part one
part two: ---
The next morning, Charlie and Sophie still hadn't returned from their date. This caused a great deal of worry, not just because I had no idea where they could be, but also because they were kind of the 'parents' of the family. Our real parents had been killed in a car accident four years earlier, so my brother and sister had taken care of us since. I didn't have a clue how to cook or clean, and I
hated talking on the phone... I wasn't sure if I could get by without them, especially with Archie to look after.
I hoped with all my heart that nothing bad had happened to them. This wasn't the first time that they had been gone for hours without warning, but it was unusual for them to be gone through the night. They normally make a point of always getting home before midnight. It was already 9 in the morning.
Why weren't they home yet? After eating a breakfast of boring old cereal (not at all an adequate replacement for Sophie's bacon and eggs), Archie and I discussed the situation.
"Well, they're not home yet, and they should have been back nine hours ago. I'm starting to think that they must be in some kind of danger if they've been gone this long-"
"
Danger?!" Archie's eyes were wide with terror. I wished that I hadn't told him that, but what was I supposed to do? Lie to him and say that everything was ok?
"They've been gone for way too long, and they haven't bothered calling... at this point, I don't think it's likely that they'll just waltz through the door all of a sudden and say 'sorry we're late' like they do when they come home in the middle of the night."
"Teddy, I'm scared..."
"I know. I am too."
"What're we gonna do?"
"I don't know."
"You should call for help!"
"You're right... but you know I don't like talking on the phone."
"Yeah, but we hafta call
somebody; we can't fix this all by ourselves!"
I sighed heavily, then slowly got up and picked up the phone. "Alright... but I'm only gonna call some friends from school, I don't want to talk to anyone else!"
I dialed the first number I thought of - Toby's, of course - and prayed that it would be him who answered and not one of his parents.
I was lucky: it was his voice that came through.
"Hello?"
"Umm, hi..."
oh gosh, that sounded so awkward..."Teddy? That you?"
"How could you tell?"
"Your voice is shaking."
"Oh." I was grateful that he couldn't see me; my face must have been bright red.
"So, what could be so important that it actually brought you to pick up a telephone?"
I explained our situation, and asked if he could help us in any way.
He stayed silent for a little while, then said: "I haven't seen them or heard from them since last friday, so I couldn't tell you where they are, but if you want, I could come and help you look for them."
"That would be great!" I smiled at the thought of him coming here, spending time with me... even if it was on a frantic search for my siblings.
Suddenly, he spoke up again: "Hey, doesn't Annie's dad work with law enforcement? He might know something. You should call her-"
"-uhhh..."
"...right. I'll call her for you. We'll both be there as soon as we can."
"Thank you
so much, Toby. I-"
"It's nothing. Anything for a friend. See you soon!"
"See you..."
I carefully hung up the phone, careful not to let my shaking hands drop it. Oh
god, I did
not like that at all... but it was almost worth it, talking to
him. And now we had a little bit of hope.
I turned to my little brother, forcing a smile. "Don't worry, Arch. Help is on its way."
---
I'm half asleep right now, so I have no idea how good (or bad) this is. Hopefully it's not too terrible. ^^;
Fun fact: I based Teddy's fear of telephones on myself. I hate talking on the phone, and will avoid it whenever possible. I wanted to give my character a weird and unique quality, and well, I don't know anyone other than myself who hates telephones like that... xD
Anyway, part 3 will be coming soon. ^^