The House In The Forest

Chapter XIX

Chapter Nineteen

After school, I stopped by the bookstore, but the old man said Giselle had gotten out early. I wasn't worried at first, I thought maybe she just wanted to get home earlier to help grandfather with cleaning up. But she wasn't at home either.

"She got off work early?" Grandfather asked, glancing up from the paperwork he was working on. "I haven't seen, oh wait no, I did see her earlier."

"You did?"

"Yes, she came by to get a book she needed, I didn't ask what for I just assumed maybe it was one she borrowed from work or something," he spoke, with a shake of his head. "Not that a gentleman should assume."

"She took a book? Did you happen to see what book?"

He shook his head at my question. "It hardly seemed important, why?"

"Nothing, I was just curious," I told him, leaving his office. He stopped me at the door though.

"Albert, is something wrong? You look unwell."

I gave him a smile, but he wasn't buying it. "I'm fine grandfather, it's nothing to worry about, Giselle can go wherever she wants, she doesn't have to tell me first."

"Giselle? I thought you were looking for Beatrice?"

He narrowed his eyes on me. And I froze a little. I hadn't intended to speak her name aloud, she did ask me not to until all this was resolved. I just, I accidentally spoke what I was thinking. Grandfather was right, I was unwell. I was worried, what can I say, that she got up and left out of worry for me. Right after telling me she wouldn't. It would be out of character for her though, but what do I know, I've known her for like two weeks. Hard to believe, but it's been barely any time at all since I first got to this town. I arrived, and chaos seemed to arrive with me. It was all Damian's fault in all accuracy, he was the one that made me walk that old road. I suppose I should be thankful for him rather than upset though, if he hadn't, I never would have met Giselle. Who is now missing though.

How I wished she had let me buy her a phone.

"Albert?"

"I'll tell you about it later," I told him, before leaving his office. I didn't have time to explain this whole mess to him, he wouldn't believe me anyway even if I did. Probably.

I hurried to the place I feared the most, that old house, I was sure she wouldn't return to it. But if she did. If she didn't, I might meet Sasha and get to yell at him for his involvement in this at the least.

So I thought, but I climbed the fence, and wandered the halls. But he wasn't there, not in the sitting room, or the library, she wasn't in the kitchen either. I checked the garden, not there. Nobody, not her or Sasha.

As much as I hated to get them involved, I called the others on my way out of the forest. I thought they might have seen her, and surprisingly, they had. We met up at the gas station near the entrance to the forest.

"You can't find Beatrice?" Amber asked me quickly, practically jumping me.

"We saw her at lunch break, and she seemed fine," Elias told me, thinking though after he said those words.

"I don't know," I shrugged, "She's not home or at work, and she's never run off without telling me before."

Damian hummed in thought. "You don't think that Sasha guy showed up, do you?"

"Well I checked the house, and they weren't there."

Marlowe walked out of the gas station, handing Damian the bag of things she had bought before glancing around the group. "Okay so, what'd I miss?"