“Well, they just said that since the death of their daughter, things just haven’t been the same for them. They said they should never have moved up here in the first place,” he answered.
“Oh,” Rachel said, with a sigh. “So, they went back to Pennsylvania, did they?”
“Yes, that’s what they said. I don’t know for sure, but you can call them, they did leave their number, just in case anything should go wrong. But I assume you have their phone number. I don’t know why I’m telling you this,” the man said.
“Actually, I lost it. Maybe you could give it to me again?” Rachel said. She figured that even though she did have their cell phone numbers, she would be able to tell where they moved if he gave her their home phone number. If it was the same area code, then she would know they went back to Pennsylvania.
“Sure. Hold on a moment while I grab it. Why don’t you come in for a moment,” the man said, ushering her inside the kitchen door.
“Ok, thanks,” Rachel said.
As she got inside the kitchen and took one look around, she couldn’t believe her eyes. The kitchen was completely different. It has been remodeled and looked nothing like the ugly kitchen it was before. She remembered the smell of the kitchen and the fact that she hated this house. Now, looking around, she thought it actually looked good. Now she wished it were still her house.
Rachel walked to the entrance of the kitchen where it leads into the other parts of the downstairs to sneak a quick peak at the place. It, too had been remodeled and looked better than ever. All the hideous paint colors and awkwardly configured rooms had been changed and reconstructed. She couldn’t believe how much work this new family had done on the place. Perhaps they were trying to clear the air, cleanse the place after the “death” of the girl that lived that before.
Thinking about that, she was surprised that this family actually bought the house. She wouldn’t ever buy a house that someone had died in, she thought to herself. That would be pretty creepy and scary. She was actually questioning why they bought this house anyway, especially in the shape it had been in. It was awful, really awful. Everything about it was ugly. She assumed they must have been desperate, or that her parents sold it for a good price. Those would be the only reasons someone would buy an ugly house from a family whose child had died.
“Here it is, young lady. What did you say your name was again. In case they call, I can tell them you stopped by,” the man said as he handed her a piece of paper with a phone number on it.
Rachel dodged the question, she didn’t want to repeat her name, especially now. She knew she had to leave quickly before he asked her again.
“You can use our telephone if you need to,” he said nicely.
“Oh no, that won’t be necessary. I have my cell,” Rachel said as she put the folded piece of paper into her pocket and turned to walk out the door.
“What was your name again?” the man asked again.
“I should really get going now,” Rachel said awkwardly, trying to dodge his question.
“All right, well I’ll let them know you stopped by then next time I hear from them,” the man said.
“It’s ok, you don’t have to do that. I will call them now,” Rachel said, trying to evade him again.
“Thanks for stopping by,” the man said with a smile. “Tell your family we say hello!”
“Will do!” Rachel said. “Bye now!”
She quickly exited through the sliding glass door of the kitchen and into the back yard. She didn’t quite know where to go from there. She knew her family had moved but she didn’t know where they had gone. She couldn’t believe they would move and not tell her, but in their defense, they thought she had died. Which saddened her, too. She didn’t realize they thought she was dead. She was shocked. What would they do if they ever saw her again? She thought to herself.
She then remembered the phone number, and took it out of her pants pocket and unfolded the piece of paper. She couldn’t believe her eyes. It was the exact same phone number that she had when she lived in Pennsylvania. It couldn’t be, she thought to herself as she looked again at the phone number. It was the same.
Could they have bought back our old house and moved back in? Did they realize they made a mistake by moving to New York? What about my dad’s new job? Is he working back at his old company? What about Marc, is he back at our old school?
So many questions were swarming around in Rachel’s head. She couldn’t believe that they’d moved. She was still in shock by the whole thing. Then, her mind went back to Benji and the kaleidoscope. She had forgotten for a moment why she even went back to Bedford in the first place. Now, she knew it would be even harder for her to find it. She didn’t know what to do. She felt at a loss.
Chapter 12
Rob drove his blue Audi all the way to Syracuse from the party that night. He didn’t want to wait any longer to find Sarah. He knew she would have the answers to finding Rachel. He knew she would be able to tell him her whereabouts.
As he pulled up to the campus, it was raining. His windshield wipers were on so fast, he could barely see the road in front of him. He stopped short at a crosswalk, almost hitting a group of coeds, crossing the street.
Rob rolled down his window and said, “Hey, where you guys headed?”
He had a good feeling this group knew where the cool parties were that night and he assumed that Sarah would be at a party. He remembered her from high school, always doing the “it” thing and always hanging with the popular crowd.
“We’re going to the Sammy party,” one girl said, smiling.
“Where you headed sexy?” another girl asked.
Rob looked back at her without flinching. This wasn’t the first time he’d been hit on before in this manner, it was fairly common for him. Girls’ couldn’t seem to keep their hands off him these days.
“I’m looking for someone,” Rob said.
“Who, maybe we can help?” the girl asked.
“Sarah Woods. Do you know here? She’s a freshman,” Rob said.
“You mean S-Dawg?” the girl said with a laugh.
“Uh..?” Rob said.
“Of course we know her. We’re rushing the same sorority together!” the girl replied.
“Well, where is she?” Rob asked in a hurry. “I have to find her!”
“What’s the rush Dude?” the girl said. “Come hang out with us!”