Rosie looked up as a black haired girl crashed through the reception’s double doors. “Oh my god, Rosie!” It was Amber and she looked horrified as she took in her tear streaked face. “What happened?”

Rosie shook her head and squinted as salty tears stung rapidly at her sad brown eyes again. “Amy… She’s missing.”

“Oh no…” Amber hurried over and threw her arms around her tightly. “Is she okay?”

Her tears soaked into Amber’s navy PE top. “Someone…” She took a deep, shaky breath and fought to get her words out. “Someone took her.”

Amber pulled back and frowned. “Are you sure she didn’t just run away?”

She gave Amber a sarcastic look. “Yes, I’m sure that’s what she did. Despite how she acted she really did love us, you know?!” Rosie collapsed into the plastic red seat and covered her face with both hands. “I’m sorry, Amber. I know she wouldn’t run away though. I know it.”

“I just thought since…”

Rosie snapped her head up and gave Amber an angry glare. She felt furious that Amber was still suggesting that theory. “She didn’t run away. That would hardly explain her screaming, would it?”

A mixture between panic and outright fear flashed across Amber’s face. Her secretive dark blue eyes brightened and Rosie gasped. Amber looked away immediately. For a moment she considered just ignoring it, as she did a lot with Amber’s constant strangeness. “Your eyes…”was all she could manage to say. She couldn’t stop staring at her in suspicion and disbelief.

“It’s nothing.” Amber turned back around to face her and her eyes were their normal dark blue again. “Must have just been the sun shining.”

Rosie stood up and looked out the big window. She guessed it could have been. It was a pretty sunny and bright day today. It certainly didn’t match the events. Inside Rosie felt scared, angry and confused. She thought a thunderstorm with strikes of wild lightening would have been a better fit for her wash of emotions.

Something stopped Rosie from believing Amber’s cover. Maybe it was the fact that Amber was facing away from the window with no reflect-ants to possibly shine onto her eyes and make them do that. Or maybe it was all her intuition. She’d always sensed something off about Amber. Always. Since the day Rosie had met her Amber had been nothing but weird. She kept getting a bizarre sense of déjà vu and she was done ignoring it.

“If you knew anything you’d tell me, right?”

Amber looked away quickly. “Of course I would. You know that?”

“Yeah, but I just wanted to make sure,” Rosie said and stepped into Amber’s direct eyesight, forcing her to look into her eyes again. “Promise?”

Amber bit her lip and then looked down at the red-brown carpet. “Yes.”

“Why won’t you look at me?!” Rosie’s voice was loud and demanding.

The receptionist looked up from where she sat at her desk. “Is everything okay, girls?”

“Yes, it’s fine,” Rosie said a little too harshly. I’ll feel guilty about it later.

Amber cast a nervous glance at the receptionist who looked hurt and surprised at Rosie’s behaviour. But she eventually went back to typing on her computer.

“Look, Rosie, I don’t know any…”

“Yes you do!” Rosie shouted, not caring how loud she was being. She’d never felt so angry in her entire life. There was so much suspicion and lies that she couldn’t take it any longer. “There’s something about you, Amber. Something very strange.”

Amber sighed tiredly. She looked Rosie straight in the eyes for a long moment. When she spoke her voice was uncharacteristically harsh and serious, “It’s not my fault you’ve got some kind of huge paranoia going on.” Amber stepped into her face and spoke very slowly, making sure she caught every word with deadly meaning. “If you don’t stop accusing me of things like this, there will be trouble. I don’t know what you think you know, but you are wrong. You will always be wrong.”

Just then, a familiar face stepped into the office. “Rosie, honey.” Mum’s voice must have been the saddest and most heart-breaking thing she’d ever heard.

Amber glanced over to where her mum was standing, and then took a giant step away. She directed a polite smile at her mum. “Hello, Miss Parker. It looks like there has been a bit of a dilemma today.” Amber’s eyes were so sincere and sympathetic that Rosie almost forgot she’d been threatening her less than thirty seconds ago. “I’m really sorry about Amy. I’m positive they will find her soon though. They’re real good police around here.”

“Thank you, sweetie.” Mum’s eyes watered badly as she tried her hardest to smile back at Amber.

When mum’s eyes met hers, she couldn’t stop herself from flying into her loving and comforting arms and pretend that all the hurt in the world was gone. Vanished.

Over her mum’s shoulder Rosie saw Amber sneak out of the office doors and run hurriedly around the corner.

Liar.

Mum paced frantically back and forth in the kitchen. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

Rosie sat down at the kitchen table and pulled out her phone from her jeans pocket. She must have checked her inbox ten times, hoping there would be a text from Amy. But there wasn’t. “Me neither.”

“Why Amy?!” Mum’s voice was getting angry now and her paces quicker. She always did this when she got confused or scared. “What did she ever do to them? She was a sweet girl, a…”

“Mum!” Rosie yelled, making her come to a halt mid pace. “Stop talking about her in the past tense. We don’t know anything yet.”

“No, we don’t. That’s what’s awful, Rosie! We know nothing! Nothing! She’s gone…”

Rosie jumped up from her seat and wrapped her mum in another hug. She could feel her shaking as she sobbed. “It’s going to be okay.”

Mum hugged her tighter. “You don’t have to be so strong.”

Rosie sniffed back tears. “Yeah, I do. You need me. I don’t want you to lose anyone else.”

“I love you, honey,” mum said and pulled back. Her light brown eyes were flooding with tears. It was like watching a waterfall. “I just don’t understand.” Rosie winced at how desperate and child-like her voice sounded. It killed her to see her mother like this again. She had only just got over dad leaving and now this… Rosie was afraid that she would crawl back into her bedroom again and never come out.

“Don’t leave me,” she said suddenly and grasped her mum’s arm firmly.

Mum’s eyes softened with understanding. “I’m not going anywhere, Hun. Don’t worry.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to be.” Mum stroked the tears away from Rosie’s cheeks with her finger. “It’s not your fault.”

“No, it is. Everything is, dad, Amy…”

“No, it’s not, Rosie. Your father is selfish, that’s all. And you can’t control the sick people in the world.” She gave Rosie a kind smile. “It’s not your fault.”

She shook her head and pushed her mum’s hand away. “If I had been awake on time, none of this would have ever happened.” Her eyes watered again and her body trembled as realisation hit her. “It’s all my fault.”

“You had a bad night,” mum argued.

“What do you mean?”

Mum frowned and looked very worried. “You don’t remember?”

She shook her head. “No.”

Rosie couldn’t ignore the look in her eyes, like she was crazy for not knowing. “You had a nightmare, honey. A really scary one by the sound of your screaming.”

“What?”

Mum looked even more worried…if that was possible. “I… I came into your room. You were petrified. How can you not remember?”

“I…What…” Rosie was about to fire a thousand puzzled questions at her mum when the phone rang.

Mum gave her a later look and picked up the phone. She took a deep breath and then said, “Hello?” There was an official sounding male voice on the line. “Yes, this is Miss Parker… Yes that’s my daughter…” The two of them exchanged a look. Mum’s eyes were glazing over with emotion and Rosie could see she was struggling to keep hold of the phone.

What?  She mouthed.

“No, she can’t be…” Mum covered her mouth with her hand and tears fell from her eyes and down her cheeks. “I…” Her voice broke and she dropped the phone.

Rosie ran to pick it up. She put it to her ear and listened carefully. The male voice said, “I’m terribly sorry, but she is Amy’s age and description. We’re going to need you to come down to the station and confirm, miss.”

Rosie hung up and put the phone down on the table. She grabbed the wood for support. Her legs felt wobbly and her knees had gone weak. She trembled with every breath she took. “She can’t be dead…”

Mum looked up from where she’d sat herself in the chair. “I know, honey.” She pulled Rosie into the seat beside her and cradled her head in her loving, shaking arms.

She closed her eyes. “You need to go down and confirm.”

“Okay, Hun.” Her mother’s voice wobbled. “Are you going to be okay here?”

Rosie tried to nod, but tears had overcome her completely. She couldn’t see anything but blurry water. Her entire body felt freezing cold and she couldn’t stop shaking. The familiar sick feeling in her stomach felt agonizingly unbearable now. She honestly thought she could just die.

“Don’t give up hope,” mum said as if she could read her mind. “Hope is all we have now. Be strong.” Mum kissed her head softly and whispered, “I love you.”

She got up to put her cardigan on.

Rosie quickly got up after her and started pulling on her black jacket. “Can I come?” She wiped the tears from her red, blotchy face.

“No, Hun. I think it’s best if you stay here, okay?” Mum smiled. It was the most broken smile Rosie had ever seen, but at least she was trying. “You can call a friend to come over if you like? Maybe Amber? I’m sure they’d let her out of school, given the circumstances.”

Rosie shook her head. Her stomach knotted painfully at the mere mention of Amber’s name. “No. I’ll be okay alone for a while.” She pulled her jacket back off and put it on the kitchen table. “You won’t be long?”

“No, brave girl.” Mum gave her a quick and gentle hug. She kissed Rosie on the cheek before heading out the door.

Rosie froze midway up the staircase as the doorbell rang. She turned around and saw a dark figure standing outside the glass of her front door. She couldn’t make out who it was, but a huge sense of fear had overcome her. She walked as quietly as she could back down the stairs and towards the front door. She silently looked through the small peephole to see Shane. Rosie sighed in relief and opened the door a couple of inches. I’m not that stupid.

“Yes?”

“Hi,” Shane said with an awkward smile. He looked anxious about something. “Do you mind if I come inside?”

“That depends,” she said and stuck her foot in the crack of the door. It probably wouldn’t stop him barging in if he wanted to. Shane was a big guy. Not sickly muscular, but they were definitely there.

He glanced at her foot and looked even more uncomfortable. “I heard about your sister.”

She looked up into his eyes.

“And I wanted to say I’m sorry.”

“Um, thanks.”

He smiled and this time it looked genuine, but then it disappeared and he shifted as if he was scared about something. “I…” He paused and met her eyes for a second. She couldn’t read their expression at all. “I have someone that wants to talk to you.”

“If it’s Amber, tell her…” Rosie froze still at the sight of a familiar middle aged woman stepping out from behind Shane.

“I assure you that I am not Amber,” Lorraine said. “I just want to have a word with you, Rosie. And honestly, dear, I would much prefer to do it inside.”

“What’s this about?” She looked up at Shane who refused to meet her eyes. Fear and worry made its way through her body, making her feel cold and her heartbeat thud rapidly in her chest. Her stomach wasn’t hurting though, strangely. She was reacting like this to Lorraine on her own freewill, but she didn’t understand why. She just got the creeps from the woman.

“Child, let me in,” Lorraine commanded, which annoyed Rosie on so many levels. But it didn’t exactly seem smart to outright say No, get lost you rude bitch.

When Rosie didn’t speak, Lorraine’s fake kind eyes turned cold and dark. It flickered a distant memory lost somewhere, but when she tried to think harder, she couldn’t remember a thing.

“My mum’s not home. You should come back later.” Rosie shifted slightly, slyly trying to get into a position where she could slam the door shut in an emergency.

Lorraine wasn’t fooled.

“For god’s sake, child. I am not going to hurt you…” She paused and gave a wide smile that sent icy shivers down Rosie’s spine. “At least not without reason.” The creepy woman shrugged and took a safe step back. “So if you think about it, dear, there won’t be any reason for me to touch you if you let me come inside. I’m happy not sad when things go my way.”

Her eyes flickered nervously towards Shane. She didn’t know whether to let the bad woman in or not. Would Shane protect her? She didn’t know. His expression was blank and unreadable from what she could see. He still refused to look at her; he just stared out into the sunny distance.

Rosie sighed and threw open the door. It was blatantly obvious Shane wasn’t going to be of any help. This seemed like the only logical step if she didn’t want her head cut off in the process of defying Lorraine. Something told her the woman had not been joking around in the slightest.

Lorraine smiled, victorious apparently, and walked through the front door and over the threshold.

Lorraine swept into the living room and took a seat in the big armchair like she owned the place. Rosie bit her lip through her annoyance and stood past the coffee table, nearer to the TV and as far away from Amber’s mother as she could get.

Shane went to stand in the far left corner of the room; a good distance between both her and Lorraine. She wondered if he’d done that purposely. When she glanced over at him, she couldn’t help but notice he looked good today. Guy good. He wore his dark blue jeans nicely on his hips and a short-sleeved black t-shirt that showed off his muscles nicely. When he noticed her looking he stood straight quickly and pretended to look at the titles of the old books on the oak bookshelf her mum was fascinated with.

The living room was very modern; her mother’s obsessive show-home style. She loved the new and despised old fashioned furniture. The room had a clean cream carpet and a pretty rose red floral feature wall.

Lorraine crossed her legs and folded her arms. She looked up at Rosie with a cool gaze. “Tell me what you know,” she said bluntly.