Unholy Confessions

All throughout graduation, all I could think about was Uncle Randy, Aunt Sharon and little Bear. My nephew was missing… my aunt and uncle were missing. My sister looked on the verge of tears through the whole ceremony, but plastered a fake smile on her face when she received her diploma and shook the principals hand. I followed suit, even raising my hands above my head in a triumphant gesture. This was wrong… this was all wrong. Looking in the crowd, I searched for a familiar face, knowing I would see none except Johnny. Both of his parents had opted out, saying they needed to stay in contact with our family.

Uncle Randy was our dad’s youngest brother. It seemed almost a blessing to both him and his wife when Neche asked them if they would like to adopt Bear. They were unable to conceive, and we knew they would give him the loving home he needed. They had sent family pictures on holidays, but we kept them out of sight for Neche’s sake. I had a feeling that her mind might have changed since learning her son was missing, and my heart went out for her.

After the ceremony, we stood with everyone, but we didn’t throw our hats. Jason and Matt kissed us goodbye as we made our way to our family… seems like they had showed up after all. But with all the commotion, Neche and I were separated. Had I not already been emotionally drained as it was, I might have panicked a little more than I did at first. Twirling around and calling her name, I began to feel the weight of anxiety in my stomach. Where was she? Should I find Johnny and Aunt Linda? Could she be with them? I took a few more looks around before decided to meet up with my family. She had to be there. But as they came into sigh, my heart dropped. She wasn’t there.

Two hours later, my family and the guys and Val were sitting in the living room. Uncle Jim was on the phone with the police after I had explained everything that had been happening. Well, everything I could without getting us all in trouble for partying. She didn’t need to hear about that.
“You mean to say, that there was a man on our roof, and you didn’t tell us?” Aunt Linda had exclaimed, all the blood draining out of her face. I nodded weakly and Uncle Jim relayed the story to the police. He nodded angrily as he listened.
“Yes, I understand that you normally have to wait after twent-four hours before reporting a person missing, but this isn’t like that. She wouldn’t wander alone, she’s a good kid. I want to talk to your boss. Yes, hello. My name is Jim Seward. Two years ago, my neice was raped in Syracuse, New York. That’s right, they sent the file over when the girls moved here.”
That was news to me. I felt dread fill me… maybe this could have been stopped after all. If they had her paperwork from Syracuse, they would know we weren’t making this up. Why hadn’t we gone to the police? Johnny must have read the look on my face because he took a seat next to me.
“This isn’t your fault, Mina. We couldn’t have known that they already had her paperwork. I wish we would have gone to the police too… but we were just respecting Neche’s wishes. She didn’t want to get anyone else involved.”
“Yeah, and look where that got us,” I spat, bitterly, “My sister is missing. Uncle Randy and Aunt Sharon are missing. Bear is missing.”
It hurt too much, and the tears started to fall. Jason stood me up and led me away from everyone. We walked outside and he gave me a cigarette.
“Let’s go for a walk, hm?”
We walked around the block a few times until I started to feel a little better. About as better as you can feel when your sister goes missing. He stopped walking and turned to me.
“Mina, I realize that this is probably the worst timing, but I need to tell you something.”
I looked up at his handsome face and felt a wave of relief wash through me. What would I do without him? He made everything better, and I knew he would help me through this. He took my hand and brought it to his lips.
“All this had made me realize how much I really care for you. The idea of someone wanting to hurt you… and the fact that said person probably has your sister right now… well I want to help. Always. I want to be there to help you always. I love you, Mina.”
My heart skipped a beat and a small smile tugged on my lips, “Really?”
He nodded and kissed me, “I think I’ve always loved you.”
“I love you too Jase, I don’t know what I would do without you.”
We walked back inside, holding hands and waited to hear what my uncle had found out.

By eleven, we still hadn’t heard from Neche. In my heart, I knew it was the same guy from before. It had to be. Who else would do this to someone? The guys were still sitting downstairs and Val had gone home, but I was sitting alone on the back porch. I lit my cigarette and stared out into the night. If I was going to find y sister, I was going to need all the help I could get. I would need the guys to help me think of any strange coincidences that had occurred that might lead to my sister and whoever had taken her. My only thought was that she might be hurt… that she needed my help. After my cigarette, I walked back inside and told the guys my plan to try and figure this out on our own. I may not know much about this guy, but I was going to find him. And when I did, I was going to kill him.