Finding Alex

Chapter 6

It had been three days since Birdie met with Liam at The Crowe. 

Three days since she learned of Liam's discovery in the back of Alex's wardrobe, hidden under the old decaying wallpaper. 

Liam had explained to her that once he found it, he took photos of it and told the contractors doing the wallpaper and renovations to stop working on his room. His parents didn't question it and it gave him some time to try and show Birdie. 

That night at his house, he was trying to get her alone to show her, he didn't want to scare her or make her uncomfortable. He admitted he probably went about it the wrong way but wasn't sure how to tell her, this is some serious information and accusations.

Birdie needed time to consider what this meant. It was Alex's handwriting for sure, but it was cryptic. 

August 10th, the date he went missing. 11:45 could be the time he went missing. 

It did occur at night and everyone else was sleeping at the time. But the word 'safe' is what stumped Birdie. Did that mean Alex was safe? Or that he would be? It was too much for her to think about. She needed some time. She told Liam she would talk to him once she had processed everything.

"Birdie are you listening to anything I am saying?" Zoe asked. Birdie's mind snapped back to the present and she turned to look at Zoe. They were at a coffee shop having a coffee before school, Zoe was holding up two designs that she had made in class the day before and was asking for Birdie's opinion, but like the past three days, her mind was elsewhere.

"Sorry, um the left one," Birdie nodded.

"Are you okay?" Zoe asked, "You have been kind of out of it, is something going on?"

'No, I am fine," Birdie smiled, "are you going to wear one to the school dance?"

Zoe's face lit up, "Well that is the plan! And I was thinking maybe you could wear the other one?"

Birdie gave her a look,

"Come on B it's been forever since we got to do something like this, we can get dressed up! It would be great," Zoe begged. The dance was in a month, and everyone was already talking about it. Birdie wasn't sure she would be up to it.

"Maybe, it's in a month let's see how we go."

"I'll take that as a yes, and I will get started on our dresses right away!"

Zoe liked to make her own dresses as she couldn't afford to buy the real thing, but Zoe was very talented, and Birdie liked to think the dresses that Zoe made looked better than any she could have bought.

"Do you think you'll speak to Liam today?" Zoe wondered. 

Birdie looked at her, she hadn't exactly told Zoe everything about what happened when she met Liam at The Crowe, just bits and pieces. She knows that Liam had found some of Alex's old things in his room and that they would meet up soon so that Liam could give them back to Birdie. Birdie didn't want Zoe to know anything just yet, Zoe normally gets worked up over the smallest things, and this wasn't so small. Birdie didn't want Zoe to be hurting again, she didn't want her to think this was a clue or a sign that Alex was okay. Birdie was stronger, she knew she could handle this, with Liam's help.

"Maybe, I told him I had to think about it, I don't know if it is smart bringing that stuff home, you know with mum and dad," Birdie said, which was kind of true. She was definitely not going to tell her parents until she knew really what was going on.

"Oh yes that is true," Zoe nodded taking a bite of the little cookie the coffee shop gave them with their coffee. 

When Zoe and Birdie say they are going out for coffee they actually mean hot chocolates. Birdie's stomach didn't like coffee and Zoe still hadn't gotten the taste of it yet, but they felt grown up drinking hot chocolate in coffee cups. Like proper adults.