Nobody's Clean

Shaking, I find myself wishing I could pretend it was all in my head. I drop the phone and run down the hallway. When I finally come to my senses, I realize what I was just told. Missing? Liam!?!? I couldn’t comprehend it. It just didn’t make sense to me. Everyone knows him, he has family everywhere, he’s the last person you would expect to ever go missing. I start to think about what might have happened to him, until...

I sit straight up out of my bed, gasping. I feel myself realizing it was just a dream. Why on earth would I have a dream like that? Why did it feel so real? Weird, I shake it off and pull myself out of bed to get ready for school.

You’re probably wondering who I am. Well, I’ll back up. My name is Riley. Riley Smalls. I go to school at West-Grove High School. I keep a small circle of friends, but I do a lot of listening. I pay attention to the little things, and I know basically every one of the secrets of this High School. You might still be wondering some things, well let me tell you about my people.

My best friends, Grace and Anna, They’re stubborn, but really sweet. They would do pretty much anything for me. My boyfriend, Reed, he means well, but he’s not always the best at making smart decisions. I have some other acquaintances, but they’re not important.

As I walk into the lunch room, it’s loud and I can make out a few conversations about Liam, a kid from my school. He’s had perfect attendance all year long, but he’s been out for a week now. Considering he’s basically perfect, it got around. Or at least his reputation is perfect. He’s got dark secrets, and we’ll get into those very soon.

I sit down at the table next to Anna, “where’s Grace”, I ask. She looks at me with a puzzled expression, “I’m not sure.” She replies. I hurry and eat my lunch, so I can go to last period, and go home. It’s been quite the day. As i’m walking down the halls, Reed walks up to me, and asks me if I’ve heard the news on Liam. I tell him I heard some chatter, but it doesn’t exactly interest me. “Well okay, I love you.” He says. “Love you too.” I say.

When I walk through the door, of my two bedroom, one bath apartment, I smell cookies in the oven. I walk to the kitchen, and the smell gets stronger. The smell alone is making me hungry. “Why the cookies, mom?” I questionably ask her. “Did you not hear at school honey, I got a phone call Liam went missing, I’m baking the cookies for his mom. I know this must be a difficult time for her. Do you know a Liam?” I remember my dream, and I wonder if it’s all just a odd coincidence. Questioning my sanity, I ask her “Liam Walker?” “Yes, so you do know him? Well why don’t you come with me to bring these cookies to his mom?” “Sure..” I nervously agree, wishing I could forget what I just heard.

I step outside into the fresh air for a moment, to try and catch my breath, as I hear my mom yelling from the car, “Come on Riley!!” “Coming!!” I yell back. I run to the car to hurry and get in. On the way there, not very much is said. It’s quiet, and sort of awkward. I can feel the silence lingering and it’s slightly uncomfortable, but I do my best to ignore it.

When we pull in the driveway, I hop out, and i’m the first one to the door-step, eager to get this over with. I ring the doorbell, and a blonde lady with a questioning look on her face opens the door. My mom walks up behind me and says “Hi Julie. To my understanding, this must be a hard time for you. My daughter and I wanted to bring you these, just as a gesture to let you know we’re thinking of you and your family.” I force a smile. “Thank you, would you like to come in?”

You’ve got to be kidding. I walk inside, my mom behind me. We sit down on the couch, the living room smells like a mixture of baby powder and sugar-free caramel hard candies. “Would you like some coffee or some tea?” Mrs. Walker asks. “No thank you” my mom replies. Mrs. Walkers walks over to the living room and sits down on the couch beside us. “I’m still in denial at times, I’ve done my best to keep positive thoughts the past few days.” She says. I do my best to look sympathetic for her, she really does look like she’s in a lot of pain.

When we finally leave, i’m incredibly relieved. I couldn’t stand to listen to her sob any longer. We get in the car and it’s silent again on the way back home. I sit there wondering if she’s gonna say anything, but she stays quiet.

By the time we get home, i’m absolutely exhausted, I run down the hall and get in my bed. I lay there wondering where Liam actually is, and if he's okay. It's weird of me to worry so much, I don't know. The thought lingers in my mind that someone at that school knows more than they let on. I guess all I can do now is wait and find out.