I think it was the voice that woke me up, though it may have been the purr of a motorcycle engine. I was dreaming about my sister riding off on the back of a motorcycle, leaving Shenandoah forever, and in my dream, I was on the sidewalk outside of our house, screaming for her to come back. So maybe it was the bike that woke me, though it had been incorporated into my dream so that when my eyes flew open, I thought that part wasn’t real.
Then I heard a man talking to my sister. I’d never heard his voice before; I was certain of that. So, it wasn’t Jack or Jon or Kash. He sounded like he was in a rush, like something was wrong, but somehow there was a calmness about each measured word. His voice was a sort of a song, and for once, I actually got out of my bed and pressed my ear to the wall, trying to figure out who this person was and why he was there.
Cadence was upset about something. There was no question about that. She was slamming drawers and doors. Most of the time when she was sneaking around, she’d try to be quiet so as not to wake me, but more than one slam let me know that she wasn’t thinking clearly. While I still couldn’t understand more than a few words, I did hear her call him a “creep” which was alarming, but the next thing I knew she was crying. It wasn’t the sort of cry you might hear when someone is in trouble. It was a lamentable cry, like when the whole world has been upended and you’re just on the cusp of understanding what has happened. I would come to know this cry on a personal level in the days and weeks to come.
Another engine sound caught my attention, and I crept to the window. Below me, pulled up to the curb in front of our unassuming house in the middle of small town USA, was a black sports car I imagined would do just fine in a Grand Prix race. I had no idea what it was, but it was impressive. I heard the motorcycle again and realized it wasn’t a dream after all. In fact, as it pulled off into the distance, I thought I might’ve heard more than one of them. That’s when I heard footsteps on the roof and jumped back away from the window. I had no idea what was happening, but panic began to grow inside of me.
Carefully, I snuck to the door and locked it, something I don’t think I’d ever done before. I also picked up my phone thinking I might have to call 9-1-1. I had no idea what was happening, but I noticed Cadence had stopped crying, and a few minutes later, I heard her bedroom window open and close very quickly. I rushed back to my window, careful not to make too much noise, but I had no idea how anyone could come and go through her window since we were on the second floor.
Below me, I only saw a blur that looked something like a disturbance in the air, sort of like how a superhero might move in a movie. It disappeared out of the yard and down the street, and I held my breath for a long moment. The car was still there, the engine much quieter now as it idled, and then I heard another motorcycle sound. It was almost like whatever had jumped out of my sister’s bedroom window had flashed to a spot down the block to the bike.
It wasn’t Cadence, though. I heard her in her room, heard the creek of her door and the flick of her light switch, heard her boots on the carpet outside of my room, heard the creak of the stairs.
I felt like she was in trouble, like something bad had happened, and I desperately wanted to run out to her, to help her. But my feet were melded into the carpet by the window, and I couldn’t move. I’d never been as confused or as terrified as I was at that moment. I heard another noise on the roof, though this one was softer than the bumps I’d heard before. I hoped that meant whoever—or whatever—was up there was leaving.
Looking down at the car, I saw another flash and then there was a woman standing next to it. I had no idea how she’d gotten there. I hadn’t seen the driver’s side door open or watched her walk around the car, unless that was what the flicker of movement had been. As my sister approached the car, an overnight bag in her hand, I noticed this other woman, who was dressed entirely in black with short, curly, purplish hair, was much shorter than Cadence. They talked for a few moments, and then my sister climbed into the car and rode away with her.
I continued to stand by the window for a long moment, trying to figure out if I was dreaming or if something else was going on. How could everything I’d just witnessed be real? I was about to walk away from the window when movement on the top of the house across the street caught my attention. My anxiety rose, and I thought perhaps we were being invaded by aliens. Panic turning to sheer terror, I did what a five-year-old girl might do and took off toward my bedroom door as fast as I could.
Forgetting that I’d locked it, I ran into the thin wood face first. I had expected to pull it open as I was going out, but instead, I’d come face-to-face with the barrier. Rubbing my smarting nose, I fumbled with the lock as another noise sounded on the roof. I made it out into the hallway, thankful for the nightlight my dad had positioned there eons ago, and ran down the stairs as quickly as I could, watching over my shoulders as I went.
My parent’s bedroom door was closed, but thankfully it wasn’t locked. I expected them both to be sound asleep, but as I threw the door open, I was surprised to see them both sitting up in bed talking, worried expressions on their faces.“Mom! Dad!” I said, closing the door behind me and trying to hold back the terror in my voice. “Something weird is going on!”“Oh, Cassidy, honey, you should be asleep.” Leave it to Liz Findley to try and soothe the terror out of me when she clearly knew something odd was happening. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be up this time of day either, not unless she was in the kitchen with the turkey, which she obviously wasn’t.I flung myself onto the foot of their bed. “Mom, something’s going on with Cadence! There was a man in her room. And I saw her leave with some weird woman in a sports car!”My parents exchanged glances, and then both of their phones chi
I remembered hearing my sister cry a few moments ago. Had she done something to hurt Drew? Was it on purpose, or an accident, like my dad said? I couldn’t imagine Cadence hurting anyone. Even though we were siblings, we never roughhoused the way that some kids did. She’d never done more than throw a pillow at me. My insides felt all tangled up. So many more questions burned in my mind, but I didn’t feel safe asking any of them right now for fear I’d give my sister’s secret away. As it was, I may have already said too much. Would my parents wonder who the man was that was in my sister’s room? What had Cadence told them about the woman with the purple hair?Holding back all of the questions that threatened to bubble to the surface, I nodded my head. “Will you tell me if you hear anything more about Drew? Or if Cadence calls?”“Of course, honey,” my mom said. “But don’t worry. You’re perfectly s
Somehow, I must’ve managed to fall back to sleep because when I opened my eyes again, the sun was streaming in between my curtains, and the clock said it was 9:27. I was so alarmed that I’d missed something important, I leapt out of my bed and ran to the door, listening for more weird sounds. The house was eerily silent without Cadence next door. I was sure my parents were up, but they were likely in the kitchen preparing for Thanksgiving dinner, and I wouldn’t be able to hear them from here.I went back and sat on the edge of my bed, trying to decide what to do. I could check all the usual social media sites to see if anyone knew how Drew was or what had happened, but I was a little hesitant to do that. What if someone knew my sister was involved? Did I really want to read that Cadence had killed someone on Facebook? I also considered calling my sister again but decided not to bother her. With a sigh, I grabbed some clean clothes and decided to head down th
Nevertheless, I was not one for letting looks deceive me. I’d seen enough documentaries to know how people like Ted Bundy worked. I did not falter in my caution as I stood there, waiting for him to declare his intentions.He must’ve been expecting my parents to open the door or something because it took him a minute to respond. “Hi,” he said, injecting a cheerfulness into his voice I was sure wouldn’t typically be there if it weren’t a teenage girl staring at him from the doorjamb. “Are your parents around?”As soon as he finished the sentence, a bolt of recognition struck me surer than if Zeus had tossed down a shock from heaven. I knew that voice! This was the guy from my sister’s room the night before! My eyes widened, my mouth dropped open, and I felt my heart pounding in my chest. If there were words formulating in my head, they were not connecting with my mouth.“Cassidy?” he said quietly, &
The color seemed to drain out of my mom’s face. She looked at my dad, and he seemed just as lost. My questions lingered in the air as I began to think of all of the horrible things that might’ve happened to my sister and her friend. The only person who seemed to think I deserved answers wasn’t even related to me (as far as I knew. Things were getting so weird!). “Cassidy, your sister is fine. I just came to talk to your parents about that. She’s with your grandma.”This raised a million other questions. Why didn’t Grandma Janette just call? Why would he need to be the one to tell them anything about their own kid? But I nodded. At least Cadence was okay, and someone was answering my questions.“Honey,” my mom said, unfreezing and turning to face me, “Drew… passed away.”Even though I’d been bracing for bad news about Drew all mor
That all came out in one long, drawn out breath, and I knew if I was actually going to answer her before she started talking again, I’d have to act quickly. “You may know more than I do,” I admitted. “My parents won’t tell me much.” I didn’t tell her about the strange man downstairs. Not yet, anyway. “Do you know what happened to Drew?”“I know what everyone is saying. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, but every single one of her friends that was with he swears it’s the truth. Except for maybe your sis because she’s not here. She’s not there, right?”“No, she’s at my grandma’s.” That much I did believe, though I wasn’t sure why.“Well, I guess Drew told her parents she was going to spend the night at her friend Sidney Cox’s house last night, but instead they all went out somewhere.” I was positive I knew what Lucy wo
I was a little relieved to hear that my dad was talking to Aaron outside when I came down the stairs with my mother. There was just something about the intensity of his eyes that made me uncomfortable. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but their voices seemed lighter than they had a few minutes ago when the stranger had first arrived.My mom led me into the living room, and I followed as if I’d never been to this particular part of our home before, each step feeling a bit like a death sentence. Dr. Sanderson unfolded himself from my mother’s recliner as we approached, and I had a hard time taking in how someone so large could occupy the same space as my dainty mother.“Cassidy, honey, this is Dr. Sanderson.”He extended his large hand to me, and I let it envelop mine. There was something hauntingly familiar about his green eyes. It was like I’d seen them before, frequently, and while I was certain I would remember meeting
Thanksgiving dinner was delicious, even though it was so odd to me that my sister wasn’t there. I really wished she could’ve been, but I understood that Cadence needed to rest. I wanted to know more about her new job, but I also realized there was no reason to ask about it. Everything was just fine.After I helped my mom clear the table and put the dishes in the dishwasher, I decided to head upstairs. I doubted Lucy or Em would have called since I’d already talked to one and the other would be busy trying to avoid her family. Emma really hated crowds of any kind, even if they were related to her, and I was pretty sure the meal this year was supposed to be at her house. I did think maybe Milo or Wes would’ve called, though. They both lived just down the street from Jack Cook, and it was possible they might’ve seen him. They might want to know what was going on, and I’d be happy to explain to them that it was an accident and nothing to worry