Chapter 1
"Alright. If we're going to figure out who's behind all of this, then you need to go back to the start, Amelia." Said Detective Campbell. The tall, stern middle-aged man the department gave the missing person cases to. Except in Agnes Hill, there were rarely any missing cases. The odd runaway here and there and they'd be found within a week, some would get spotted in London partying, others would call their parents asking for money so they could carry on smoking weed with a group of people they just met. But never this.
Amelia had been familiar with his face by now, she had been to his house at least a dozen times, if not more, for dinners and parties. But more recently, having been in the interrogation room with him at least ten times in the past four months.
He had short dark hair, with piercing blue eyes and a tattoo that could only partly be seen below his rolled-up shirt sleeve. His complexion was fair and highlighted his features, from his subtle pink cheeks to his full lips.
"I don't know what you're talking about, okay! My friends are missing and all you have is a stupid note from a crazy person!" She banged her hands against the table in anger.
"This note was clearly meant for you." He paused before placing the two pieces of paper on the table.
The words typed out in bold read:
I'm sorry that they kept hurting you, I should've protected you. Mills, I love you.
"I've been in here for ages and I still don't know what that means." Amelia sighed back into her chair.
"You tell me, Amelia. The note came to you." Said the Officer, looking at the scared nervous shell of a girl sat in front of him. He had remembered meeting her in 2016, when she and her friends ran up to him to introduce themselves as his sons new friends. They were all so young and innocent. Now three years on, it seemed that innocence had been taken from them.
"Start with Callum, your friends recall him saying some strange things the night he was last seen." The detective insisted.
"Callum's been having a hard time, but he wouldn't do something like this." Amelia asserted.
"I know that's what you think, and I understand that he's your friend or your ex, or whatever. But you need to be realistic and face the facts. Three people are missing, Callum included. Whether or not he did this, we still need to find him." Detective Campbell sighed, "There are people who believe he'd do this as a desperate attempt to undo what he did this summer."
Amelia sat there, taking it all in and trying to process what the detective had been saying for months. She slowly leaned back in the chair, trying to remember when this all started, the beginning, as it would be.
It was four months ago, on Monday, July 10th; Amelia had a week to go before she would be leaving Capri Heights Secondary School and starting college with her friends, where she wanted to study Media.
She was so excited for the last week, there would be a party at the end of the week at Callum's and more parties to follow in the summer. Just one more exam on Tuesday and they would all be finished.
She invited Callum Palmer over after school that day so they could study for their final exam. They sat on the living room floor, their practice papers laid out in front of them, as they went through topics in the science textbook.
Callum and Amelia had been friends for years, they always sort of had this 'will they, won't they' thing going, that they simply ignored. It was always an occasional drunken kiss at parties, then they would go back to their respective partners. Or whoever they were dating that week. Never more, never less.
Amelia looked up from her book to glance at Callum, so invested in what he was reading. He looked up at her, with his big green eyes, placed his hand at her cheek, pulled her closer to him and he kissed her. It was so gentle and sweet. He pushed her down to the ground delicately and slowly kissed along her neck.
She laid there, as he kissed her gently, with such anticipation. He paused, as he gazed upon her, almost as if he was taking her all in. He swiftly kissed her again, deeper than before.
She kissed him deeply, gripping his curled locks tightly between her fingers. His hands trembled as they slid down her chest to unbutton her shirt. He eased from on top of her, and lifted her towards him, wrapping her legs around his waist and grabbing her thighs.
"I've waited so long for this." He smiled.
Across the room, his phone kept buzzing. Constantly. It was like an alarm, but it wasn't. It was a text. And then another text. Then another.
Buzzzzz. Buzzzzz.
He looked across the room every time it went off, but then it stopped, and he carried on kissing her neck.
But again. Buzzzzz.
He lifted his face from her neck, narrowing his eyebrows, and then he rose completely and went to check his phone.
He typed something quickly, before the phone vibrated again. She could see him swiping left then right, before typing again.
"Where are my trousers?" His voice was low.
"They're over there, on the floor."
He reached for them, jumping into them as quickly as he could. He walked over to her and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead, grabbing his shirt and his books and heading to the door.
He got to the door, he turned, grabbing at strands of her hair, whispered a soft, sorry, before making his way to the car parked outside. She locked the door behind him and walked back to the living room, she sat on the couch and a single tear fell down her cheek.
I refuse to waste my tears on him. She thought.
Amelia Forbes had short, curly, dark brown hair, with light brown skin and light brown eyes. Amelia was always filled with hope and joy, she would always be seen with a smile on her face, even on her darkest days, her smile could still light up a room.
Amelia quickly woke up from her sleep, trying to piece together what had occurred the day before. She leaned over the pillow to the side of her, to reach for her phone on the side table. It had two missed calls from Callum and a text from Vanessa and Katherine.
V: Hey, where the hell are you?
Kat: Are you coming in today?
She ignored it, and briefly skimmed the time, not quite processing it, 8:40 something. She rolled over, and then she swiftly leaned over again to see the big bold numbers on her screen. 8:50 am. She was late.
She jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom, she had a shower as quickly as she could, and brushed her teeth. Then she ran back to her room; got dressed as fast as she could, slipped into her mid-thigh black pleated school skirt, threw on a formal white shirt and her red tie, before chucking the black blazer over it. She ran back to her room and called a taxi.
She took her dark brown curls out of the messy bun it had been wrapped in all night, grabbed the brush from the bathroom cupboard and swept through it, dragging each layer down to her shoulders, before wrapping it into a small ponytail.
She grabbed a bagel and ran outside to jump in the taxi. After a 10 minute drive, she was finally at school.
"Thank you, here you go." She said as she handed the small, old man a £10 note and ran out.
She ran to the reception area, where she had to be signed in; she lied and said she had a doctors appointment, and rushed upstairs to the second floor, where she had first period English, which was nearly over. So, she waited outside of the room for Vanessa.
Vanessa Wallis and Amelia were the best of friends, they met in primary school, and they've been inseparable ever since. Vanessa had long blonde hair, with light blue eyes and fair skin. She was a great student, she had never encountered a subject that she didn't want to learn; she was very intelligent and, more than anything, Amelia thought of her as a great friend.
The bell rang and Vanessa walked out of the classroom, looking around the hallway, until she made eye contact with Amelia; she smiled and briskly walked towards her.
"Millie, you made it! I was starting to think you weren't coming in." Vanessa said, with a playful tone.
"I almost didn't, I overslept." She smiled as they walked into science.
They sat down at their desk. They sat in the middle, between Katherine and Gerald, and Gabe and Shayla.
"Mills, you're here!" Katherine said excitedly, as she grinned across the table.
"Yes. I overslept, why do you guys look so surprised?" Amelia said with an annoyed tone.
"Because you said Callum was coming round yesterday, but then we didn't hear from you." Katherine said.
"Oh." Amelia said.
"Yeah, I mean we all just assumed that you guys finally got together." Gabe laughed, and then Vanessa leaned over to hit his arm playfully.
"Shh." Vanessa said.
"Nah, Mills is too good for him!" Gerald laughed.
"Well, you're all wrong. We didn't spend the night together, we studied, and he went home." Amelia smiled.
"Oh." They said.
They all glanced at each other and then went back to looking at the board.
Amelia gazed out the window when Vanessa nudged her, and she turned to see Callum walking down the corridor with a group of his friends, as they all laughed loudly.
"What happened yesterday?" Vanessa whispered.
"Nothing, he left." Amelia hissed.
"Vanessa." The short, bald man at the front called out across the room.
"Er, yes Mr. Stagger?" Vanessa muttered.
"What is the function of the mitochondria?" Mr. Stagger asked, his voice booming across the room.
"Er- The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell." She said, confidently.
"Meaning?" Mr. Stagger pushed further.
"The mitochondria produces the energy needed for the cells survival and functioning." Vanessa retorted.
"Well done, please pay attention to the board."
After being lectured on the importance of revising for the upcoming Science exam and what it will mean if they don't, the girls left the classroom and were immediately greeted by Denise and Simone. Who were surprised to see that Amelia was in school today. Amelia explained that she was late because she had a doctors appointment; she didn't feel like explaining that she overslept.
Amelia, Vanessa, Katherine, Shayla, Denise, and Simone sat down together at their usual table by the glass doors facing the football field, until the rest of the group arrived.
Shayla was the smartest girl in their year, she was in top set for everything. Shayla Bell had short brown hair, with dark brown eyes and pale white skin, and her biggest problem in life was that she was single.
Katherine Stoke was a lifelong trusted and thoughtful friend to Amelia, she had an incredible sense of humor and a great sense of self. She and Amelia had been friends since primary school, and she was always so sure of herself. She had dark brown hair, light brown eyes, and glowing brown skin.
Denise Shaw had dark brown hair, with green eyes and dark bushy eyebrows, which covered most of her face. She was also a straight A student, who in turn knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life and was sure no one would stand in her way.
Simone Samuels was tall and gorgeous with long brown hair, down to the middle of her back. Her skin was autumn brown and as glossy as a moonstone. She had a soft, relaxing voice and a bright, wide smile.
"You guys are never going to believe what Gabe told me in Science!" Shayla enthused.
"Ooo gossip!" said Vanessa clapping her hands with the biggest grin on her face, Spill.
They all chuckled at her reaction.
"So..." Shayla continued. "Apparently Callum has a girlfriend and she's like 12 years old, okay not really 12 years old, but like, really young."
"You're kidding!" exclaimed Katherine, almost dropping her jaw.
They all knew the 12-year-old was a tall blonde girl named Ruby, she was around two years younger than they all were, and she was always trying to tag along to outings with them. But everyone made sure Callum didn't bring her.
She had long blonde hair, with green eyes and an innocent face. She was one of those people that made it hard to dislike her, she was just so nice. She was kind and pretty and funny.
"Wait, who told you?" Vanessa questioned.
"Gabe. He said that Callum and her became official last night, at this thing for her parents." Shayla said.
As soon as Amelia looked up, there he was. Walking towards the table with Gabe, Gerald, Dylan, and the girlfriend.
They all glanced at each other nervously.
"So, the party this Saturday. We're all still going right?" Gabe asked, as he pushed his hands through his long curly brown hair and sat down.
"Yeah, I'm in!" Gerald exclaimed, pursing his lips together.
"Me too!" Said Denise.
"Count me in." Shayla said.
"Definitely." Said Dylan.
"Me too!" Said Simone.
"Same." Katherine smiled.
"Well, it's at my house so I don't really have a choice." Callum laughed.
"And I'll obviously be there!" Ruby said excitedly, as she wrapped her arm around Callum's, with a big smile on her face.
"What about you guys? Are you coming?" Gabe asked, as everyone turned to look over at Amelia and Vanessa.
They both looked at each other. Their eyes squinting as they communicated without anyone knowing. With Amelia's face saying, I don't want to if shes going to be there. And Vanessa's saying, It's just one night, you won't even notice them. Amelia looked around at everyone at the table, contemplating her decision.
"Mills, you have to come. It's going to be one of our last nights all together. Please." Callum said, as he stared at Amelia longingly.
Amelia sighed, as she looked at Vanessa and said, "I guess we're going to be there too!"
And everyone cheered.
The bell rang and they all knew it was time to gather their things and head to their science exam. They all waited outside of the exam hall, before being asked to go in.
Amelia sat in the hall, quiet as ever, just thinking. Thinking about the day before and wondering why he couldn't just be honest. It was all so messy, as she sat there, she felt an awful pit in her stomach. It was guilt. She felt guilty for what had happened, she felt bad for Ruby. They always did things like that, but it was never while in relationships so serious, that you meet each others parents. It was during flings and in between relationships.
Before she knew it, the hour and a half for the exam was over and it was time to leave. She walked out of the hall, with a feeling of shame overtaking her and thoughts racing through her mind. When suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder, she turned around and it was Callum. She had spent all day avoiding him and then of course coming out of the hall, she was caught.
"Amelia, can we talk? I really want to explain what happened yesterday." He exclaimed.
"I have to go, I'm meeting Kat." She said as she walked off.
"But I need to explain, it was just- " He was immediately interrupted by Amelia, who had suddenly become taken over by all her emotions. The anger and the shame. It all just became one.
"Stop!" She snapped, "You don't need to explain anything to me. It doesn't matter."
She walked away, wondering if she even believed the words she had said; it doesn't matter. If it didn't, she had to wonder why she got so upset. In this Moment, all she felt was relief and regret. Maybe this chapter with Callum was done, but shed always wonder what if.
"Hey, I've been waiting for you. How was the exam?" exclaimed Katherine, "Mine was a bitch, it's not even necessary, we have calculators for a reason- wait are you okay?"
"Yeah, sorry. I saw Callum and practically ran." Amelia said, brushing it off.
"Are you okay?" Katherine asked.
"No, but I will be," she said painfully.
"He doesn't deserve you anyway and you will be okay." Katherine smiled.
The bus is here, lets go" Amelia clutched Katherine's arm gently and continued, "Uhg, lets just get out of here."
Katherine gave a wide smile, "Gladly!"
Her mind was racing with questions, none of which she wanted to ask. Why wouldn't he just tell her he had a girlfriend? Why kiss her if he has a girlfriend? Why does it all matter so much? It was just one kiss, it meant nothing.
She thought about how she and Callum had been friends for years, and how even though there was always that possibility of more, he would've been the last person she would expect to lie to her or to omit information from her. She wondered what was different about this girl. Callum had always had girlfriends, none that he ever cared about. Especially not enough to leave her hanging for one of them.
Amelia sat at the dinner table, with her mum and dad; the room was filled with tension and silence. Amelia's mum, Rhonda, was a lawyer at an environmental firm in London. Rhonda had dark brown hair and she looked quite young for her age, with dark glowing skin, brown eyes, and a crooked smile. Amelia's father, Phillip Forbes, owned his own pharmacy in the town square, Forbes Pharmacy. He had dark green eyes, with short brown locks, pale skin and he was in his late 40's.
Amelia finished her dinner as fast as she could and then went upstairs to her room, to avoid the awkward silence downstairs.
The next couple of days went by quickly, Amelia spent her time avoiding Callum and his girlfriend; she couldn't deal with seeing them together, not after what happened.
She saw him again and again from the corner of her eye and quickly looked the other way, she still didn't have the courage to speak to him. As much as she believed that she was over what had happened, she just couldn't find it within herself to ever talk to him again.
Callum could barely face her, he felt his stomach drop and his heart hurt, when she said it didn't matter. It mattered to him. He couldn't tell her the truth, as much as he wanted to. He knew she'd never talk to him again if she knew the truth, if she knew the type of person he really was.
With only a days left until secondary school was over, Amelia spent time studying and spending time with Vanessa or Katherine and Shayla. She was worried that eventually, she might not be able to spend as much time with them anymore. She planned on going to College in Edgeville, the next town over. While most of her friends planned to stay in Sixth Form, with others planning on going to college in Edgeville also.
Katherine, Amelia, and Gerald sat in the cafeteria waiting for the others to join them.
"Hey, do you guys want to do something tomorrow after school?" Gerald asked Amelia, and Katherine.
"Yeah, what were you thinking?" Katherine asked, as she sipped her drink.
"They opened a new Go Kart place over in Edgeville, thought it might be fun." He smiled, as he glanced at them.
"That does sound fun, yeah I'm in." Amelia smiled.
"Me too!" Katherine grinned.
"Hey guys!" Gabe walked over and sat down in front of them, "What are we talking about?"
"Go Karting tomorrow, you in?" Gerald asked.
"Yeah! Lets go!" Gabe enthused.
Gerald and Gabe were two of Amelia's closest friends, her confidants. The four had been friends since year seven, when Gabe and Gerald moved to the school in the middle of the year and Amelia and Katherine introduced them to the rest of the group.
Gabe Fitzsimons had short dark brown hair, his eyes were brown and narrow and kind, he was tall and athletic. He was funny and smart and very outgoing, the life of the party.
Gerald Campbell was short, with dark features, he was handsome and funny. But mostly, he was shy and quiet, he was generous and always a voice of reason.
Shayla, Denise, and Vanessa walked over and sat down.
"Hey, do you guys want to come Go Karting tomorrow?" Gerald asked.
"Can't. Me and Vanessa are going shopping for new dresses for the club tomorrow." Shayla smiled.
"I'll come Go Karting." Denise enthused.
"What club?" Katherine asked.
"We wanna go clubbing tomorrow night, want to come?" Vanessa glanced at the table.
"Yeah, I'm in." Amelia smiled.
"Me too." Katherine smiled.
"I don't think I can come clubbing; I've got dinner with my dad." Denise sighed.
"I'm in!" Gabe smiled.
"Me too." Gerald said.
After school was over on Friday, everyone signed each others shirts and took enough pictures to last a lifetime, the five went Go Karting.
They all reminisced about secondary school and all the ups and downs they'd each been through. All the friends they'd gained and lost in such short periods of time. They talked about their future and where they hoped to end up; Gerald had wanted to be a film producer, while Gabe wanted to be a screenplay writer. Amelia thought about working in media but was unsure, while Katherine wanted to be a psychologist and Denise was unsure. Amelia, Gabe, and Gerald all applied to do a summer job at the local radio station, Agnes Wave Broadcasting.
"Oh my God! Remember when that Liz girl peed herself in class because Mrs. Miller told her she went to the toilet too many times, so she didn't let her go for the rest of the lesson." Denise and Amelia laughed.
"What? I didn't know this!" Katherine gasped.
"Oh yeah! This was in English in year nine!" Gerald laughed.
"Yeah, she literally stood at the front of the class arguing with Mrs. Miller about why she needed the toilet and then just pissed herself!" Gabe laughed.
"That was such a good day!" Denise grinned, as she slapped her leg with laughter.
"She literally never denied someone the toilet again." Amelia laughed.
Then they spent a bit of time shopping and then went to their favorite restaurant in town, The Garden Pub. While there, Amelia got a text from Vanessa.
V: Come to mine first, we'll go to the club together x
Amelia: K, be there at 10 x
They all left as soon as they finished their burgers and headed home to get changed.
Amelia went home, had a quick shower, did her makeup, put on some casual clothes, and then hid an outfit in her bag, before sneaking out of the house to avoid her parents. They had spent the whole night arguing and she couldn't stand to be around their fake pleasantries.
Amelia reached Vanessa's driveway, when Vanessa frantically ran out of the house to greet her.
"Hey! So, super quick, my parents are still home. If they ask, we're going to the movies to watch the new Spiderman!" Vanessa said quickly.
"Spiderman. Got it." Amelia said, "Wait, why?" Amelia continued as they walked to the house slowly.
Vanessa's house was huge, it had five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a wine cellar, a pool, and they occasionally had a chef come in to cook dinner. The house looked like a castle, with the long spiral driveway, leading to two garages.
"Because, they said that I go out too much and it reflects badly on them, or something like that." Vanessa explained.
"And why Spiderman?" Amelia chuckled as they entered the foyer.
"It was the only thing I could think of on the spot." Vanessa sighed.
"But you hate superhero-"
"Amelia! Darling, its so good to see you." Vanessa's mother smiled, as she held out her arms and walked towards Amelia.
Vanessa's mother was a tall and strong woman. She had long curly blonde hair that reached down to her chest; she always wore the most revealing clothes, currently she was wearing a long red glittery dress with a slit at the side and most importantly, she made sure her cleavage was prominent.
"Good to see you too, Mrs. Wallis." Amelia whimpered as Mrs. Wallis wrapped her arms around her. Her hold was firm but also gentle.
"How have you been?" Vanessa's mother inquired.
"I've been good, thank you and yourself?" Amelia asked.
"I've been alright. Well, don't just stand there. Come in, come in." she said, rushing the girls to the sitting area.
As they all sat down, they heard a booming voice coming from upstairs and heading to the sitting room. It was Mr. Wallis.
"Charlene, where did you put my cuff links?" Said the tall, broad-shouldered figure entering the room. His presence was strong and overpowering; he had short dark hair, with a small and pointed nose. He wore a black suave suit and no tie.
"On the table over there, love." She said, pointing to the table behind her.
"Ahh there it is!" He said in relief.
"Where are you guys heading to?" Amelia asked.
"A fancy gala, for a fancy charity." Vanessa teased.
"Not fancy at all, it's a small gala to raise money for the Children's hospital." Before Mrs. Wallis could finish, Vanessa interrupted.
"Ohhh, is that why you're soo dressed up?" Vanessa teased again.
"Because it's in London." Said Mrs. Wallis said.
The room let out a small laugh. Mr. Wallis walked over to join the group properly, he sat on the arm of the couch next to his wife. They held each others hands so softly, yet so intimately.
"What are you girls up to tonight?" asked Mr. Wallis.
"We're going to go watch Spiderman tonight." Vanessa said with a smile.
Mr. and Mrs. Wallis looked at each other with a knowing smile but acted like they knew nothing.
"Alright, well the car is here." He said, looking down at his phone.
"We should go dear," He turned to his wife and continued.
"Alright. You girls be good now. Love you V." Mrs. Wallis said as she shuffled to the door.
"Love you, bye." Vanessa said.
After closing the front door, the girls ran to Vanessa's room to discuss the night ahead.
