A Hidden Picture

Forty three

~ Annalise

Music blasts in my headphones as I put books back on the shelves.

My whole body is tense and my stomach feels like I'm about to puke at any moment.

Vera still hasn't been home. Her car is gone. Her room hasn't been touched.

All that damn money I planned on saving. Gone.

Gone.

And I feel awful for making Reed leave when he was just trying to help.

He hasn't contacted me, so I'm guessing he's still trying to give me space.

A rough tap on my shoulder makes me jump.

When I look to my right I see Ms. V standing there with her arms crossed. She points to her ears, gesturing for me to take my headphones off.

I sigh and remove them, shoving them in my pocket.

"Why you look like someone ran over ya dog?" Her eyebrow lifts.

I suck my bottom lip and look back down to the cart of books, letting out a shaky breath.

"I..." I begin. "Nothing. Just you know-" When I meet her eyes again she stares at me as if she knows I'm lying.

And suddenly that feeling rises in the back of my throat again. That feeling when your about to cry.

Don't you dare cry. Not here. Please not here.

I gnaw on my bottom lip and try to ignore the fact that my vision is beginning to become blurry.

"Oh sugar come here," she says warmly, opening her arms.

I don't think twice before taking a step toward her and wrapping my arms around her waist, letting my cheek fall to her shoulder.

Her warm arms wrap around me and calmingly rub my back.

I try to open my mouth but incoherent words come out to try to explain. But I don't even know how to explain.

So instead I just continue crying against her shoulder.

"Oh you poor thing," she hugs me tighter. "Now you gonna tell me what's wrong or am I gonna have to slap it out of you?"

I chuckle at that as the tears slide down my face and into my mouth.

I pull away and she offers me a sad smile.

"I'm sorry," I let out sad laugh and sniffle.

"Oh don't even," she brushes me off.

"It's just-" I take a second to try to calm my breathing. "I was saving up money and keeping it hidden under my bed until I would have the chance to put it in the bank and-" I suck in another breath and she waits patiently. "And now it's all gone."

Her eyes widen and her mouth goes ajar. "Oh hunny did you get robbed? Or did you call the police?"

I shake my head. "No- I uh- I know who took it. But it just hurts because that was all my savings to help me move out for college and now all what I worked for is just gone and maybe that's my fault for keeping it under my bed but I just didn't think anyone knew about-"

She shushes me, telling me to relax for a moment. I take in another shaky breath and let my sentence trail off.

"Well who was this fool who took it?" Her brows harden a second later. "Was it that Reed boy? I knew men couldn't be trusted! Well damn that young man-"

"No no no," I cut her off. "He would never. He was actually with me when I found it empty. He didn't even know that was there."

She tilts her head. "So then who took it?"