Part Of A Clue²

Part Of A Clue²

Eloise Kingston

One day I am going to kill Elijah for always convincing me to do stupid things. How does he even manage to convince me everytime? I only agreed to the plan since I wanted to find something that was stolen from me. 

After Elijah and I figured out a plan, a stupid one might I add, I went back home and mom left a note saying that she’ll be home late due to her being on call. Paul was nowhere to be seen, but he sent a text that he had a date and said that I should eat out or cook something for myself. 

When the clock hit eight, there was a knock on the door, exactly three knocks. I slipped on my leather jacket before shoving my phone and pepper spray (courtesy of uncle Luke) inside the pockets of my denim pants. I stepped out of the house and saw Elijah’s car outside the house. Filled with hesitation, I hopped inside his car. 

“This is stupid. You do realize that, right?” I asked, putting on my seatbelt before he drove away from my house. Do I have doubts about this freaking so called mission? Yes, of course I do. We’re going to be breaking into a house, a house that a famous lawyer owns, I could go to jail for this. My mother is going to kill me. Do I think Elijah is hiding something from me? Most definitely yes. There’s something about him that makes me nervous and I don’t know what it is. I can’t put my finger on it. 

“Look, if you want to go back home, then I'll drive you back.” he stated, glancing at me for a moment before turning his gaze back on the road. “But, I’m doing this whether you’re with me or not. I owe Rory for not trying to make our friendship work.” he said, whole heartedly. 

I sighed, propping my arm by the window and placed my head on top of my palm. “I owe it to Rory too.” I muttered. “Plus, I’m sure you might die from doing stupid things without me.” I added with a grin on my face. 

Elijah parked his car on the side of a road and there we continued to walk towards our destination. And where is that location? The Carter Lake House was the first thing that popped in our mind to find “clues” of some sort. Why? Because Elijah informed me that is where Aurora spends most of her time according to him. How does he know that? That’s what I’m trying to figure out. 

“Elijah.”

“Hmm?”

“How did you know that Rory spends her time in her parents’ lake house?” I asked, curiously. The way he stiffened didn’t go unnoticed by me. Something was up, I can feel it. How could he know such information if they don’t hang out anymore? We stopped walking and I flashed the flashlight towards his face, in which he covered his face with his hand. 

He glanced at our surroundings, making sure that we were going the right way before he gestured for me to continue walking in which we did. “Remember Austin Harrison?” 

“The guy who helped clean my wound when I tripped during the fourth grade? Of course I remember him.” I said as a matter of faculty. Austin Harrison is one of the most charming guys I have ever met, not to mention he’s kind, a true gentleman, and athletic. “Why do you ask?”

“Rory’s b— ex-lover.” Elijah said, his voice laced with disgust.  

My eyes widened in shock.“Wait. What? Seriously?” I asked, incredulously. “Wow. That’s very surprising. I thought that Austin liked Caroline?” Well, I guess it wouldn’t be too surprising that Austin and Rory ended up dating. Rory is very pretty, any guy would be lucky to have her. What’s surprising is that Austin went after Rory instead of her cousin, Caroline.

I could remember the days where Austin would always chase Caroline, always trying to pursue her and he always ended up getting turned down, but that never caused him to give up. I believed that Austin loved her a bit and I believed that a part of Caroline loved him too and was just too proud to admit it. So, why did he give up on Caroline and pursue her cousin instead? 

“Thought so too. I guess that he liked Aurora all along.” he stated dryly as we reached the lake house. “To answer your original question, Austin told me all about their romantic rendezvous.”

My face scrunched up in disgust. “Okay. I definitely did not need to hear that. I am going to bleach my ears when I get home.” 

He chuckled before we stopped in front of the three floored lake house. “Okay. Whatever happens here, we keep it to ourselves, alright?”

I rolled my eyes before nodding. “It’s not like I’m going to be bragging about breaking into someone’s house.” I said, sarcastically. We walked up to the porch, quietly and swiftly. I raised a brow at him when he picked up a key below the pot of magnolias. 

“What?” he asked, arching a brow at me before he slipped the key inside the keyhole. “Why are you looking at me like that?” 

“How'd you know where the key is?” I asked, following behind him as we entered the lake house. It looked vintage which I always adored when I was younger and the place always smelt like lavender which always made it homey. 

“People always put their spare key under something and in this case a flower pot.” Elijah grinned, mischievously before pointing his flashlight to the front. “And you know from Austin.”

I rolled my eyes at him, brushing off his last comment. “Okay. What exactly are we looking for? A dead body? Blood? Signs of struggle?” I mused and he gave me an unimpressed look. “What? I was joking.” 

“Look for your book and I’ll look I don't know? Something out of the ordinary.” Elijah seemed unsure, but nevertheless went upstairs and I entered the parlor where the Carter family portrait was hung up on the fireplace. They’re a happy family which is why I can’t imagine Rory running away from her family. She couldn’t have run away.

My fingers trailed over the piano tiles. Before my fingers could even press on the tiles, someone held my wrapped hand on my wrist while their free hand was pressed against my mouth. When the person forced me to turn around, our eyes met which caused mine to widen in shock, making me gasp against his hand. He dropped his hands to his side with a shock expression plastered on his face. He looked shocked, but not as shocked as I was. 

Jethro Lewis was standing in front of me, standing a little too close to me which caused my cheeks to heat up. This is our first interaction ever since the summer party two years ago. I can’t believe it's been two years. Two years have passed since I have seen the person who kissed me in front of a crowd of people. This is definitely not what I have in mind for us meeting again.

“Lou?”

“Jethro?”

Before he could even open his mouth to speak, he was cut off by someone entering the room and the lights being turned on which prompted us to turn off our torches. I averted my gaze towards the figure that entered the room. Elijah along with Austin Harrison and Damon Walker. What the hell is going on and why were they here?

Austin furrowed his brows in confusion. “Lou? What the hell are you doing here?” He questioned, clearly surprised as Jethro and Damon. “I didn’t know that you were back.”

“Yeah. No one knows I’m back except for family and close friends.” I muttered, casually, ignoring the pounding from my chest. “Okay, my turn to ask questions. What the hell are you guys doing here?” The four of them shared knowing looks, like they were communicating without words which is really amazing and annoying at the same time. 

“I brought you here for a reason, Ellie.” Elijah spoke softly. “I— We think you are part of a clue Rory left behind.”

“A clue that’ll help us figure out what happened to her and where she is.” Added Austin. 

“What makes you so sure that she left you guys clues?” I asked, curiously. 

“Before she disappeared, she placed this inside my locker, it was addressed to me which I found odd because Rory could’ve given it to me in person, but didn’t. We opened it before,” Damon voiced, handing me an orange envelope which is very skeptical in my opinion. 

“We opened it, but we don’t have a clue what we were looking at.” Elijah revealed. “When you received that note from Rory, I think you might be able to help us with this.” 

“You guys can’t be serious with this. I believe you guys when you say that she is still out there, but Rory leaving clues? You can’t be serious.” I said, giving them a pointed look. Maybe this was part of their coping mechanism or something? 

“Open it. It won’t bite.” Damon jeered, making me roll my eyes.

I was skeptical, nevertheless opened the envelope. I went over to the wooden table and slipped the contents from the envelope. Two things dropped from the envelope. A photo of Elijah, Rory, and I during one of our playdates when we were younger. Austin flipped the photo over and what was written there made chills run down my spine. 

You know where this key leads to

Use your mind and you’ll find what you’re looking for

—Rory