who lived here," I replied, pausing for a moment before asking, "Is it wrong of me to want to read it and try to figure out what happened?"
"No not at all. I'm curious about them too," Zeke answered. I grab the book and we quickly make our way back to my room. As we settle into the bed, I flip through the pages, noticing that only a quarter of the book has been written in. This must have been Amber's last journal. Zeke told me to read it out loud, so he could hear to.
Dear diary,
Today has been a tough day for me. My dad is acting all paranoid and has made me, Samuel, Betty, and Donovan come home straight after school. He's also insisting that we keep all the doors and windows to the house locked and not let anyone in, claiming it's for our safety. But I can't help but feel like he's losing his mind. My older brother, Donavvon, agrees with me. To make matters worse, Dad has forced me to break up with my boyfriend, Andy. As an 18-year-old, I should be able to make my own decisions. But when I beg and cry to see him, my dad always says no and sends me to my room.. However, I have to see Andy soon. I couldn't resist stopping at the drugstore for an important test. It may shock you, diary, but it was a pregnancy test, and it came out positive when I took it.
I don't know what to do, and I'm scared. If the lockdown doesn't end soon. I'll have to ask my mom for help. Maybe she can help convince my dad to let me see Andy again, especially now that I have this huge secret. I hope my family is not too disappointed in me.
Thank you for listening, diary.
I stopped reading and looked up at Zeke, who seemed just as interested as I was in the text. It also posed a lot of questions. Why was Mr. Catalano acting paranoid? Is it the reason they went missing?
"Z, I just realized something disturbing. This girl was carrying a baby when she vanished without a trace. It's heart-wrenching to imagine the fate of both the mother and her unborn child." He instinctively wrapped an arm around me to comfort me. The diary was evoking my empathy and emotions. Flipping the page over, I read the next entry.
Dear Diary,
I'm Sorry it has been over a week since my last entry. Things around here have gotten crazier. My brother was attacked on his way home from school. He told my dad that three men jumped him, saying his father needed to stay out of other people's business if he knew what was good for him. At the time, Donovan told my parents he didn't know who they were, but later confided in me that Ted, who graduated a few years ahead of him, was one of them. Ted was a weird guy whom we avoided. He hung around the high school, hitting on young girls even after he graduated.. He creeped everyone out. He also lived across the street from us with his elderly parents.
We tried asking dad what was wrong because we were scared for the safety of our mom and siblings. He got angry with us and told us he was handling it. We were shocked by his attitude. Dad was usually a sweet man and never said harsh words to us. I just wish he would tell us what's going on.
I'm scared not only for myself but for the safety of my unborn baby. I haven't told anyone yet. Andy is supposed to sneak over later so we can talk. Thankfully, he can climb the tree beside my window. Tonight is the night I tell him about our baby. My biggest worry is how he will react to the new?
His dad will be our biggest obstacle. He is hard on him and always pushes him to be perfect. Andy always complains about him giving him a hard time about football and his grades. He definitely doesn't like us dating because I'm a distraction, he says. Andy always tells me he doesn't care what his father thinks because he loves me, and I love him too. We can conquer anything together, and I believe in him. Wish me luck.
Thanks for listening, diary.
My heart ached as I flipped through the diary pages. The handwriting was elegant and precise, and the words seemed to leap off the page, transporting me to another time and place. I felt a lump rise in my throat as I read about this young woman, her baby, and her family that would disappear without a trace.