Hey there and welcome back to The Quoted Blog! I'm sorry I made you wait for the next chapter of this short story, but finally, here it is!
Just a reminder: The last chapter ended off with Blake knowing Lily's name. And, if you have not for some odd reason read the first chapter, click this link: https://miribrooks1.wixsite.com/quoted/post/finding-nora-a-short-story-chapter-one
Okay, let's get into chapter two!
Chapter two
“How do you know my name?” I asked, stepping away from Blake.
Blake held his hands up like he was about to get arrested. “I’m sorry! I guess I should explain.” I crossed my arms, waiting for an explanation. Finally, he let out a deep breath and said, “My sister is missing too. I saw your name in the newspaper. Her name was Nora, right?”
“Her name is Nora,” I said, feeling tears in my eyes. “And I will find her.” I gave Blake a look, then ran toward my house and went inside.
I sat down against the front door, glad that I was the only one home in that moment. The benefit of being in my junior year of college was that I usually had the house to myself. Both of my roommates, Jenna and Luna, were usually at class during the day when I wasn’t at class. We still saw each other a lot, but having a house to myself sometimes was all I wanted, especially with my sister missing.
I let the tears fall, thinking about how much I missed my sister. She was always bright, funny, and my best friend. Even though she was in high school and I was in college, we always found time to hang out together, and it meant a lot to me. I loved my sister, and I would do anything in my power to get her back. Anything.
“Lily! Please let me explain!” Blake pleaded from the other side of the door. I stayed where I was, not saying a word. I didn’t know him, and I definitely didn’t know if I could trust him. “Come on!”
I heard him pound on the door for a minute, and then everything was silent. I wiped away my tears, getting up.
Opening the door slowly, I stepped outside onto my porch. Blake was sitting on the step, looking out at the street.
“Blake, I want to help you find your sister, but only if you help me find mine,” I said, folding my arms together.
Blake stood up and turned around, pushing a hand through his hair. Then, he did something I didn’t expect from a person that seemed so complicated a few minutes earlier. He smiled.
🌧🌧🌧
“Nora was my best friend. We did everything together, and when she disappeared, it was hard. But, one thing I know about my sister is that she would never willingly leave me or my family behind. She’s not a runaway. Someone kidnapped her. I know that for a fact.”
Blake sat down at my kitchen table. He didn’t say anything, and for a moment I was wondering if he even heard me.
“What’s her name?” I asked.
“Maeve,” he said, running a finger across the kitchen table.
“That’s a pretty name. And, hey, we’re going to find her. That’s why you’re here right? You saw the newspaper and my address, and then decided to stand in the middle of the road to get my attention.” He chuckled, looking up at me.
“You’re right. I promise I wasn’t trying to kill myself.”
I averted my eyes from his, looking at a picture of Nora hanging on the wall. Then, it was time to get down to business.
“So, Nora went missing last October,” I began, trying to get all the details out before I started crying again. “It was a school day, and I remember that I was supposed to pick her up from school, but when I got up there, no one came out to the car. I sat there for an hour and even called the school principal, but no one knew where she was.
“I finally learned that no one had even seen her go to school. She rode the bus that morning, or…she was supposed to. But, if she never made it to school, she might have never even made it to the bus in the first place.” I felt my eyes begin to tear up. I hated crying in front of people, but sometimes I just couldn’t control my feelings.
“Maeve went missing on November second. That was also a school day, and she was also supposed to ride the bus.”
I looked up when Blake said that. “So, that’s something both our stories have in common. They were both supposed to get on the bus, but never made it. Also, what school does your sister go to?”
“Northridge High. She’s in eleventh grade.”
“And Nora goes to Oakwood High which is all the way across town, but she’s in tenth grade.” I stood up, beginning to pace the room while my mind shifted gears. “So, they were both in different grades and went to different schools that were not near each other. That doesn’t give us much to go on.” I stopped, bringing all of my attention to the picture of Nora. “Did your sister have an attendance records for that day?” I asked, moving my attention from the picture to Blake.
“Not that I know of.”
“Okay.” I walked over to the counter and grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen. Then, I headed back over to the table and wrote Clues on one side of the paper, and Suspects on the other.
“Do you know if Maeve had any enemies?”
Blake thought for a minute before saying, “As far as I know, she didn’t.”
I wrote down Maeve’s name, and beside it put no enemies.
Before I could ask Blake anymore questions, the phone began ringing.
“Hello?” I asked.
“I have a message for Lily and Blake,” a scratchy male voice said.
“Okay…” I began to get a little worried. “What is it?”
“STOP LOOKING!”
And, that was chapter two! I know it's going really slow so far, but that's just the beauty of short stories sometimes. So, if you want to know what's going to happen next, stick around and you'll find out!
Because this chapter is coming out on a Wednesday, I'm going to try to have the next chapter come out on Friday. ~Ella
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