Tiny Bites Page 21

  Sitting in his warm truck across from the park, Chester Woodran watched her walk across the open field. An overhead light turned on as she passed under it in the dusk. Her long, dark hair swished back and forth behind her. She wandered around the playground, walking between the climbers and slides until she stopped in front of the swings.

  He had spent hours watching her. Studying her. He knew her almost better than she knew herself.

  The moment of truth would arrive soon. She'd come a few minutes early, but he wouldn't deviate from the schedule. He would act exactly on time. He'd laid the groundwork. He wasn't going to let her change a thing.

  Chester pulled out his phone and scrolled through the pictures, stopping at his favorite. It was the girl in the park for sure, although he couldn't see the details of her face up close yet. He would have to wait a few minutes.

  From the phone, her light brown eyes shone at him. Her shy, almost insecure face smiled sweetly.

  His heart sped up at the thought of many weeks of work coming together at long last. The waiting was about to end.

  Clenching the steering wheel with all his might, he took several deep breaths to calm himself. Every precaution had been taken. Prepared with painstaking care. There was no chance of anything going wrong so long as he stayed with the plan.

  The alarm on his digital wristwatch beeped. He turned it off and then leaned back into the seat, adjusting his over-sized glasses.

  It was time.

  Excerpt from Gone

  Taken

  Macy Mercer sat on the swing, clutching the cold, metal chain. Soon she'd meet Jared, the sweet and adorable boy she met online. She pushed the dirt with her foot, swinging back and forth, listening to the leaves rustle nearby as a breeze picked up. The temperature felt like it had dropped ten degrees, so she zipped up her hoodie as far as it would go. She should have worn a coat, but it was too late to go back home.

  A crow cawed in the distance, giving her the chills.

  To distract herself, she grabbed the new smart phone she'd received for her fifteenth birthday. She checked the time. Jared still had another five minutes. Macy had been so eager to meet him that she'd sneaked out of her house a little early, eager for her first real date. Her parents had a stupid, outdated rule that she couldn't date until she turned sixteen. There was no way she would wait an entire year. Not when her friends all went out every weekend.

  She looked around the empty park once more, the swing chains groaning as they carried her back and forth listlessly. Jared was supposed to meet her after his baseball practice. He was the star of the team, and sometimes had to stay a little late because the coach expected more from him than anyone else. She scrolled through their latest texting conversation, her excitement building.

  The phone buzzed, startling her. Hoping that it was Jared, she scrolled to the bottom of the screen and smiled.

  Sorry, coach is keeping me late

  Macy sighed, shivering in the cold Washington breeze. How long?

  Abt a half hr

  The last thing Macy wanted was to put the date off, but it was really cold. U sure 2day still works?

  You want my dad to get u?

  Macy ran her hands through her freshly-styled hair. Going with a grown man hadn't been part of the plan. She was just supposed to meet Jared and go the mall, or maybe a movie or to the arcade. They were going to play it by ear.

  Is it ok? Or u wanna wait?

  It was getting colder, and no way she wanted to sit here that long. The mall was too far to walk to, but with his dad, she'd be warmer and see Jared sooner.

  They'd talked for so long over computers and texts. Macy didn't want to wait more. She'd show everyone she wasn't afraid to go out with a boy, no matter what her parents said.

  She texted him back. He's ok driving me?

  He offered

  U can't come now?

  No. I have to help

  Ok. Your dad can pick me up

  K c u soon

  Sliding the phone back into her pocket, she looked around again. Something didn't feel right, but she pushed it aside. She and Jared had known each other for a whole month, and he was sweet and funny. If he thought it was okay for her to go with his dad, it was fine. She wasn't a little girl anymore. Macy held her chin a little higher.

  A green pickup truck with a black canopy pulled into the empty parking lot. Macy squinted, trying to see if the driver looked like an old version Jared's profile pictures. She couldn't tell.

  The lights flashed the high beams, and she took that as her cue to go. She held her handbag close, stood tall, and walked to the truck trying to look mature and sophisticated.

  As she neared the truck, the passenger door opened. The man sitting in the driver's seat looked nice enough. He had dark, straight hair with a receding hairline and big, geeky glasses. He kind of reminded her of her biology teacher, who always cracked science jokes that only he laughed at.

  "Macy?" He readjusted his glasses and ran his hands through his hair.

  "Yeah." She leaned all of her weight on her left foot, biting the right side of her lower lip.

  He gave her an awkward smile. "I'm Jared's dad. He said you needed a ride to his practice?"

  She nodded. The car radio played classic rock, like what her dad listened to. She relaxed a little.

  He patted the bench seat. "Come on in. He's almost done with practice."

  "Okay." Macy climbed in and closed the door. The warm air felt good after being out in the cold. She buckled in. "Thanks for the ride."

  "No problem. Jared didn't want you sitting outside in the cold. Did you have a good day?"

  "Sure." She shrugged. "Just school and stuff."

  He pulled out of the parking lot and turned right. His phone made robot noises, and he pulled it up to his ear. "Jared. What's going on?…Yeah, she's here with me…Oh, okay. I'll let her know." He put the phone away. "Jared has to stay a little longer. Hey, I have a quick errand. Mind if I run to the hardware store before dropping you off at his school?"

  "Well, how much longer is he going to be?" Macy spun a ring around her finger, nervous. "Maybe I should go back home. I can always meet him a different day. It's okay."

  "I get it. I'll take you to the school. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable. You don't even know me."

  "Or back to the park. I can just walk back home." Her heart pounded. Something wasn't right.

  "Jared will be so disappointed. Let me take you to the school. I didn't mean to creep you out." He turned and smiled at her. "I wasn't thinking."

  She sighed. "Okay." At least she would be able to get out of the truck. She could take a bus back home, or if worse came to worse she could always call her parents. She'd be grounded for sneaking out, but that might not be so bad. Just so long as she could get out of the truck.

  Macy's stomach twisted in a knot, growing tighter the farther they went. Her mouth grew increasingly dry. She watched as street sign after street sign passed by.

  "Maybe I should go back. I think I might have forgotten something at home."

  "Oh? Are you sure?"

  "Yeah. I need to go back home."

  "Well, if you really think so. I'll break the news to Jared. I'm sure he'll understand." He pulled out his phone and activated the voice command. "Call Jared."

  "Wait."

  "Yes?"

  "Well, uh…." Since he was being so nice, maybe she was overreacting. "You don't have to call him."

  "If you're sure." He pushed a button on his phone and put it back in his pocket.

  Deleted Scene: Gone

  Where

  Alex rolled over in bed and groaned. He had a free pass from school, but he couldn't enjoy it. Macy had been gone three days—four if you counted the night she went missing. It had been three since the morning he figured out what was going on.

  He had hoped it was an epic joke, or that his dad was right and she was giving her parents a big, public middle finger. If that was the case, she would have been back by n
ow. Or at least have let someone know where she was.

  Unable to sit still any longer, he grabbed his laptop and opened the browser. He had marked Macy's profile so that if she did anything, he would get notified. All he had were stupid notifications from his friends. He went to her profile, just in case. Social media never did what he wanted. Maybe Macy had been on, but he didn't get a notification.

  He scrolled through the long list of people wishing her well, not seeing anything from her. Where was she? And what happened to that Jared dude she was supposed to see?

  Alex would beat the crap out Jared if he could. He would pound his face until Jared begged for mercy, and then he would keep going. If he had done something really stupid, like hurt or kill Macy, then Alex wouldn't stop until Jared was dead. Nobody messed with his sister and got away with it.

  His friend, Mitch, sent him a chat message. Alex didn't want to talk with anyone, so he made it look like he was offline. Usually, he loved to chat. Now he had nothing to say to anyone. His friends didn't understand how worried he was. They all thought it would be cool to have their siblings disappear for a while. Idiots.

  Turning off the tablet, he got up and looked out his window. The pile of flowers by their mailbox had grown overnight. He was pretty sure there were new stuffed animals, too.

  It gave him vague comfort knowing that others cared and wanted Macy back, also. Watching the news and social media, it was clear that there were two camps of people—those who thought she had been kidnapped or killed and those who thought she'd run away.

  Zoey kept telling everyone that if Macy had run away, she would have contacted her. They were best friends, after all. She jumped in and defended every idiotic post on Macy's profile. Alex was glad she did, because if he had replied, he wouldn't have been half as nice.

  It pissed him off that anyone would be stupid enough to go and post crap like that on Macy's profile page. He wished he knew her password, so he could delete all of it.

  Something across the street caught Alex's eye, and he saw someone he didn't know walking to their driveway holding flowers. It was strange that so many people cared. Most of them didn't even know her, or anyone in the family for that matter.

  Alex watched as the girl, who looked like she was in college, stopped in front of the pile of flowers. She seemed to be looking at all the stuff. She added her flowers to the group, and then kneeled.

  What was she doing? Alex squinted, trying to see better. She looked like she was talking, but no one was around. Then she made a cross over her chest. She must be praying. Alex felt awkward, like he was watching something too personal. He walked away from his window.

  People had posted that they were praying for Macy. His family had never gone to church, except for some funerals, and he doubted that praying would do any good. He had figured that when people said they were praying, they were basically saying that they wished them luck.

  Curious, he looked back out the window. The girl was still kneeling and moving her mouth. Alex sighed, hoping the prayer would do something, and that his doubt wouldn't get in the way.

  He picked up his phone and texted Zoey. The school had given her the same free pass since she was Macy's best friend. How long would that last? What if Macy never came back? The school would expect them to come back at some point, but what would be that magical point?

  Zoey texted him back, saying she had stayed home, too. They decided to meet in a little while. Neither one was even dressed yet. They were both eager to get out of their houses and have a cigarette.

  Alex took a shower, washing off the stink. He'd thought about skipping a shower, but he didn't want to gross Zoey out. He was getting smellier every day, and had been sneaking his dad's antiperspirant. He was too embarrassed to ask for his own, even though he knew he really needed it.

  He remembered the embarrassing lecture Macy got after she'd asked for a razor. The whole sex and dating talk. She had told him every excruciating detail of having to listen to both parents talk about bodily functions and hygiene. He wanted to sit through that like he wanted a hole drilled in his head.

  Nope. He would keep borrowing his dad's stuff as long as he could. At some point, his parents were bound to give him the talk too, but he would put that off as long as possible.

  He went into the shower and scrubbed his skin raw, making sure to remove all the smell. Why did smelling bad have to be part of growing up? He hadn't cared about how he smelled when he was younger, but now that he cared, he reeked. It wasn't fair.

  When the water went cold, he got out and dried off, wrapped the towel around his waist, and brushed his hair. He stared at himself in the mirror. His shoulders and chest were filling out. That part of growing up was cool. It sucked that it came with smelling bad, though. He flexed at the stud in the mirror and then went back to his room to find the coolest outfit that was clean.

  His mom hadn't touched his laundry, not that he blamed her, but since missing laundry day, his choice of clothing was getting sparse. Soon, he'd be forced to wear the Christmas sweater his great-aunt had knit him. He'd wear the towel in public before that sweater.

  Alex found a shirt stuffed in the back of a drawer he had forgotten about. At least he had something decent to wear to see Zoey.

  Once dressed, he headed for the kitchen. Even though his sister was missing, he was still hungry. He didn't know if his parents were eating. They definitely weren't making any meals.

  He opened the fridge and saw that nobody had gone to the grocery store, either. It was nearly empty, except for Macy's vegan stuff. How did she eat that? He couldn't imagine life without cheese or pepperoni. Great, now he wanted pizza.

  Sighing, he closed the door and went to the pantry. He grabbed a box of sugary cereal and poured it into a bowl and ate it dry. He had finished off the last of the milk with yesterday's cereal. Maybe Zoey had more food at her house.

  He tossed the empty bowl into the sink and went upstairs to tell his parents he was going for a walk. Before he even reached their door, he could hear his mom's sobs. He felt bad, wanting to comfort her. He knew if he went in there, he might get stuck for a while. Besides, there was nothing he could do. Macy was gone.

  Of course he wished he could bring her back and make everything right in his family, but that wouldn't happen. Not unless Macy got a hold of him, but that wasn't likely. She hadn't signed into any of her social media sites, and her phone kept going to voice mail. He knew because he kept trying, hoping that she would turn it on for a minute and answer his call.

  Alex went downstairs to see if his dad was in his office. After the knocks went unanswered, he went in. Alex saw his dad sleeping on the couch. It was the first time he had seen his dad sleep since Macy disappeared.

  He went back to the kitchen and left a note on a bright yellow piece of paper, telling his parents that he was going on a walk. He was pretty sure they wouldn't even notice he was gone, though. Then he texted Zoey, letting her know that he was going to her house.

  When he got there, she opened the door before he reached the first step. She was wearing a low cut tank top under a black hoodie. He tried not to look, but he couldn't seem to keep his eyes to comply.

  He forced himself to make eye contact with her, and she smiled—obviously she had picked that shirt on purpose.

  "Does your mom know you're staying home?" he asked.

  "Yeah. She offered to stay with me, but I didn't really want her company, you know? At least I can hang out with you." She stepped aside, letting him in, and then closed the door behind them. "How are your parents?"

  He shrugged. "They stopped fighting. Probably won't last, but whatever."

  "Take what you can get. You know?" Zoey closed the door. "Hungry or something?"

  "Not really."

  "Me neither. Mom bought all this food, but I can barely eat. I'm not hungry."

  "At least she's shopping."

  Zoey nodded. They stared at each other for a moment. She rolled her eyes. "This is the lamest conversatio
n ever. Want to go to my room?"

  "Sure." He followed her up, even though he knew the way.

  "Wanna smoke?" she asked.

  "Okay."

  They climbed onto the roof and lit up, taking silent drags.

  Zoey hit a tile. "I can't believe Macy hasn't even contacted me. Just to let me know she's okay. It's starting to piss me off."

  "What if she's—?"

  "She's not." Zoey glared at him. "She's being selfish. That's all."

  "That's harsh, don't you think?" He flicked some ashes off the cigarette.

  Her eyebrows came together. "No, actually it's not. She's off having the time of her life somewhere with Jared, and she couldn't even take a minute to let me know what's going on. If she wants attention or whatever, I get it. But to not even tell me she's okay?" Tears filled her eyes. "That's so selfish."

  Was Alex supposed to comfort Zoey or defend his sister? He was about ready to tear up himself. Who was going to comfort him? Who was supposed to comfort anyone? The only thing that could make any of this better would be for Macy to walk down the street and apologize. Then she should be grounded forever.

  "See?" Zoey asked. "You can't even disagree with me."

  "I wish I knew what was really going on. It's not like her to totally stay offline."

  "Stop defending her, Alex. She got on her profile to say she ran away. End of story."

  "Stop it. We don't know that was her. Someone could have gotten onto her phone and found her account. She could be dead somewhere, and here you are, calling her names."

  Zoey narrowed her eyes and grabbed his shirt. "Shut up. You just shut up, Alex. Macy's not dead." Tears ran down her face. "You don't know what you're talking about. No one does. I can't even get on Facebook. You know what people are putting on my wall? They're writing, 'sorry your BFF is dead.' What kind of crap is that?" She let go of his shirt.

  Alex readjusted his collar. Was Zoey getting mad at Macy because it was easier than thinking she was dead? He could understand that.

  "What jerks," he said. "Wanna talk about something else?"