Maddison Winchester: Journal 8 {Supernatural} (Editing)

3 Don't Talk to Strangers: Part 3

A throbbing pain rang through my head as I woke up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I looked over at the clock, 2AM.

I swung my legs over the bed and went to stand up. I lost my balance a little and sat back down onto the bed. I took a deep breath and waited a moment before trying to stand again.

I steadied myself against the nightstand and stood up. My legs felt wobbly, almost like I was awake, but the rest of my body was still asleep. I made my way towards the bathroom to see if there was any medicine to get rid of my headache.

I winced as I turned the light on. I closed my eyes and waited a moment before opening them and searching through the medicine cabinet. It was mostly empty except for a shaving razor, nail clippers, and a pair of scissors. I sighed heavily and splashed my face with water. I went to the bathroom and filled a glass with water from the sink.

I opened the door to leave the bathroom and noticed the light glaring off something underneath the dresser. I walked over, setting my glass on top of the dresser. I steadied myself and bent down to take a closer look. Laying on the floor was a laminated, perfectly cut front page from a newspaper. I picked it up, and across the top was a label printed: COURTED 7/14/2013 EXPIRED 10/26/2013.

I looked down and read the newspaper. Plastered on the front page was the picture of a 22-year-old girl with the headline, Maggie Howard, last seen on July 14th at around 8 PM on Route 84 outside of Dermott at a rest stop.

Why does he have this? What the hell does courted and expired mean?

My mind started to run wild with all sorts of ideas that could be going on with David and Lucille. I set the article down on top of the dresser and then walked to the front and pulled on the handle of one of the drawers. It didn't budge. It was locked.

I walked over to my bag and got out my lockpick, and quickly unlocked the drawer. I slid it open, and inside was a pile of similar articles laminated and labeled.

Kelly Holbrook COURTED 3/21/2013 EXPIRED 5/11/2013

Hannah Perkins COURTED 11/20/2012 EXPIRED 2/22/2012

Valerie Williamson COURTED 1/2/2011 EXPIRED 3/17/2012

My hands began shaking, and I couldn't continue looking through the newspaper articles even though it looked like there was a bunch more. I looked to the right and saw two large zip lock bags with a bunch of other, smaller bags inside. The first one was labeled on top: Mrs. Maggie Vaughn COURTED 7/14/2013 EXPIRED 10/26/2013. I slid the bag to the side, and the other label read; Mrs. Kelly Vaughn COURTED 3/21/2013 EXPIRED 5/11/2013.

Curious, I opened the bag with Maggie's name on it. I reached in and pulled out the first bag I saw. The bag I grabbed had some clothes in it, a small sundress, and a shawl that were neatly folded and placed in the bag.

I continued digging in Maggie's bag and found a small bag with a pair of underwear and a bra. Another bag had a few clumps of golden blonde hair. I pulled out a fourth bag with ten brightly painted yellow fingernails and a bottle of nail polish that matched the nails.

I quietly tossed the stuff back into the drawer and closed it. I heard the sound of clothes hangers jingle from the closet behind me. I jumped up and turned around. A loud thud came from next to me, I looked down, and a small photo album was lying open on the floor, next to the nightstand.

I furrowed my brow. "What the hell?" I whispered.

I picked up the album and saw a picture of a girl about my age leaning up against David's bed. The label above the picture said Angela Collins - 4/18/2009. On the opposite page was a picture of the same girl styled like she was a '50s housewife. The second picture was labeled Mrs. Angela Vaughn.