Elsewhere

Ryan had a tough day at school that day. When people asked him what had happened to his girlfriend, he told them about what he had seen happen, and they just snickered and made fun of him.

At lunch he tried to sit with his old football team from the fall who he thought were his best friends. He hadn't sat with them ever since he and Kaley got together.

"What up guys? Long time no see!" Ryan said as cool as possible as he attempted to sit down in the chair next to the team captain, Trevor Hill.

Trevor slapped his large hand down on the chair. He looked up at Ryan with his popular blue eyes. He flipped back his blonde hair.

"What do you think you're doing, Parker?" Trevor asked in a soft voice. "Think you'll get emotional support from us since your girlfriend and dorky brother disappeared?"

Ryan looked confused.

"Uhh..."

Another boy spoke up. "Did that monster from your nightmare when you were six finally show up and abduct your girl?" he snickered.

Ryan turned red with fury.

"That wasn't funny," he said seriously. Trevor smirked and crossed his arms.

"You obviously didn't do a great job protecting her. Some hero you are. I'll bet she wishes she had been with me."

Ryan suddenly felt his fist smash into Trevor's face. Trevor fell out of his chair. When he sat up, blood was oozing from his nose and mouth. His eyes were glaring at him like a demon.

Ryan's thoughts flashed back to the present. It was the end of the school day, and he was sitting in the guidance office. He had been there ever since the lunch incident. His guidance counselor, Mr. Yale, came in.

"Look, I know you've been dealing with a lot these past couple days," he told him. "But that behavior is unacceptable. You can't get angry over something like that. I mean, you're going to college in the next few months..."

"It DID happen," Ryan said, clenching his teeth together. "Why will no one believe me??"

"Ryan, if you let me talk this out with your mother, we can get you help. Or, you're almost eighteen. Your mom doesn't have to know."

Ryan stood up and took a deep breath.

"I'm fine," he said calmly. "I'll be fine." Not seeming too sure, Mr. Yale handed him a card.

"Call me if you need me," he told him. Ryan nodded and left.

Ryan walked alone outside to his car, avoiding the people he knew. Before entering his car, he heard sobbing nearby.

A girl was sitting on the curb a few feet away from him. He saw that she was Valerie Hutchens, a sixteen year old girl that he had once been childhood best friends with until he had met Kaley when he first started high school, and she had still been in middle school. However, she had always had a big crush on him. 

Valerie was wiping her eyes. When Ryan approached, she looked up in shock. Valerie still looked the same. Same pale blue eyes, long blonde hair, and sprinkle of freckles.

"You... okay?" he asked her. Valerie sniffed a little bit.

"Oh, hey, Ryan," she said looking down. "No, just still haven't gotten over the fact that my sister vanished."

Valerie's little sister, Giana, was twelve years old, and had replaced Ryan as Valerie's best friend. Sometimes she and Ethan would used to play together even though she was in sixth grade and he was in ninth.

"It's... okay... Kaley's gone as well," Ryan admitted. Valerie was not a fan of Kaley at all.

"What about Ethan?? Isn't he gone too???" Valerie asked quickly.

"Yeah, him too," Ryan shrugged.

It was quiet for a minute.

"W-What do you think happened?" Valerie asked.

"Well-" Then he suddenly stopped. "No, I can't tell you."

"What? Why? Tell me!" Valerie begged.

"Just forget it!" Ryan snapped. He got inside his car and drove off.

Catherine had just gotten off of work. She and her boyfriend, Bill, were at Creamer's Coffee Shop together. Bill was sipping on his coffee while watching Catherine put together "Missing" posters for Ethan.

Bill and Catherine had gotten together not long after her first husband left the family. Bill was a gruff but friendly man with a thinning head of hair and a scruffy brown beard. He had serious gray eyes, and he was the owner of the local fishing area. Bill was the closest thing to a father that Catherine's sons had, even though they still didn't trust him as one.

Bill placed his hand on Catherine's.

"Baby, you need to stop stressing out over this," he told her gently. Catherine looked at him.

"How!?" she snapped. "What if your son just disappeared out of nowhere and you had no idea if he was safe or not??"

"What I think you should do is leave the searching to the police and be there for your other son who's still here," Bill advised.

Catherine stood up violently and loudly slammed her posters down.

"Do you even care?" she asked him harshly. "Because it sounds like you don't!!"

"I do care!" Bill insisted, throwing his hands up. "But it's only going to make it worse for yourself and Ryan if...."

"Just stop!" Catherine cut him off. She was in tears. She turned around with her posters and ran for her car. In the car, she took out her phone to see if the local search and rescue team had contacted her back. Instead, she just had a long list of friends who were texting her supportive messages. She thrust her phone down onto the seat next to her.

When she got home, she stomped into her room, kicked off her shoes, and fell onto her bed, crying into her pillow.

Soon Ryan came home. He had had a lot of abuse from people who he had thought were his friends, even on the ride home. He, too, angrily went to his room and cried.

That night was definitely a very long, depressing night for the Parkers.