Abigail Reese
Friday, June 1st. 11am
"I can do this."
Abigail Reese sat behind the wheel of an Audi A4, tapping her fingertips nervously along the edges of a black steering wheel, that phrase being repeated over and over in her head. Her small sedan, previously her mothers before the... accident, was packed to the brim with boxes and other miscellaneous items from her old apartment. Pulled into her childhood home driveway, Abigail had been trying to breathe through what was teetering on the verge of a full blown panic attack for the past 15 minutes.
The last time Abi had been at the house and had seen her siblings was a week ago, the day her father didn't return from his trip to the cemetery. She didn't think it would have been this hard to see the house again, her siblings, but it was shaking her to the core. Losing her mother had been enough, hadn't it? Why her father? Why, especially, her littlest sister? Why take them from her? She couldn't bear it. She couldn't. On top of it all, she had just been through yet another break up with her on-again, off-again boyfriend and to add the cherry on top, her birthday was tomorrow. 26 wasn't looking so good. God, if there was one, could be so cruel.
"I can do this."
She repeated, lying to herself, hoping she would eventually believe it. Blinking rapidly to clear any tears welling up in her deep emerald green eyes, Abi checked the sun visor mirror to make sure it didn't look like she had been bawling her eyes out for the past week straight. Once satisfied, taking in a deep breath, she finally found the courage to push open her car door with shaking hands. The day was bright, sunny, with barely a breeze. Something she would have typically enjoyed. These days, it felt like the whole world was mocking how dark she felt inside.
Figuring that her boxes could wait a few minutes, Abigail locked her car and walked up to the door. With every step it broke her heart, knowing how empty the house would feel without her father and sister Maya. Oh, how Maya use to love when her big sister would come to visit. Abigail bit her lower lip hard to keep herself from crying all over again.
Knock Knock Knock
Without waiting for an answer, Abigail tried the door handle. Somewhat surprisingly, it was open. This was something that would never have bothered her previously, but now... now that her family members were missing. Could they trust the neighborhood to leave it unlocked like this? Granted, this disappearance seemingly didn't happen here, but the whole town felt unnerving to her now. A kidnapper could be on the loose. Or worse...
Not wanting to think about it, Abigail stepped into the house.
"I'm home!" She announced to the household in as chipper a voice as she could. The fact that she didn't immediately hear Maya's little feet rushing down the hallway put a stab through her heart.
The house felt quiet, which was odd for a house filled with children. Her memories of this house had always been loud, and happy. This felt wrong. She began to wonder if she was stuck in another nightmare where she walked in to find that her entire family had been murdered, bodies left on the living room to bleed out.
"Anybody home?" She called, closing the front door behind her gently. Hearing only a few creaks upstairs, she began heading towards the kitchen. Their family typically liked to gather there. At least... when her parents were around. Someone was always cooking back then.