hold me closer

41

"That's not creepy at all."

I looked at the house. It was built of red bricks and seemed to be two stories tall. Weeds and grass were overgrown, hanging down the walls. The windows were all shut. The house wasn't the most creepy. It was the air and the sky. Dark clouds covered the blue sky, casting shadows on the earth.

The door creaked open. There wasn't very much inside. There was a fireplace and stairs that led to the second floor. In another room was what appeared to be the dining room. A table was set up with a few glasses, silverware, and plates on it.

"Wanna split up?" Scott asked.

"Absolutely not," Stiles and I said together.

We looked at each other, then we looked at Scott. I pointed my flashlight to the stairs and he sighed. Scott led the way upstairs with me behind him, Stiles last. One hallway went to a small area with a door and the other led to more rooms.

"Maybe he got the address wrong," Scott thought aloud as he looked into a room painted green.

"Or he lied," Stiles said.

"No," I said. "That doesn't make sense. I felt his urgency to find his parents. He didn't lie."

"Feel, see anything?" asked Scott.

"Nothing," I replied. "Absolutely nothing. Like it really is just an abandoned house."

We got to the last room at the end of the hallway. It was the only one that was closed. I grabbed the dagger from my sheath just in case as Stiles walked towards the door. He grabbed the handle and pushed it open.

I walked in after him. There was a bed inside. But it was filled with things. The bed had sheets and pillows. There was a desk, drawers, and papers on the walls. It was Alex's room.

"He didn't lie," Stiles confirmed.

"Why didn't the cops say anything about this?" Scott wondered.

"They don't know it's here," Stiles answered. "They can't come in here without a warrant and there's no owner of record to serve a warrant to. So unless there's some kind of threat or imminent danger, they won't come in."

"See anything?" Scott asked, turning to me.

I touched the bed, waited a moment, then pulled away. "Nothing. Just... flashes of memories, but they're too quick to determine... like the empty bedroom... "

"What?"

"I- "

Scott had a grave expression upon his face. Stiles noticed it too and said, "What?"

"I think I heard something," he explained, cautious.

As I followed Stiles and Scott, I saw pictures on the wall of Alex. They were off-centered, however, making me suspicious. Sometimes, it looked like Alex was hugging something.

Then, on the desk, there was a portrait that said #1 Dad. Alex was leaning on what I assumed should have been a chair with his dad. But the dad wasn't in the picture. I pulled out my phone, curious. I looked into my photos and scanned each one closely, looking for any odd pictures.

I heard the wind whistle, which was impossible since the windows were closed. The bedsheet moved slightly by the breeze as if the source came from under the bed. I walked towards it, gripping my dagger tightly.

"Please don't let there be anything under it... " I muttered. I crouched down and lifted the sheet. There was nothing and I saw the other side. "Okay, now please, don't let there be anything when I look up... " I let out a breath and sat up. "Okay, time to go."

I quickly backed out of the room and shut the door behind me. I let out a breath of relief and called for Scott and Stiles. I regretted staying behind, being by myself.

"I thought you were right behind us," Stiles said, walking down the hallway from us.

"Stiles, I think my missing person is connected to all of this," I told him.

Before I could explain further, Stiles had a frightened expression and he turned around. He looked down the hallway, but when I looked, I didn't see anything. But I did sense something - it wasn't really a person, but it had an aura.

Stiles was in shock. He ducked and brought me with him. I let it play out, unsure what to make of the situation. I called for Scott again, then Stiles slowly stood up.

"What? What happened?" Scott asked. I glanced at Mason and Corey who were behind him.

"He was here," Stiles said. "He shot at me. It was one of the guys you saw in Alex's memory."

"Stiles, I didn't see anything," I told him, looking around at everyone. "But I felt it. It has a strong presence."

"The guy who took Alex's parents?" Mason questioned.

"No, they weren't taken," I told them. "I think they were made to disappear. That explains why there's no furniture and that's why they weren't in any of the photos. And why my memories feel like they're different... They were erased."

Stiles opened the door to the room. Everything that was in it had disappeared. Similar to the extra room at our house. Whoever was missing from my life, they were erased.