Gone (Gone #1) (28 page)

I can't remember what happened after that. Like, I literally can't remember a single thing. All I know is that somehow I ended up in the psychiatrist's office. She was asking questions about Mom. I was crying too hard to answer any questions.

At some point, the new principal came in. He said something about CPS. I asked if they were going to help find Mom. He said that they would help me. I stood up and screamed that I didn't need help. I threw my fists up and down, shouting that they needed to help Mom. I was fine—at least compared to her!

Both of them held me down in the chair, but I kept screaming all the more, so loud that my throat still hurts. Why wouldn't they listen to me? I wasn't the one who needs help. Well, I do. Not as much as Mom. They need to focus on getting her home safe.

I needed to make them listen to me. I kept kicking and trying to get my arms loose. They were holding me down so tightly that I still have marks. Anyway, I finally calmed down once I figured out that they wouldn't listen to me until I did. Yelling and thrashing around wasn't getting me anywhere so I had to try talking calmly.

So long story short, now I'm home in my room and Dad's talking to the CPS people. I'm supposed to be packing some clothes and anything soft I might need. I'm going somewhere for observation, apparently. I hope they have a search team looking for Mom. They need to forget about me and find her. Can't they see that? I'm here and she's not.

The look in Dad's eyes is even scarier than before. He's beyond furious. There's not even a word to describe how angry he is.

I just snuck out into the hall and listened to what they were saying. They're going to take me to the mental hospital! Holy crap! The loony bin. They think I'm nuts. No! He's the one who needs to go there. Why can't they see that? But on the bright side, at least I'll be safe from Dad. They'll figure out that I'm not the crazy one. I'll just have to stay calm and not scream and shout like I did at school. The truth will come out.

Well, I just listened again because I heard Dad yelling. One of the CPS guys said something to Dad about watching out or he'd lose custody. Does that mean that they would take me away from him?

Then Mom and I could move away and then…

Discussion

Macy flipped the page, but the rest of the diary was blank. Why had Heather stopped in the middle of a sentence? Had she heard them coming for her and hidden the diary behind the drawer where Macy had found it?

Where
was
she? Was Heather in the mental facility? Did they take her there and leave her? Or had they taken away Chester's custody and put her up for adoption or foster care?

Had he tried to get her back, but couldn't? Was that why he went after Macy? Because he couldn't get to Heather?

She sighed, flipping through the entries again, looking for anything she might have missed before. There weren't any clues that she could find, tucked away out of plain sight.

Even though there were a lot of unanswered questions, Macy understood more about the entire situation. Something happened between Heather's parents to make Chester snap and put her mother in the barn, not just once but at least twice. There seemed to be a missing diary, so he may have taken her there more than once.

Had he tied her up like he had with Macy? He must have threatened her because why else would she have sat there, not talking to Heather? Either she really was that traumatized, or she had been trying to protect Heather. Being down there was horrible, but bad enough to stare at the wall for days on end?

Unless living with Chester all those years had done it to her. It could have been the final straw for her, and she snapped. Heather had snapped too, screaming at school. Had anyone at the mental hospital believed her about her mom? They must not have if Chester was wandering around free. Did he convince them about the Paris story, too?

Although they weren't staying at the family house—the one Heather had been dragged away from. Had Chester packed everything in a hurry, moving it back to his parents' house after losing custody? He had to have lost custody; otherwise he wouldn't have gone to the effort of taking Macy.

What if somehow Macy could find Heather? It was obviously a long shot, but if Heather had gotten away maybe Macy could too. Except that Chester would be even more careful in the future. He had already gone to great lengths to make sure Macy would do what he said.

She heard something in the hall, so she slid the diary back behind the dresser. It barely fit. She jumped up and pretended to be looking through the drawer that was still pulled out.

The door opened, but she pretended not to notice. Her heart raced again. She held up a pair of pants, pretending to decide whether or not to wear them.

Chester cleared his throat. Heart pounding, Macy turned and looked at him, forcing her face to look neutral.

He smiled. "Good morning, sunshine."

Macy's eyes widened. She couldn't find her voice.

"Mind if I sit?" His expression was relaxed.

She stared, afraid to speak. After everything she'd just read she had nothing to say. Where would she even begin?

He sat on the bed and then patted the quilt. Did he want her to sit next to him?

"Have a seat, Heather."

Macy put the pants back into the drawer and walked over to the bed. She looked at it, not wanting to sit.

Chester patted the bed again.

Afraid to anger him, Macy sat without a word.

"I know things have been rough, but we'll get through it. Everything is going to turn around, don't you agree?"

She looked at him, her eyes widening even further. The only way they would get better was if he would take her back home. She knew that wasn't what he had planned. Not if he was still calling her Heather.

"We can be a happy family now. You know your place, as everyone should. You're being more respectful, not like your mom was before she ran off to Paris. Maybe she'll even come to her senses and come back. Then we could be a complete family again. What do you think?"

Macy's breath caught, still unable to find her voice.

He gave her a sad smile and put his hand on her knee. "Yeah, I don't hold out much hope, either. That doesn't mean that we can't be happy. You and me, we're still together. Your grandparents are happy to have us here, and though we don't want to overstay our welcome, we can build a new sense of normal. Does that sound good?"

She bit her lip. How was she supposed to react to that? Did he really believe what he was saying, or was he only trying to get her to believe it?

Chester removed his hand from her knee. "I know. It's not perfect. As much as you've always loved being here, it isn't home. We just need this time away from everything to rebuild our family. After everything we've been through, we have to band together and get through it together. Things aren't going to be the same with your mom gone, and we can't pretend otherwise. She's gone, and there's nothing we can do about that."

He sighed and looked around the room, giving Macy a little space to breathe. Where was he going with all of this talk? Did it mean he was done locking her up? All she would have to do was pretend to be obedient, and she might get a little freedom? Would he be nice now that he deemed her changed?

Turning to her, he smiled again. It caught her off-guard. It would have been less worrisome if he was being mean. "What are you thinking, Heather?"

She held his eye contact, still not knowing what to say. What if she said the wrong thing and ended up back in the barn again? Would he leave her longer? She couldn't have taken any more. Would he leave her there permanently, trying to find yet another Heather, this time one who would be more agreeable?

"It's a lot to take in, I know. Especially with your mom gone now. You two were close, but you know what? This gives us room to be closer. We've never been as close as I would have liked. It's a chance for us to turn over a new leaf. Isn't that exciting?"

Macy could see the eagerness in his eyes. She knew she had no choice except to respond. She nodded.

"Can't you say anything? I'm excited, and you can't even find one word?"

Certain she could hear irritation creeping into his tone, she knew she had to say something, even if it was a bold-faced lie. She couldn't go back into the cellar. "It'll be great. It's something we've never done before." At least the second part was true. Even with as horrible as he had been to her, she still hated lying.

He broke into a huge grin, his entire face changing. For that moment, he didn't look like the scary monster who had tortured her. He looked like a broken man finding a ray of hope. Macy almost felt sorry for him—almost.

Chester pulled her into a hug, squishing her face against his side. "This is a new beginning for us, kid. Things are really going to turn around. Even though things have been rough, we're going to be able to become a happy little family again. Life is going to be good again. Right, honey?"

Macy's eyes widened. Did he really expect her to agree with that?

He squeezed her tighter into the hug. "Right?"

"Yeah, Dad. It's going to be great." Macy rolled her eyes.

"I'm so glad to have you back, Heather."

Goodbye

Chester walked along the overgrown path, his boots catching on loose pricker vines along the way. The trees overhead cast a dark shadow, giving him the chills. He should have grabbed a coat rather than just the flannel.

He looked at his watch. Forty-five minutes since he had left the farmhouse. Only another seven minutes before he arrived. She would wait as long as he took.

The forest was quiet, but that wasn't unusual for this time of year. The birds had flown south for the nearing winter, and the critters were all building their homes. A fat squirrel ran in front of Chester, chattering away. By springtime, they would all be skinny again.

It wouldn't be long now. Probably only three more minutes—no point in checking the time again. He took a deep breath, starting to feel winded. At least this trip was easier than the first one out there. Carrying all that added weight had made the trip more than twice as long.

Three rocks piled on top of each other, leaning against a hollowed out stump, reminded him to turn left. The pricker bushes were thick to keep the path hidden. Not that many people went this deep into the woods to begin with.

Chester leaned against the nearest tree, mentally preparing himself for the last leg of this relatively small journey. He kicked some frost on the ground as he thought about what he was going to say to her. It was going to be pivotal, as this would be goodbye.

He pulled some thorns from his boots before knocking over the pile of three rocks. He wouldn't need those again, and he certainly didn't need anyone else seeing them and figuring out that they pointed somewhere. The rocks sent dirt and frost flying in all directions.

He made his way to the hidden path, making sure there was no exposed skin between the thick, leather gloves and his flannel shirt.

A thick, curved stick sat at the base of one tree where he had left it last time. He picked it up and pushed aside the thorn bushes, allowing himself through. The branches snagged his back as they fell back into place behind him. His clothes would be snagged up, but that wasn't of any concern. He'd picked them just for this occasion.

Finally he made it to the small clearing. Frost covered the ground here more than anywhere else in the woods. Little footprints indicated small critters running through.

Four rocks piled on top of one another caught his attention. They sat off to the right of the field, looking sad and solitary. There she was, waiting for him. His heart picked up speed, and he walked over to her. He fell to his knees in front of the rocks. Tears shone in his eyes as he sat above her where she rested.

"Karla, my dear. How I've missed you. Have you missed me? I suppose you have, since you haven't had any other visitors." He pulled off his cap, raking his fingers through his hair, before replacing it. "It's been a while. I apologize for that, because I know you want answers. You wish Heather could be with you, but that isn't possible, my dear. I've gotten her back. Can you believe that?"

He paused, listening.

"She was mad at first, but who could blame her? I think she's missed you, but it's hard to say. She hasn't really asked about you. I wouldn't have told you—I know hearing that has to hurt—but it's the truth. She just hasn't asked. I had to put her in the barn a couple of times. I know how much you hate that. That was part of the problem, you know? You just had such a hard time accepting my decisions. I wish that hadn't been the case."

Chester removed his gloves and ran his hand along the frosty dirt, remembering how he used to enjoy running his hands along her back. "I don't know why you couldn't just accept my leadership. Why wouldn't you listen to me? Now you have no choice, and I wish you would have chosen your path when…before, my dear Karla. I would so much rather have you at my side, but you just wouldn't listen." He shook his head, feeling choked up.

"It's such a shame. Such a shame. Heather needs a mom, and she's looking for something. I can see it in her eyes. She knows I'm her dad. I love how it rolls off her tongue so naturally now. But my dear, we're not a family. Not without you. She knows it, even though she won't say anything. I wish she would ask about you, because then I wouldn't have to hurt you with the knowledge that she hasn't said anything. You two were so close, do you remember?"