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Flipping through the diary, I find it’s more of the same. Disappointment from her father, worrying about if she’ll ever be normal, and pain.
I may not be very close to my own family, but this had me ready to pull out a phone and call them. It’d been hard to stay in touch. They both work long shifts and I have a life of my own now. Even growing up, I was on my own a ton so maintaining a relationship hadn’t been my priority and they’d never made me theirs. It wasn’t something I dwelled on, it was simply fact. But now, I want nothing more than to go visit and hug them both.
Should I tell them about this?
My stomach churns at the thought of what I’ll find. Of what he’d likely done to her. Maybe it was the cynical side of me, but I had no real doubts in my mind that my miserable uncle had something to do with her disappearance. Sure, my family always acted like he was a grieving man and was always sad, that he wasn’t acting unaffected. But I remembered thinking how he was acting like it was any other day. Not once did he look for her or do anything.
God…I hope I’m wrong.
Dear Diary,
The farm is haunted. It has to be. I’ve been having trouble sleeping lately. Living away from the city was always quiet, so every noise stood out. There were always howls of coyotes or random teenagers yelling as they drove down the road to a barn party. But this was different. I woke up to something and listened, but the house was quiet. I’d left dad passed out downstairs a few hours ago, so I knew he was inside.
Then, I heard it again. The sound of equipment running in a barn. The screams that came after were awful. It sounded like someone was being tortured. I snuck downstairs and woke my dad, telling him someone was in the barn. He tried to tell me I was dreaming but even he couldn’t deny the next yell that echoed through the house. I waited inside while he went to check. By the time he came back, he was angry and I got yelled at for waking him. There was no one out there.
But I know what I heard, Diary.
There’s something bad out there and I don’t want to be out after dark. Not anymore.
When dad went back to bed I sat at my window watching the barn. I thought maybe I’d find who was pranking us. I fell asleep after the sun came up but no one came out.
It has to be haunted.
The entry ends there and a shiver runs through me at what I read. Who was in the barn if it wasn’t her dad? I’ve done enough research and experienced the paranormal to know that it couldn’t just be a haunting. They were never that loud and obvious; skeptics can almost always explain them away.
I close the diary, trying to convince myself that is it, there’s no point in continuing. But the moment I do, a gust of wind blows through my room, ruffling the pages and forcing it open.
“Pandora?” I whisper into the empty room. As much as I dread looking down, I know I have to, I owe my childhood best friend that much. She clearly needs someone to know the truth.
Dear Diary,
Mr. Gable is back again. He scares me. There’s something about his face, his creepy eyes, that makes me want to run away. Dad’s been putting all these crazy rules on me, too. Now that school is out I can’t leave the house. Never answer the door if he’s not here. And stay out of the barn.
Ever since that night, I heard those screams, it’s been quiet. I’ve snuck out there but the barn is normal.
What’s going on here?
Dad says he’s going out tonight. I think I have to go, diary. I have to see what he’s hiding out there. I’m scared. What if there’s something bad? Shouldn’t I trust my dad wouldn’t do something bad? Does that make me a bad daughter?
But he’s acting so different. He’s either drunk, angry, or oddly content. It’s so hard to keep up with his moods that I’m losing my mind.
I miss the easy summers. Hanging out with Raven and the family. But he won’t let them come out here anymore.
I just want to be normal.
When I flip the page to continue, I find nothing on the other side. Every page afterward is blank. Meaning this was the night she disappeared.
“You found what was in the barn, didn’t you?” I ask out loud as my tears track down my face. But the room is silent now. A soft knock on the door sounds before it swings open and Eli comes back, mug in hand. He doesn’t say anything about my tears, simply sets the mug down, kisses my forehead, and gives me a questioning look. “I think she’s in the barn.”
He sits down quietly and I hand over the journal. Eli looks like he’d rather do anything else than read it, but when I open it to the last page, he reads.
“Wait, that’s it?” he questions. I give him a rundown of the rest and the strange encounter and he frowns.
“Do barns have hidden spaces?” Jayce asks. I didn’t even hear them come in but both he and Lucien are standing in the doorway.
“Can we come in?” Lucien asks. I nod and he’s next to me in a second, scooping me up and then sitting down with me in his lap.
“So, what do we do now?” Lucien asks, pulling me a little closer to his chest.
