Family Comes First

B11

- A m a r a  R u s s o -

Help.

What. The. Heck.

Out of everything that could've been in the note, I was not expecting this.

Help? Help from what?

But why was she asking me of all people?

Was someone watching her? Was someone threatening her? What was going on?

I flipped the paper around, checking to see if there was anything more.

Surprisingly, there was.

In third shelf: 31957

In the third shelf?

I looked around the room, searching for a third shelf.

And yep, there it was. A third shelf, even if it was crowded with multiple make-up products.

The entire shelf was a huge mess, from foundation streaks lining the painted white wood, to splotches of powder surrounding the different areas. Bottles of make-up brands littered the shelf, all of them dirty with the product they were holding inside of them.

Gingerly, I walked over, peeking at the shelves and the variety of bottles and palettes scattered across.

'In' the third shelf?

What is that supposed to mean? Like... is it supposed to be a hidden compartment insi-

Click.

I pulled my hand out, brows furrowed in confusion. Did I just hear that right? Something clicked, I was sure of it.

I started pulling out the bottles, giving them a temporary new home as I replaced them on different shelves, putting the bigger ones on the floor. It was only when half of the collection of make-up products were off did I see it.

Hidden on the very inside of the ledge was a small wooden box, painted perfectly to camouflage into the shelf without being detected. Obviously, you could still see it if you were actively looking for it. But if you didn't have a trained eye and weren't even trying to search for it... You would never be able to see it.

Why was this thing here?

My suspicions only rose when I reached my hand in, taking it out slowly as to not break the box. It felt fragile, to say the least, and I was almost a hundred percent sure that if I were to put too much pressure on it, it will crack and tear apart.

I cannot drop this, or el-

My feet tripped over one of the larger bottles of hairspray, a bottle I put on the floor just moments ago. The box went flying, and I could feel my body falling forward onto the floor... Where at least twenty percent of the make-up products which were just on the third shelf was situated. This meant that I'd be falling on a bunch of bottles and palettes, hurting myself and possibly wasting hundreds of dollars worth of cosmetic products as well.

I twisted my body to the side at the last minute, my right side bearing the impact of falling to the floor.

Ow.

I winced as I got up, making sure I didn't ruin any more things as I looked around for the box, wherever it went.

To my complete surprise, the box was perfectly fine, other than the outside completely falling out, revealing a smaller rectangular prism. It was very plain, the entire thing covered in a beige-coloured paint. However, there was also a locket placed on it, assuring no unwanted people opening whatever this thing was.