15 year old Kara Smith has life under control. With stellar grades and a nice boyfriend, everything is perfect. Until it isn't. On the eve of her 16th birthday, her parents go missing leaving no trace. Kara is devastated and she has no one to turn to. When things start happening to Kara, things that she can't understand and can't explain, it's up to her to find the truth about herself, her family, and her life. But is her boyfriend really who he says he is? And why is everyone suddenly acting like they know something that she doesn't? And most of all, where are her parents?
"Mom?" I called down the long dark hallway. "Dad?" It wasn't like them both to not be home when I got home from school. Something was up. I checked their room and throughout the whole house, my footsteps echoing with each step. They weren't in the house. Hmm.
I decided to call them.
Ring, ring, ring. This is Mikayla Smith please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. My brain automatically went to what my parents called the 'worst case scenario.' I imagined them lost somewhere or something bad happened to them. I pushed the thoughts to way back in my head. I told myself I was worrying for nothing. And as my mom always said "Worrying is time you could have spent doing something else, and you could be worrying for nothing and you would have spent all that time worrying when you could have been doing something else."
I told myself there was nothing to worry about as I called my dad. But to no anavil. Voicemail. This was so unlike my parents; they were the kind of people who would text you that they were in the bathroom or going to a different room. Most of the time I found it quite annoying but now I just wished they would pick up the phone.
I started pacing on the hardwood floor. It was cool on my feet and I focused on that feeling instead of focusing on why parents were not home yet.
Most kids probably wouldn't be freaking out if their parents weren't home so I decided I wouldn't either. I plopped down on the couch and turned on the news but instead of watching it I stared at the door. There was a little smudge on it that kind of looked like a mouse, and I took to starting at it.
It was only three thirty and I decided I would start freaking out if they weren't home by five.
Time seemed to move fast and here I was three hours later still staring at the little smudge on the door.
Then at around seven I heard the lock on the door click. Relief flooded my body, like a river that had been blocked but was now gushing. I practically ran over to the door.
But it wasn't my parents who came through the door.
It was my Uncle Tony's smiling face, still dressed in his police uniform. Uncle Tony was my favorite uncle, my only uncle to be exact, but we liked to joke that he was my favorite.
"Hey, kid. How ya doing," he asked me as he wrapped me into a big bear hug. I had forgotten that Uncle Tony was coming over to celebrate my birthday tomorrow.
"I'm fine," I said quickly, breaking the hug. "Have you seen mom and dad today? They weren't here when I got home from school." His face went from smiling to worried in a split second.
"I haven't seen them today," he said scratching his head, an old habit he always used to do. "Did they say they were going somewhere?" He asked, full police investigator face on.
"No, they didn't, they said they would be home when I got home from school," I said my heart beat tripling.
"Okay well they are probably just out later getting you presents," he said smiling but it didn't reach his eyes. I could tell he was worried too. "Wanna watch some Netflix while we wait for them to get back?"
"Sure," I said even though I really didn't feel like it. We sat on the couch and silently watched an episode of Stranger Things I had seen a million times. I could tell we were both lost in our own thoughts.
By eleven O'clock I was freaking out.
"Where are they?" I said, my lip quivering. My stomach was hurting, something that always used to happen when I was super worried, like right before a big test. It was happening now.
"I have no idea," Uncle Tony said scratching his head again. "I'm going to call it in, I'll tell John just in case we have to file a missing person report. But don't worry Kara I'm sure they will be back soon," I could tell when he said that he was trying to believe it too. John was his coworker at the police station and Tony's best friend since high school.
"Why don't you go get some sleep, it's pretty late." It was only eleven but I knew I was being dismissed so he could call John. I was fine with it. I told myself mom and dad would be there in the morning.
"Okay," I said, and he gave me a kiss on the forehead.
I played music while I brushed my teeth, something that usually calmed me but for some reason tonight it didn't. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach and as I crawled into bed, that something was very, very wrong.
"Mom?" I called down the long dark hallway. "Dad?" It wasn't like them both to not be home when I got home from school. Something was up. I checked their room and throughout the whole house, my footsteps echoing with each step. They weren't in the house. Hmm.
I decided to call them.
Ring, ring, ring. This is Mikayla Smith please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. My brain automatically went to what my parents called the 'worst case scenario.' I imagined them lost somewhere or something bad happened to them. I pushed the thoughts to way back in my head. I told myself I was worrying for nothing. And as my mom always said "Worrying is time you could have spent doing something else, and you could be worrying for nothing and you would have spent all that time worrying when you could have been doing something else."
I told myself there was nothing to worry about as I called my dad. But to no anavil. Voicemail. This was so unlike my parents; they were the kind of people who would text you that they were in the bathroom or going to a different room. Most of the time I found it quite annoying but now I just wished they would pick up the phone.
I started pacing on the hardwood floor. It was cool on my feet and I focused on that feeling instead of focusing on why parents were not home yet.
Most kids probably wouldn't be freaking out if their parents weren't home so I decided I wouldn't either. I plopped down on the couch and turned on the news but instead of watching it I stared at the door. There was a little smudge on it that kind of looked like a mouse, and I took to starting at it.
It was only three thirty and I decided I would start freaking out if they weren't home by five.
Time seemed to move fast and here I was three hours later still staring at the little smudge on the door.
Then at around seven I heard the lock on the door click. Relief flooded my body, like a river that had been blocked but was now gushing. I practically ran over to the door.
But it wasn't my parents who came through the door.
It was my Uncle Tony's smiling face, still dressed in his police uniform. Uncle Tony was my favorite uncle, my only uncle to be exact, but we liked to joke that he was my favorite.
"Hey, kid. How ya doing," he asked me as he wrapped me into a big bear hug. I had forgotten that Uncle Tony was coming over to celebrate my birthday tomorrow.
"I'm fine," I said quickly, breaking the hug. "Have you seen mom and dad today? They weren't here when I got home from school." His face went from smiling to worried in a split second.
"I haven't seen them today," he said scratching his head, an old habit he always used to do. "Did they say they were going somewhere?" He asked, full police investigator face on.
"No, they didn't, they said they would be home when I got home from school," I said my heart beat tripling.
"Okay well they are probably just out later getting you presents," he said smiling but it didn't reach his eyes. I could tell he was worried too. "Wanna watch some Netflix while we wait for them to get back?"
"Sure," I said even though I really didn't feel like it. We sat on the couch and silently watched an episode of Stranger Things I had seen a million times. I could tell we were both lost in our own thoughts.
By eleven O'clock I was freaking out.
"Where are they?" I said, my lip quivering. My stomach was hurting, something that always used to happen when I was super worried, like right before a big test. It was happening now.
"I have no idea," Uncle Tony said scratching his head again. "I'm going to call it in, I'll tell John just in case we have to file a missing person report. But don't worry Kara I'm sure they will be back soon," I could tell when he said that he was trying to believe it too. John was his coworker at the police station and Tony's best friend since high school.
"Why don't you go get some sleep, it's pretty late." It was only eleven but I knew I was being dismissed so he could call John. I was fine with it. I told myself mom and dad would be there in the morning.
"Okay," I said, and he gave me a kiss on the forehead.
I played music while I brushed my teeth, something that usually calmed me but for some reason tonight it didn't. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach and as I crawled into bed, that something was very, very wrong.
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