Chapter 23

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       That night I went home prepared to spill the beans. When I got home Lulu wasn't in the living room. I didn't think anything of it, since I figured she was still in her room. I sat down at the kitchen table and payed some bills. After that I made some grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner, and went to get Lulu. When I knocked, she didn't answer. I opened her door expecting to see her sleeping on her bed or listening to music. She wasn't in there.
         Okay, no big deal. I told myself. She's just in the bathroom or something. I checked the bathroom. Nope, not in there. Living room, again, no. My room? Still no sign of Lulu. I scoured the whole house and still could not find Lulu. I began to panic. Where could she be? I thought to myself. But then I remembered that I hadn't checked the backyard. I frantically ran to the back yard, but when I looked there still was no Lulu. I checked the front, and she still was not there.
        Now I was really panicking. It was all my fault, I should have never left her alone. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. Breathe. I said to myself. It's okay. Just breathe. Call Jim, call your friends. I'm sure she's here somewhere. I picked up my phone and dialed Jim's work number. When they picked up I asked to be directed to Dr. Pomatter. When Jim picked up, I asked if Lulu was at his office. "Um, no. Why would she be here?" He asked. "Because I have looked over this entire house and I cannot find her anywhere!" I snapped, my voice full of panic. "Whoah, you mean, she's not at your house? Have you checked the diner, she might be there." "Jim I have been at the diner all day and she is not there. And she must have left the house before I got home because I would've seen her coming out." "Okay, Jenna, you need to breathe. I'll call Molly and see if Lulu's at my place. You call your friends, see if she's there. Just keep calm okay? We're going to find her." I hung up and grumbled "Easy for you to say, your only child isn't missing."
       Neither Becky nor Dawn New where Lulu was. They both said the exact same thing. That Lulu was not at their house. I checked back with Jim and Lulu wasn't at his apartment either. "Have you tried calling her?" Jim asked me. "She might answer." "No." I replied. "But I'll try." I dialed Lulu's number. It just kept ringing and ringing until finally I got a voicemail. I hit end call and slammed my phone down. Well, it was official. My Lulu was gone. I suddenly thought of one last place that Lulu could be, the neighbors house. I walked next door and knocked. The woman who lived there, an old woman named Mrs. Carrol answered. "Yes?" She asked when she saw me. "Hi Mrs. Carrol, is Lulu here?" I asked. "No, she's not? Why do you ask?" She said. I explained what happened. "I'm sorry Jenna. I haven't been home, otherwise I would've watched her. Are you she's not with that man?" "What man?" I asked. "That man who came by that one day." I realized that she meant Earl. "It's possible." I admitted. "But I hope it's not."
         I thanked Mrs. Carrol and called Jim. "I've checked every possible place and Lulu isn't there. My neighbor wondered if she was with Earl, which is possible, but I hope it's not. I'm just so worried, I mean, what if Lulu's lost? Or she's hurt, or kidnapped, or worse?" "I'm sure she's fine Jim assured me. "But since you looked everywhere, I think you should file a police report. In the meantime, I'm going to gather to gather everyone and come over there, because you're going to need all the support you can get right now."
      I thanked Jim and called the police. They told me that I had to wait 24 hours. "24 hours?!" I cried. "But in 24 hours-" The man on the other end cut me off. "Ma'm, I'm sorry, but it's just policy. Just call us tomorrow morning if she still hasn't turned up. Now, you're sure you don't know where your ex is?" "Yes, I'm sure. The only thing I know is his name, and I don't think that's enough to track him down." "Well, Okay ma'm. Have a good night."
       I scoffed. Just then, I heard a knock. Jim was standing there, along with Dawn, Ogie, Becky, and Cal. I let them all in and we all sat on the couch. I thanked everyone for coming. "Oh it's no problem." Ogie said. "We'll always be here when you need us. So you have to wait 24 hours?" "Yeah." I said. "The worst 24 hours of my life." Jim just rubbed my back and talked to me before I finally fell asleep.


Hello! I figured I'd better mess with everyone before making everything okay again. Where do you think Lulu is? Do you think she's okay? Comment below. I have yet another snow day, so I have to play some more before I do homework. Bye!

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