A Mystery's Knowledge

6- Where's my beautiful girl?

Just like last chapter, thoughts will be italicized (like this ) unless in quotations, where it signifies emphasis on a word.

Emma's P.O.V

I woke up to pitch black, covered in cold sweats. It was typical, having one of those dreams. I picked up my phone to see the time. 

1:24 A.M.

Honestly, I should probably go back to bed. This 'new' life would be tiring. Just like it always was. But, then there's the other part of me. The part of me that knows I'm going to force myself awake anyways. I decided to save some time and just get up. I knew the place well, so I slipped through the secret passage in my room. My bodyguard, Caleb Hamilton- formally know as Hamilton- wouldn't be able to track me. I  knew these walls better than most people did. Better than some of the Hawthornes themselves. 

I made my way to the old man's study, a secret place no one knew about. Except me, that is. I had stumbled upon it one day, looking for Jamie's room. I remember that day fondly.

Flashback (12 years ago), Emma's P.O.V

Why are there so many tunnels in this place? I should have taken a normal route. Jamie's probably worried now. Oh! There's a door over there, maybe it leads to Jamie's room.

I peeked through the door, like any curious 6 year-old would. Instead of Jamie's room, I found Hawthorne. He was sitting at his desk, papers littered everywhere. I was about to back away when he called for me.

"I know your here, child." He said, looking up from his papers.

"Sorry, Hawthorne. I was looking for Jamie's room. What is this place?" I questioned, looking around in awe.

Hawthorne chuckled, "You can come inside. This is my study, on of the biggest libraries in this house."

I walked further in the room, looking at the shelves of books.

"Wow. How come I've never seen this place before?" I inquired, walking closer to his desk.

Hawthorne replied, "Well, nobody but me knows this is here. Well, I guess you know too. I haven't told anyone because this is a place for me to relax, without having others around."

I immediately felt guilty, "Sorry, I promise I won't tell anyone about this. I'll never come here again, I swear!"

Hawthorne broke out in laughter, "Child, you're always welcome. This is your place as much as mine now. Although, I would appreciate if this stayed our secret."

I nodded, happy to oblige. Ever since then, I would often find Hawthorne in his study. I would go there whenever I needed an escape.

Present time, Emma's P.O.V

I ran my fingers along the shelves, collecting dust as I went along. It must have been a long time since anyone's been here. It's sad that no one has been taking care of this place. I'll just have to clean it.

I began cleaning the place, dusting all the books off. I'm a huge organizational person, so I decided to rearrange the books in alphabetical order by authors last name. I pulled the books from their shelves, creating a pile on a sheet I laid on the floor. I didn't want the books to get damaged. After pulling all the books out, I started cleaning the shelves. I wiped them down with a wet rag, and waited for them to dry. After the shelves dried, I started organizing the books. 

The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide- Douglas Adams
Brick Lane- Moncia Ali
Poetic Diction- Owen Barfield

The list went on and on. I would have the books in order, only to find a book that should have already been placed on the shelf. It was a frustrating task, but I was devoted.

After shelving all the books, I made my way over to Hawthornes desk. He had papers scattered on top of his desk, so I organized them. I started reading over them, when I started to get tired. I pushed on, devoted to my project. I didn't bother to check the clock, not worrying about my absence.

Grayson's P.O.V (At 5:00 P.M)

Where is she? I haven't seen her all day.

I hadn't seen Clair anywhere. 

I was worried, "Alisa, have you seen Clair?"

Alisa looked up from her place at the dinner table.

She seemed confused, "Who's Clair?" The entire table burst out in laughter.

Jameson answered for me, "Clair is what he calls Emma. All of us address her differently. Nash calls her Emma, Gray calls her Clair, I call her Layc, and Xander calls her Em's."

Alisa turned back to me, "Then no, I haven't seen her. Why?"

I didn't want to worry anyone, so I played it off. "I just wanted to talk to her, welcome her back to the house. I'm sure she's around, I'll find her." I walked back into the hallway and began my search again.

A few hours later....

I've searched the entire house. 

Twice.

The observatory, the planetarium, all the libraries, the bowling alley, the kitchen, everywhere.

Where is she?

Is she okay?

I started to panic, before realizing something. I hadn't check her room. I decided taking the secret passageway would be a better idea, seeing as Hamilton would be guarding her door. He didn't need to know she was missing. I slipped into my room and through the secret passageway. I entered her room, only to find it empty. I scoured her room for any clues, but didn't find anything. 

Just as I was about to give up, I saw a small crack in between two books shelves. I pulled on all the books, before finding one that opened the passage. I entered the passage and pulled out my phone. I turned on the flashlight, and I was able to see dusty footprints. I followed the footprints and was led to a door. I slowly opened it, peering inside. 

Clair!

I walked further into the room and looked around in awe. I've never seen this place before, I had no clue how Clair knew about it. I walked over to her figure, which was hunched over a desk. 

God, she's beautiful even when she's asleep.

I took in her features, noticing the bags under her eyes for the first time. She looked so tired. I gently maneuvered her into my arms, taking extra care to make sure I didn't wake her. I carried her bridal style out of the room and back into hers, where I gently placed her in bed. I pulled the covers over her and tried to make her as comfortable as possible. I turned to walk away, only to stop when I felt pressure on my wrist.