Dead rose garden

Red Petals

I woke up when the sun's first rays shone in through the window.
I was still lying on the hard floor, and my cheeks were all crusty from the dried up tears.

The first thing I saw, was a bunch of fresh rose petals in front of my face.
I sat upright, for closer inspection. It was fresh, and some of them still had dewdrops on.
It was a whole trail leading out the door, and down the rickety stairs.
My heart skipped a beat.
This was very Peculiar.
I didn't bother to wash my face, and followed the path set out with petals.
A tiny speck of hope blossomed deep inside me.

Maybe Gabby was home,
Or maybe this was all a bad nightmare.
Maybe I was still stuck in this nightmare.

I walked down the stairs as softly as possible.
I glanced at the clock.

Six thirty.

The petals lead out our backdoor, and through our backyard.
Blinded by hope, I jumped over the fence.
The petals continued another meter, and suddenly stopped.
On the ground where it stopped, the grass was trampled, and there were hollows in the ground.
My hope turned into anger.
I glanced up with my fist clenched. The person who lived here, must have done this.

A sick person, playing a sick joke.

On that moment I realized that I haven't met my new neighbors before. My dad have met them when they moved in four months ago, but I never felt the need to know who they were.

The door to a massive house in front of me opened up.

I stood as still, as if made of stone.
A beautiful girl walked towards me, her arms crossed.
I couldn't move.

"What are you doing in our yard?" She asked.

I took in the slim build of her body. Then I remembered the rose petals.

"You think you can play this sick prank on me! How did you even get into my house? My sister is missing, and you think this is funny?!" I lashed out.

Her face contorted into a frown.
"What? I'm sorry, I think you got the wrong person," she said, suddenly irritated.

I showed her the petals, bristling with anger.
"This led from my room, to your garden." I tried to stay calm.

She laughed a confused laugh, and suddenly I felt bad for accusing her.

"You're probably right. I'm sorry. I'm just so tensed up, because my sister, Gabby, went missing yesterday," I said, trying to keep my voice from cracking.
The girl in front of me flinched a little when I mentioned Gabby, but then covered it up with a smile.

"I'm sorry about your sister. My name is Laura." She said, holding out her hand.

I shook her hand.
"I am Cody."

We stood there for a few moments awkwardly eyeing each other.

"Uhh, I gotta go," Laura said, looking at the open door.

I turned around with my heart in my shoes.

When I walked in the door, I found my dad and the officer making small talk.
The officer swung around at the sound of my shoes squeaking on the floor.
Donut crumbs found its way into his moustache again.

"Oh hey Cody," he said sounding perplexed.
"I went to all Gabby's friends, and they all say that they haven't seen her in a long time. Always making excuses, saying she has to study and all that stuff. So we have no leads right now."

I suddenly felt even more mad than before.
There must be some clues to what happened to her.

I told the officer about the rose petals. He followed it to where it led, but said that he doesn't know why this would be connected to Gabby's disappearance.
We retreated back to the house.

"Hey, you got any more of that lemonade Peter?" He laughed jokingly, but eyed the refrigerator longingly.

My dad sighed, but handed him another glass.

"You know what, you haven't been any help. You're just in our house consuming our food, not doing anything else at all!" I lashed out at him.

"We're doing everything we can kid," the officer replied.

I didn't want to hear anymore of his nonsense, and rushed up the stairs to my room, slammed the door shut as hard as I could. My legs were shaking, and I felt mad at myself. I never liked to scream, but that day I lashed out at everyone.
"What's wrong with me?" I asked myself.

I sat on the side of my bed clenching, and unclenching my hands.
I was mad because the officer didn't even look for Gabby. That's what was wrong with me.

"I will look for her myself then," I whispered to the empty room.