Previously on Alone #2, Sophia looks up in tears to find her parents taking everything that she’s ever owned and stuffing them into trash bags. She follows her parents to a nearby lake, where the bags disappear underneath the surface of the large, glistening lake. Read Alone #3 to find out what happens next!
Tears streamed down my face as we drove home from the lake. I couldn’t face my parents. I’m a failure.
When we reached our clean, white house, I ran upstairs and slammed my door. My room was stripped empty. It was completely and utterly bare - my decorations, desk, dresser, and even my bed had disappeared from the room. It was all sitting at the bottom of a lake.
I sank to the floor, letting my tears soak the perfectly ruffled, pristine carpet. I curled into a ball and lay there for hours.
I opened my crusty eyes to a piercing pain in my stiff back. I rolled over and stared at the ceiling, following the swirly patterns of white with my eyes. I sniffled, my eyes too dry for more tears. I struggled to stand, forcing myself to walk downstairs.
As I approached the kitchen, I found my mother reading a book on the couch. I dragged myself into the kitchen, pausing at a sudden noise from my mother.
“Ahem. This is ridiculous. What do you say to your mother?” She glared at me down the tip of her nose.
“Sorry, Mother. Good morning, Mother.” I mumbled, turning back to the kitchen. My mother turned back to her book as I grabbed an apple from the fridge.
I snuck out the door with the juicy fruit in my hand. A cold breeze whipped my hair into my face and I spluttered on the loose strands. I shivered in the early morning cold of winter. I had never wanted a furry coat so much in my life. I kicked a loose rock along the pavement as I made my way to the end of the driveway. I felt so out of place without my heavy backpack. I rubbed my hands on my arms, bumping the lace with my fingers.
“SCREECH!” The bus pulled around the corner of my neighborhood and stopped to let me on. I crawled into a seat where my friend Emery sat eagerly waiting for me.
“Where’s your bag?” She asked, tucking her chocolate brown hair behind her pink headband. I sniffled and didn’t look up.
“What did they do this time, Soph? It’ll all be okay. Why the glum face?” She looked down at the tears streaming down my face and repeated herself. “What happened?”
“Th- Th- They . . .” The story poured out of me - a storm of words flooding out of my mouth.
“Soph . . . do you want me to come over after school?” she asked. I nodded, another tear escaping my eye.
We slowly climbed off the bus and headed into the crowded school. Kids yelled and talked in loud voices in all directions, pushing and shoving their way through hordes of people. We made our way through the commons and into our math classroom. Just as we were sitting down, Mr. Evans rushed up to me.
“Sophia! There you are! You- You need to get to- to the office. We- We- they- they need you. Call . . . your parents . . .” My eyes grew large and I dropped my stuff on the counter.
“Em?” I asked, looking into her eyes. She got my message and she asked my math teacher for permission to come along with me.
We rushed down the hallway, Emery pulling me along by my hand. We stopped at the office door and took a breath before barging in. The worry in the office staff’s eyes and the way they kept nervously glancing at each other made me know it was going to be bad.
“Sophia . . . your . . . your parents have been kidnapped.”