The Unexpected
Teagan Harris – 3rd Place
The young woman took a seat on one of the rather uncomfortable chairs placed around the small table. The hotel she was staying at was a step down from her usual luxuries, but she supposed it would have to do, as she would not be there long. She paid no mind to the other people bustling about or the droning of the news on the mounted television.
The woman knew people were looking at her; they always were. How could they not? She was youthful, beautiful, clearly financially successful, and had an air of great importance that she always tied around her shoulders and wore proudly.
The smell of the sub-par omelette sitting in front of her was not even close to being as appealing as the meals she was used to. Nevertheless, she tore open the flimsy plastic bag containing her silverware and began to cut her breakfast into morsels.
When the woman’s phone pinged the first time, she simply turned the ringer off out of habit. As an only child, she was used to her mother checking in often and wanting updates multiple times a day. When the cell phone continued to buzz, however, her annoyance got the best of her. She continued to eat as she unlocked it.
The first text she saw startled her. It read, “Have you seen the news?” typed out in a seemingly-frantic fashion. As the text kept rolling in, she noticed that it was not just her mother, but her father, a few colleagues, and several of her friends. They all contained similar messages.
She finally took notice of the man on the television in front of her listing out recent events. As her eyes fell upon the words on the screen, she felt as if the breath was knocked out her chest.
“Police have picked up a devastating and baffling cold case from fourteen years ago. The disappearance of Eleanor Lacombe left her parents and twin sister in shambles for years. Police state that the re-opening of this case was made possible from a potential lead given to them by an anonymous tip…”
Words fell flat before they reached the woman. Her mind buzzed like insects swarming in her brain, battering their wings against her eardrums and clawing through her throat. The plastic fork clattered across the table and onto the nylon carpet as she stood abruptly.
Breakfast left entirely forgotten, the woman made her way hurriedly back to her designated hotel room. When she attempted to unlock the door, she fumbled with the key card and it tumbled out of her trembling fingers. The woman sank to the floor, feeling as if she was on the verge of hysteria.
She did not know how this could have happened, or what she was supposed to do next. She knew her family and friends were trying to reach her, but it was only to talk about the other girl. Or maybe a woman now, she thought to herself, choking out a morbid laugh. The other woman was presumed dead by authorities, but a lilting voice in her head told her that stranger things seem to be happening.
They shouldn’t be looking for her, though. The woman made sure of that fourteen years ago. She made sure of that when she cut off the only thing holding her back. She had been the brightest thing in the woman’s life, and she destroyed it. She guessed the saying was true. The ones we once loved never truly leave us. Even in death.
Additional settings for Safari Browser.
