1 Chapter One: Tuesday Blue's

It felt uncanny, but oddly relieving, to hear the laughter of students in the hallways again. Lyla Grant had gone missing three weeks ago, and her disappearance left Fallhaven with a heavy silence hanging overhead. She had been on her way to Blue's Diner, like every other teenager did on a Tuesday afternoon in our quaint little town, but she never made it inside. Lyla was a straight-A student that spent any free time she had practicing her round-offs for cheer squad. Her brunette locks and piercing blue eyes gave her instant popularity status with the boys once we entered high school. She never spoke poorly of anyone and if you ever caught her swearing, it was because she found her boyfriend, Duke Cavanaugh cheating. Regardless, Duke was the poor sap that waited in Blue's Diner that day for a girl that never came. I've never seen someone turn into a blubbering mess quite that fast. Her car was found in the diner's parking lot with no visible signs of a struggle. Duke kept calling her while he paced in the diner so furiously it was like he was digging a trench with his own two feet. After spotting her car in the parking lot, Duke called his dad – deputy Cavanaugh. Lyla's disappearance made headlines rather quickly. It had only been two hours and the town's journalists were already questioning every person in the diner that evening. Ava and I had given our statements to the police before our parents showed up and brought us home. With all the fighting my parents had been doing the last few months, this was the first night of peace I had experienced in a while. They watched movies with me until I fell asleep and when I woke up, I was wrapped in my mother's arms with my dad knocked out on his lazy-boy recliner beside us. Lyla's disappearance was terrifying, but it was like my brain couldn't accept the idea that someone could have actually taken her... or worse. Lyla was gone and the rest of the town was in complete disarray. Perhaps it's because Fallhaven is the embodiment of a hothouse flower. It's a small town with residents that have developed their lineages together. Everyone knew everyone else and news travels by word of mouth at a frightening speed. You couldn't buy an erotic novel from Gerald's Bookstore without the cranky resident cat-lady, Mrs. Forbes, shouting judgmental remarks at you about it from her front porch. That said, Fallhaven is a sheltered, fragile, little dandelion of a town. It doesn't take much to completely turn it on its head, though; until Lyla's disappearance, nothing ever did. It had always been one of those quiet towns where the biggest commotion came from its tame and traditional monthly themed carnivals, annual gala fundraisers, and Sunday bake sales. But with Lyla gone, I think the people of Fallhaven have to face the fact that something truly sinister is happening here and that the culprit could very well be walking among us.

"Hellooooooo! Earth to Reese! Homeroom is about to start, and I haven't gotten my lunch from the vending machines yet!" Ava shouted at me while waving her hands in front of my face.

"Huh? Oh, right. Sorry, I was just thinking about Lyla" I said. Ava sighed, slowly scanning the other students bustling around her.

"I know. I've been trying not to think about it. It scares me that nobody has any answers. My mom is being mega-protective and said she wants me to come straight home after school ends. Which reminds me, we still on for our sleepover tonight?" she asked.

"I mean I'll have to check my schedule..." I said wryly. Ava rolled her eyes and proceeded to yank me towards the vending machines. As she fished inside her backpack for change, I couldn't help but laugh at how incredibly perfect of a pair we made. Ava has been my best friend since she moved in next door when we were little. For as long as I can remember, Ava always looked out for me like a sister. When the class booger-eater tried to sit next to me in kindergarten, she plopped a chair right down between us and acted like a human shield. In sixth grade when I had a panic attack before our big math test, she brought me my favorite juice box and told me to breathe into her brown lunch bag. Now that we're in our junior year of high school, she's my rock. With my parents fighting so often, I've been feeling trapped in my own house. When I'm with Ava, I feel like I'm truly at home.

"Wow, you're really spacing today, huh. Everything ok?" Ava asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, snapping out of it. "Let's just get to class before Mr. Body-Odor-Beavis notices we're late and makes us sit up front with him." We both burst out into hysterical laughter as we made our way to class.

At the sound of the last bell, I gathered my stuff and made my way to my locker.

"Boo!" Ava shouted from behind the locker door. I shot her a smug grin as my demeanor stayed the same. "Ugh, you're never any fun to scare, Reese. You're like some robot," she said. I couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"Or maybe all the horror movies we watch has left me desensitized," I retorted. "So, your house?"

I could hear the eagerness in my own voice, and it annoyed me. Ava pursed her lips, withholding her response.

"Whaaaaat? Ugh.. Whaaaaaattttt? Ava C'mon! Your mom said to go straight home after school, remember? My parents want me to do the same. What else could you possibly want to do? And it better be worth it because if we get caught out of the house, we'll be skinned alive by our parents," I joked.

Ava took a deep breath. "Okay, hear me out. Do you remember being in Mrs. Mulberry's class?" she asked. I gave a slow nod, wondering where she was going with this. "Well, it was in that very fourth grade class that we had a time capsule project..." Ava explained. I let an involuntary groan escape before resting my forehead against the locker. "Oh c'mon, Reese's Pieces! Think of all the weird fourth-grade things we put in there! Our bucket lists, secret crushes...Heck, there's probably still a pack of Dunkaroos or Pokemon cards in there. You know how much that shit would sell for online now? Besides, maybe we'll find something useful or interesting. C'mon, It'll be fun!" Ava whined.

The heavy thoughts that I had spent my morning trying to avoid came flooding back to me. With my head still pressed against the locker I replied, "Ava. Lyla is missing. There could be some wacko on the loose! Besides, we buried that time capsule somewhere in Blackwater Forest. We can't go out there now! It'd be insane!" I whined back. As I slowly lifted my gaze to meet Ava's, she was already giving me her best puppy dog eyes. I let another "ugh" escape. Ava's always been more adventurous than me, but this is just crazy right? For all we know someone took Lyla. "Ava, why the sudden urge to go looking for this time capsule?" I asked. For a moment, Ava stared at me with a blank expression. I can tell she's hesitating, but I haven't the slightest clue as to why. We don't keep secrets from each other. Ava has always been impulsive, but something about this feels a bit off. With everything going on, why risk going into the woods for a stupid time capsule now?

"I just need a break Reese," Ava said with exasperation. "My mom is in full blown mama bear mode since Lyla went missing and constantly wants me by her side when she's home. She's suffocating me! She hovers when I play video games or when I decide to cook something. Heck, she practically even holds my toothbrush for me when I go to brush my teeth. I mean, I love my mom to bits and understand she's worried, but I just don't have a moment to myself! So, yesterday I told her I was going to clean my closet and very clearly stated that I had "personal teenage things" that I needed to process alone. Yes, it was complete baloney, but it seemed to work because she, begrudgingly, gave me space but it meant I actually needed to clean my closet. Ugh. It was super gross and full of spiders, but I found a whole bunch of old journals, letters, and toys."

Ava suddenly paused and pursed her lips. Everything she had been saying came out in a quick blur but she seemed somewhat lost in thought for a second.

"In one journal entry I wrote about the time capsule and... I don't know, it just made me feel nostalgic. Everything was so much simpler back then." Ava said bleakly.

I'm not sure what's going on with her, but I've known Ava long enough not to pry. She comes to me when she's ready to talk. In the meantime, what if I can get her to compromise... "What if...we go to Blue's diner instead? You know, grab a stack of bacon pancakes, people watch and maybe narrate their thoughts like we usually do?" I asked with a hopeful tone. I could see the gears turning in Ava's head. We had been there the night Lyla went missing so it might feel a bit odd to go back so soon but there have been patrol cars outside of Blue's since the incident. The diner is probably the safest place to be right now. One thing I know for sure is that it's a whole lot safer than Blackwater forest.

"Ugh, alright – deal. Only because that bag of chips at lunch barely did anything for me. But I'm not letting this time capsule thing go!" Ava replied. I knew she meant it, too. Hopefully, I can persuade her to hold off on this time capsule adventure until we know what happened to Lyla.

Blue's Diner is a ten-minute bus ride from school. The diner got its name since it's located on Bluehill Avenue. But the diner itself is a nautical relic worth beholding. The Duncan family opened Blue's Diner back in the 50's and it was a huge hit. For years, Blue's became a hot spot for teenagers and seniors alike. It quickly became a staple afterschool hangout for every grade and a classic take-out coffee and breakfast stop for parents before they took off for work. True to it's name, the Diner is covered in dark blue planks. A giant swordfish adorns the sign and huge white-bordered windows wrap around the front of the building, paying homage to classic American 50's diners. The interior also reflects its retro theme. Its black and white checkered flooring emphasize the wine-colored bar stools that surround the coffee counter. Each window is accompanied with a faded pink booth and eggshell colored tables lined with metallic rims. The walls are completely covered in old records, town photos from previous decades and small neon phrases. Ava and I nab our usual booth in the corner and order our favorites: bacon pancakes with an extra side of bacon, a classic Johnny-boy cheeseburger with fries, and one vanilla milkshake to share. I don't know where we put it all, but the food is always done by the time we need to go home.

"Here you go, ladies! Your usual," Boone said as he laid the plate of fries down in front of us.

Boone Hudson was the current owner of Blue's Diner ever since his old man died. You'll always find Boone with a big smile plastered across his face. He cared about every person that walked through his door. My dad used to bring me here before school when my mom would be passed out in her office from a late night of working. A few times my dad would forget his wallet in the car. "Ahh, sorry Boone. Let me just run out to the truck and grab it," my dad would say. "Oh hush," Boone would reply without fail. "You can pay me back by running the diner when I'm old and grey. I got no kids to take over, and you know your way around a table and griddle from your busboy days, I hear." My dad would always get flustered, clearly embarrassed of his past. He was never well off and worked hard to give me the life I have now. "Boone, we could never do Blue's justice. At least not like you can," he'd say back.

"So, about this time capsule..." Ava said as she dipped a fry in her milkshake. Her voice brought me out of the memory I had begun to lose myself in. I gave Ava my best "over this topic" eyeroll. "Oh, come now, little Reese's Pieces! Lyla will turn up. She has to. This podunk town hasn't had anything significant happen in years. She probably walked in on Duke and Molly Bennett going at it in the Janitor's closet again and took off to make him worry or something."

I stifled the memory of my father. "Right...because that makes sense. Lyla found Duke cheating for the millionth time and she decided to run away to teach him a lesson. Oh, and she thought it best to leave all of her personal belongings behind, including her car."

"Yeah, yeah... okay. So maybe that's not what happened. But we can't do anything about it Reese. All we can do is try to go back to living our normal lives while we wait for the Sheriff's department to find her." Ava's expression began to drop as she fixated on the condensation running down the milkshake glass. "We're sitting ducks, Reese. People leave. People go missing all the time. I'm not trying to be insensitive, but I want to be realistic about this. She's the first person to go missing in Fallhaven. Ever. Nobody seems to have any idea about what happened to her, and according to the papers, the police have no leads. I want her back home just as much as anyone else. But I can't keep re-living the night of her disappearance. The look on my mom's face when she picked me up from the diner was heartbreaking. And the way she held me and cried at home..." Her voice trailed off.

The tremble in Ava's voice took me back to that night. I remember time slowing down the minute I saw my parent's approach the police tape. Pain and worry had twisted their facial expressions so drastically that they were almost unrecognizable. Other than me, Joan is all Ava has. The image of Joan desperately hugging Ava that night is permanently seared into my brain. Maybe looking for this time capsule could be a good thing for her, after all. It could distract her from everything going on and give both of us some sense of normalcy again. Our antics always made for a wicked time. "Alright. Fine. We can go looking for the time capsule bu-"

Before I could finish my sentence, Ava stood up abruptly and smacked her hands on the table, shouting, "Oh my gosh YES! THANK YOU, DIVINE GODDESS REESE! THIS IS GOING TO BE SO FUN FOR US, I CAN FEEL IT!" Her yelling caught the attention of the rest of the diner as they stared at us in disbelief.

"SHHHHH! Ava sit down!" I hissed, as I reached across the table and pulled her back down by her sleeve. Ava glanced around the room and gave everyone an apologetic wave.

"Look. You didn't let me finish. We can go looking for this time capsule IF our parents agree to it. And they need to know where we'll be. You remember where we buried it right?" I could see that Ava was digesting the fact that our parents had to be informed.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'll tell my mom. And of course I know where it's buried! What do you take me for? Some kind of reckless idiot?" Ava said.

I gave her another sassy look that clearly let her know my answer to that question. Ava quickly grabbed a pen from her backpack and a napkin from the dispenser. "Here, I'll draw a little map of where we need to go." As we giggled over Ava's crude and completely inaccurate drawing of Blackwater Forest. Suddenly, the bells at the front door clanged as it shot open. Duke Cavanaugh stood at the entrance of the diner, breathless and sweaty.

"Oh... Duke my boy. Is everything alright?" Boone asked, concern heavy in his voice.

"No! No, Boone...Everything is not alright! Lyla is still missing, and nobody knows a damn thing about it!" Duke yelled. "People are here every day and every night. The same people come to your diner like clockwork every day! And for some reason nobody knows or saw anything?! Someone here has to have seen something!" Duke's eyes wildly searched the room. "Huh?! You! Old man! Did you see Lyla that Tuesday? Did you see her pull into the parking lot?" The elderly man stared at him completely speechless. "No? Okay, how about you?!" Duke began to approach a young woman with her son. Boone quickly stepped in and placed a hand on Duke's shoulder. "Don't touch me! Nobody touch me! Lyla is gone, and every single one of you useless, self-absorbed townies care more about getting your coffee fix!"

I felt my blood run hot. I clenched my hands into fists on the table. Useless, self-absorbed townies? HE wants to call everyone else self-absorbed? He was the one who cheated on Lyla multiple times. He was the one who never valued her when all she clearly wanted was him. My jaw clenched tightly, holding back the volatile spewing's I wanted to shout across the room. He needs to be told. He needs to be put in his place. Then again, what's mine? Who am I to reprimand Duke? I've known him for years, but that friendship died the same time my light-up, Barbie sneakers did. I don't know the boy standing in front of me now. Besides, I'm not built for confrontation. Ava is. I'm sure Duke is hurting, but he can't treat people like this. Everyone is scared. Everyone is upset. I felt tears begin to well up in my eyes, begging to slide down my hot cheeks. Ava's hand was suddenly on top of my fist.

"It's okay," she mouthed silently. Ava then signed the word breathe. I closed my eyes and sank into a deep, slow breath. As I unclenched my fists, my jaw followed suit and relaxed slowly. I immediately began to feel embarrassed. I know Ava doesn't mind but I always let my feelings get the best of me and I hate it. For once, I would like to just stand up for what I believe in, and express myself without worrying about the consequences. For once, I would love to be the reckless idiot and just say what's on my mind.

"Hey Cavanaugh!" Ava was already in his face. How the hell did she cross the room so quickly? "Everyone's had a rough few weeks. Clearly you have – you've got circles as dark as night under your eyes," Ava said half-jokingly. Her tone began to soften. "Nobody knows anything and if they did, they'd be calling your dad. We all want her home, okay? So, why don't you head back to yours and get some rest in the mean time?" Ava's voice was calm and steady now. Her posture completely strong and yet somehow gentle. She was trying to diffuse the bomb that was Duke Cavanaugh.

"Ava's right, son. Your dad's on the case and he's working it night and day. He'll figure this all out. He'll bring her home," Boone chimed in sympathetically.

The diner was completely silent. All eyes were on Duke. Everyone was trying to decipher whether Boone and Ava had cut the blue wire or red one. Duke stared Boone down. Time moved painfully slow once again. Somehow, it felt like making any kind of sound would set him off. The clock's incessant ticking became deafening, and my heart began to beat so loudly I thought the entire room could hear it. Suddenly, Duke's shoulders dropped and his demeanor relaxed slightly.

"Whatever," he mumbled in defeat.

Duke turned on his heels and headed for the door. Just before leaving, he glanced at Ava and then turned his gaze to me. I felt my chest tighten the minute our eyes met. He was broken. Utterly broken. He didn't look like the Duke I had grown up with in school. He was a shell of a man, completely void of all things dynamic and brimming with life. I suddenly felt my chest begin to fall. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Duke furrowed his brows and opened his mouth, as if he wanted to tell me something. But he quickly closed it, shook his head and stormed out. I let a breath out, realizing I had been holding it in ever since Ava went to talk to him. As I watched Duke cross the street through the Diner window, the full weight of Lyla's disappearance hit me. My gut sank at the realization that turmoil and chaos had only just begun its reign over Fallhaven. Until this day, true fear had merely been a concept. Now it was real: a feeling I would carry inside me every day. This dread of what's to come was overwhelming and all it made me want to do was run home into the comfort of my parent's arms.

I guess, like Fallhaven, I'm a hothouse flower, too.