The Mortician's Daughter

Carolyn smiled at him. “You should get some sleep. It might make you feel better.”

“No!” Andy shouted involuntarily. “I mean… No, it’s okay. I’m fine.” He didn’t want to close his eyes and sleep. He didn’t want to remove his gaze from the angelic girl sitting next to him. He had to know more about her. She was so unlike every other girl he had met.

She giggled again. How he loved her giggle. “Okay, okay. Sorry I suggested it.”

Andy looked down, embarrassed with his sudden outburst. “What’s your name?” He asked, starting his attempt to get to know her. He wanted her to feel comfortable with him. He wanted her to trust him. And most of all, he wanted to know what she had meant earlier about losing someone close to her.

“Carolyn.” She replied, matter-of-factly.

Andy nodded. “Pretty.” He commented.

Carolyn gave him a huge smile. “Really? Th-Thank you.”

Carolyn wasn’t used to getting compliments. In fact, she had never received any kind of compliment from anyone else besides her father. She never accepted the compliments from her father. She knew he was pretty much entitled to say things like that. He was her father after all and he cared about her.

Andy was already beginning to live up to his reputation. He was sweet, caring, kind, and most of all, gorgeous. His crystal clear blue eyes lit up her life with just a glance. She didn’t want to let him leave. He was the only good thing in her life and she couldn’t let him escape her grasp. She was going to plan to keep him with her as long as she could. You could say it was just Carolyn being selfish. She did think about all of Andy’s other fans out there and how disappointed they would be when they found out he had disappeared. But Carolyn felt so broken inside. Whether he realized it or not, Andy was helping her slowly put back together the shattered pieces of her life.

“What were you doing in the cemetery?” Andy asked out of curiosity.

“Dancing.” Carolyn quickly shot back.

Andy furrowed his eyebrows. “Wait. What?”

Carolyn reached down and picked up black bulky things attached to silken black strands. Andy stared at them but still couldn’t figure out what they were.

“Ballet shoes.” Carolyn clarified. “I like to dance in the cemetery. Death… is comforting for me.”

It was official. Andy thought this girl was psychotic.

Carolyn caught the slight look of terror on Andy’s face and dropped her shoes on the floor with a thud before hurrying over to his side.

“Shit. I’m sorry.” She apologized. “I didn’t mean to scare you….”

Andy shook his head. “No, no… It’s okay. You’re different. I like different.” He smiled.

Carolyn let out a deep breath, relieved that he didn’t think she was a freak, too. She always had to watch what she said around people. None of them understood what it was like to be around death all the time. And she wasn’t good with socializing either. She never knew what to say to people and when she did say something, it sounded creepy like what she had just said to Andy.

“Hey, what’s this?” Andy looked next to him at the black bedside table. He picked up the only item in Carolyn’s entire room that wasn’t black or white. It was a red notebook with her name scribbled on the front.

“Put it down!” She shouted and lunged for the notebook in his hands. She swiftly retrieved it and clutched it to her chest. “Maybe… You should get some rest now.” She reached for the door handle and left Andy in the room alone, taking the notebook with her.

That notebook was filled with Carolyn’s stories, song lyrics, poems, and little journal entries that she wrote when the voices in her head took over. That notebook was Carolyn’s entire life and she never let anyone read what was inside.



When the boys woke up the next morning, all four of them were completely hung over. None of them had any idea what day it was, what time it was or what city they were in now.

“Hey guys?” Ashley stumbled out of his bunk and started pulling the curtains open to wake everyone up.

He reached for the curtain on Andy’s bunk first and tore it open to reveal an empty bed. Ashley scratched his head, thinking Andy was in the bathroom or maybe he was already awake and in the kitchen.

Ashley checked the entire bus for Andy but turned up with nothing.

“Guys?” Ashley said more frantically.

Jake poked his head out of the small compartment. “What’s wrong Ashley?” He groaned.

Ashley looked to him with wide eyes. “Andy’s gone.”