Gone (Gone #1) (19 page)

He nodded, and then turned to his dad. "Hey, Dad. We're going back to the house now."

"I'll go with you two." He turned to the adults and waved a goodbye. They started the short trek back to the Mercer house. Normally it was a short walk, but after the day's searching it felt much longer.

No one spoke. Zoey wanted to know what Chad was thinking, but given the look of relief on his face when Zoey said she would go with him and Lydia, he was probably innocent. Lydia was probably going after him because he was weak. Or maybe she saw some kind of opportunity.

Or maybe Zoey was so desperate for something other than Macy to think about that she was making something out of nothing.

When they got to the front yard, Zoey felt like collapsing on the lawn, but forced her feet to keep going. Within the front door, a delicious smell greeted her. She guessed dinner was ready. She kicked her shoes off out of habit, feeling at home, and went to use the bathroom. She hadn't realized how bad she had to go until then.

By the time she got to the table, everyone else had already sat. Zoey took the seat next to Alex. Dinner smelled like herbs and chicken; her mouth watered. It had been Macy's favorite whenever she spent the night, at least before she went vegan. There were so many nights that they had eaten that meal and then ran up the stairs, giggling and whispering secrets.

Zoey's chest tightened as she thought about her best friend. What would she do without her? Tears filled her eyes as she filled her plate, not looking at anyone.

The discussion was light, mostly the Mercer's thanking Valerie for making the meal. The three of them scarfed down their food. Had they eaten since Macy disappeared?

After everyone had eaten, Zoey's mom made eye contact with her. "Will you help me with the dishes?"

"Sure."

Valerie looked at everyone else. "You guys get some rest. We'll take care of the kitchen."

They all said their thanks and went off in various directions. Zoey felt a little more energized after having eaten. She picked up the plates, stacking them on top of one another.

"I hate to do this to you, Zo, but my work needs me to travel to China for a few days. I feel bad about leaving you, and I wish I could be here for Macy's family, but this way I can catch up on my lost work hours. I can't afford to lose my job, honey. We don't want to lose the house."

Zoey put the plates on the counter. "What does that mean for me?"

"I know you could probably stay home and be fine, but I would feel better if you didn't. Would you be willing to stay here? Alyssa already said you were more than welcome. But if you don't want to stay in Macy's house, I understand. We can ask another of your friends' parents."

Her mom was offering for her to spend the night at Alex's house for a few days? "Here is fine."

"There's more." Her mom sighed. "You're not going to want to hear it, but I want you to."

"What?"

"I want you to go back to school on Monday."

"What? Mom—"

"Zoey, hear me out, I said. I don't want you falling behind, and you've already missed a week of school. They also have counselors there who are already talking with students, helping them deal with Macy's disappearance. I was told that you can go and talk with one at any time. They have extras on hand because so many kids want to talk about it. You would have priority, being her best friend."

"Kids are talking to counselors about her? Most of the kids made fun of her, and didn't stop even after she lost her weight."

Her mom's face became sad. "Those kids might be the ones who need to talk to someone the most. They might have a lot of guilt."

"They should! They're the ones who forced her into finding a boyfriend online. I hope those snarky bi—"

"Language, Zoey."

"Ugh." She rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to sugarcoat the truth. They're complete and total b—"

"Enough. Do you want to stay here? And are you willing to go to school? At least try it on Monday. If it's too much, we can have the teachers send work home."

"Sounds like you've really thought about this."

Valerie nodded. "Alyssa and I have been talking. She wants Alex to go back to school, too."

"I can't imagine he wants to go back any more than I do, but if Alex goes, I'll go."

"You might be the one to lead the way for him, Zo. I know he's Macy's kid brother and he probably annoys you, but I see the way he looks at you. He looks up to you. You have an opportunity here to make a difference in his life. His parents are overwhelmed with grief, so they're limited in what they can give him."

"Okay, I'll go to school for Alex."

"And you'll stay here?"

"For Alex."

Valerie hugged her. "Thank you, honey. I know it's really hard on you too."

Despite the grief, Zoey couldn't stop a smile tugging at her mouth. She was going to spend the night at Alex's house.

Stranger

Zoey tossed and turned in Macy's bed. As tired as she was, it was too weird being in her best friend's room. Sure, Zoey had been in the room countless times, and it had always felt like her second home. But with Macy being gone, she didn't feel right being there.

She sat up, looking around the room. Macy loved night-lights, and there were enough of them around the room that Zoey could see everything. The desk looked bare with the computer gone.

Would Macy really know how to return it to factory settings? She always called Zoey when she had to do something on her computer. Macy knew nothing about computers aside from turning them on and starting up the Internet and a couple of programs she needed for school. Zoey was no computer whiz, but she often felt like one compared to Macy.

Sure, it was possible that Macy had Googled directions, but she wouldn't have been able to follow them. It didn't make any sense that she would have wiped the computer clean before leaving.

What if Jared had done that? He had removed his social media profiles, so it would stand to reason that if he had done something with Macy that he could have reset her computer. How would they have gotten into the house? It had been Macy's first time sneaking out. She wouldn't have sneaked back in with him, would she?

There were too many things that didn't add up, and again, she came back to the fact that Macy wouldn't ignore her. If Macy ran off with Jared, Zoey would have been the first to know. Even if it was only a quick text. She would have let Zoey know something.

She needed a cigarette. There was no way to sneak out onto the roof from Macy's room. It was a steep drop, and she wasn't stupid enough to risk it. If Chad and Alyssa were sleeping, she could go into the back yard. If they were awake, she would have to get creative. She really needed one.

Zoey got out of bed as quiet as possible, threw on a hoodie and then slid a pack and a lighter into the pocket. She opened the bedroom door and jumped when she saw Chad standing next to her, just outside the room, looking to the side. "Mr. Mercer, you startled me."

Wait. Why was he wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, with his hoodie pulled on top of his head?

He turned and looked at her. Chad didn't have over-sized glasses, bushy eyebrows or a beard. A nine o'clock shadow, sure, but nothing like what this guy had.

Zoey's heart dropped. "You're not Mr. Mercer."

"And you shouldn't be in Heather's room."

"What? Who's Hea—?"

The man grabbed her, covering her mouth before she could scream. Zoey hit and kicked him, fighting even harder as he tightened his grip. He pinned her arms to her body. She kicked even harder, trying to bruise his shins. She couldn't scream, so she tried to bite him, but she couldn't even get her mouth open.

He moved his finger to block her nose. He was trying to kill her. Struggling to breathe, she continued to kick. She tried elbowing him, but she couldn't move her arms. Her fingers were free, so she pinched his legs on both sides. He let out a gasp and swore at her, shoving his finger further against her nose.

Zoey felt dizzy. She kept kicking his shins and squirmed with all her might. If she could squirm enough, maybe she could loosen his hold and get away. It was her only hope. She couldn't breathe, and she was getting dizzier by the second. It made it harder to fight him.

His grip on her tightened. She kept kicking and squirming, but suddenly she couldn't keep it up. She couldn't think straight, and her vision went dark.

When Zoey woke up, she was cold. Where was she? She blinked several times, but it was too dark to see anything. She got the shivers. She was on a cold floor. She stood up, banging her head against something metal. The floor was especially cold on her feet. Where were her socks? Hadn't she gone to bed with socks on?

She stopped. She had gone to bed in Macy's room. What happened after that? Everything flooded back into her memory. That man hadn't killed her after all.

Where was she?

Desperation filled her, and she forgot about how cold she was. She felt around, walking as quietly as she could.

If he was nearby, the last thing she wanted to do was let him know she was awake. Zoey's hand touched what she was sure was a car. She kept her hand on it, walking alongside it. When she got to the other end, she felt around for something else she could use to guide her.

There was nothing in her reach, so she continued along, following the car. Why was it so dark? Was it still night? Were there no windows in this…whatever the place was? A garage, maybe. Hopefully that meant she wasn't being watched. Chills ran down her back as she pictured that guy watching her with night vision goggles. Again with her overactive imagination.

She picked up speed, eager to get out of the garage. She felt around the air as she walked, and eventually found a table or some kind of bench. It might have been Chad's tool bench. It was right where it should be if she was in their garage and she was walking alongside Alyssa's car. If she followed the bench to the other side, she should get to the door leading to the house.

More than anything, she needed to get inside to the Mercers. What if he had done something to them? She picked up her speed, praying that she wouldn't find them all in pools of their own blood.

Zoey felt along the bench until she reached the end. She walked to where the door should have been and found the handle. Holding her breath, she turned it. The door opened with a low squeak. The inside of the house was lighter than the garage, and as her eyes adjusted she could see she was in the Mercers' downstairs.

Before running up the stairs, she listened for any sounds. Everything was silent. It was too quiet, in fact. All kinds of bloody images flooded her mind. She had to get up to Alex's room to make sure he was okay. She ran up the stairs, unable to get images of an ax jammed in his head out of her mind. All she could imagine was his dead body lying in his blood-soaked bed.

By the time she reached the hall leading to the bedrooms, she had herself convinced that Alex was dead. Tears ran down her face. He was dead, she knew it. Two of the most important people in her life were gone.

She threw open his door and turned the light on. She didn't see any blood—she couldn't see anything for a moment. The light was blinding until her eyes adjusted. The first thing she noticed was Alex covering his head with a pillow.

"Turn it off. It's too bright." His voice was muffled.

Zoey let out a sigh of relief. He was alive. She turned the light off and leaned against the wall, gasping for air. She hadn't realized she had been holding her breath until she released it.

"What's going on?"

She ran to his bed, throwing herself against him, into his arms. "I'm so glad you're alive."

"Why wouldn't I be? What's going on?"

Snuggling closer, she found his face and gave him a prolonged kiss.

He returned the kiss for a moment, but then pulled away. "Why are you so upset?"

"I'm so glad you're alive," she repeated.

"Why?" He sounded out of breath. Alex pulled his head back and looked at her. They could barely see each other from what little light was coming through the window.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You have to. Why are you so freaked out?"

She frowned, sighing. He was right. Even though she didn't want to talk about it, she needed to. She was still shaking. "I was going to go out for a smoke, but then I ran into someone in the hall."

"My parents?"

"No."

"What do you mean? Who?" Color drained from his face.

She leaned her head against his shoulder and then told him the entire story, shaking. Zoey left out the part about him calling Macy Heather. It was too weird, and it was a stupid detail, wasn't it?

Alex wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. "Are you okay?"

"I am now. I was so afraid he had gotten to you. I was way more worried about you than anything else."

He looked her in the eyes. "We need to get my parents."

She shook her head. "No. I don't want to talk about it again."

"You have to tell them everything you told me. Some guy broke in here, Zoey. He could have hurt you worse than he did. What if he's still in here? Or if he took something? What if he comes back?"