Chapter 4

My mom handed the paper, corroded by stomach acid, to the CSI. She rubbed her sore lower back and said to my dad with a sigh, "I hope we get something from this paper. Did you remind Lily to lock the doors?"

My dad nodded grimly. He then hesitated before speaking. "Honey, you know Emily hasn’t answered her phone or responded to Eddie. Do you think something might have actually happened to her? Should I have someone check on her?"

My mom was irritated and cut him off. "Come on, don’t you know her by now? She’s just hiding, waiting for us to come looking. It’s not the first time she’s pulled something like this.

"She just doesn’t want to go to Lily’s match. By tomorrow at the latest, she’ll call us crying and apologizing."

The last time I went missing was during summer break, when Lily locked me in the school bathroom. The school was empty during the break, and no one could hear my cries for help.

I managed to climb out, covered in dirt, and limped home with a twisted ankle.

But in