[CHAPTER 2] - The Door Behind the Pantry
Vivian grabbed my wrist.
Not hard enough to leave a bruise.
Hard enough to scare me.
"You are never going near that vent again."
I started crying.
"But Nora—"
"Stop saying that name."
Her face changed the moment I said it.
That frightened me more than the shouting.
Vivian crouched until her face was close to mine.
"You heard an animal."
"No."
"Yes."
"She's a girl."
Vivian's fingers tightened.
"You heard an animal."
I shook my head.
"Nora is six."
For a second, Vivian looked like she might slap me.
Instead, she stood.
"Go upstairs."
"Nora's hungry."
"UPSTAIRS."
I ran.
I remember sitting on my bedroom floor with my stuffed rabbit pressed against my mouth so Vivian wouldn't hear me crying.
Then I heard noises downstairs.
Furniture moving.
Metal scraping.
A door slamming.
I wanted Dad.
I wanted him so badly my chest hurt.
But when he came home that evening, Vivian never left us alone.
She met him at the front door.
She kissed him.
She poured him wine.
She sat beside him during dinner.
Every time I looked at Dad, Vivian looked at me.
"How was your day, peanut?" Dad asked.
I opened my mouth.
Vivian reached for my plate.
"Ellie barely napped today. She's been imagining all kinds of things."
Dad smiled.
"What kind of things?"
My heart pounded.
I looked at Vivian.
"Ellie?"
Dad waited.
I whispered, "Nothing."
Vivian smiled.
"See?"
I hated that smile.
That night, Dad tucked me into bed.
Vivian stood in the hallway.
I could see part of her shadow beneath the door.
Dad kissed my forehead.
"Sleep tight."
I grabbed his sleeve.
"Daddy."
"Yeah?"
I wanted to tell him everything.
But Vivian's shadow didn't move.
I whispered, "Can you stay?"
Dad looked surprised.
Usually I loved sleeping alone because I had a star projector that covered my ceiling in tiny lights.
"Bad dream?"
I nodded.
He sat beside me.
Vivian appeared in the doorway.
"Daniel, you have an early meeting."
"I'm fine."
"She's manipulating bedtime again."
Dad laughed softly.
"She's four."
Vivian's jaw tightened.
Dad didn't notice.
I did.
Eventually he left.
Five minutes later, Vivian returned.
She closed my bedroom door behind her.
"Listen to me."
I pulled the blanket to my chin.
"You will not tell your father about the vent."
"Why?"
"Because there's nobody there."
"Nora—"
"Nobody."
I started crying.
Vivian leaned closer.
"If you keep telling stories, your father may think something is wrong with you."
I didn't understand what she meant.
She made sure I understood the next part.
"He might send you somewhere for children who lie."
My eyes widened.
"Away?"
"Yes."
"From Daddy?"
"If you keep lying."
She stood and left.
I didn't sleep.
Sometime after midnight, I heard footsteps.
Then something dragged along the hallway downstairs.
I slipped from bed.
The house was dark.
I moved down the stairs one step at a time.
Vivian stood near the pantry.
She had changed into black pants and a sweater.
A flashlight rested on the floor.
The pantry shelves had been pushed aside.
Behind them was a narrow wooden door I had never seen.
Vivian disappeared through it.
I heard a muffled cry.
Nora.
I hurried toward the pantry.
The hidden doorway led into darkness.
I could hear Vivian whispering.
"You ruined everything."
Nora sobbed.
"I didn't talk."
"You talked to Ellie."
"She gave me food."
"That doesn't mean you talk."
"I'm sorry."
"You are always sorry."
I crawled closer.
A dim light showed a narrow passage between the walls.
Pipes ran overhead.
Vivian stood with her back to me.
Nora was on the floor.
She had tangled brown hair.
Her knees looked too thin beneath a gray nightgown.
It was the first time I saw her face.
She looked even smaller than I imagined.
Vivian lifted a duffel bag.
"We're moving you."
Nora began crying harder.
"No."
"Get up."
"No!"
Vivian grabbed her arm.
I gasped.
Vivian spun around.
Our eyes met.
Everything stopped.
"Ellie."
I ran.
I heard Vivian coming after me.
I didn't make it to the stairs.
She caught me around the waist.
I screamed.
"Let go!"
"Be quiet!"
"DADDY!"
"Your father isn't here."
I kicked wildly.
Vivian carried me into the kitchen.
She set me down and blocked the doorway.
"You want to see Nora again?"
I stopped crying.
Vivian bent close.
"Then you keep your mouth shut."
I stared at her.
"If you tell your father, Nora goes away."
"Where?"
"Somewhere you'll never find her."
I was too young to understand most threats.
I understood that one.
Vivian returned to the pantry.
I stood alone in the dark kitchen.
A minute later, Nora appeared.
Vivian was pulling her forward.
Nora saw me.
Her eyes were huge.
Terrified.
As Vivian dragged her past me toward the garage, Nora opened one hand.
Something tiny fell onto the floor.
Vivian didn't notice.
I waited until the garage door closed.
Then I picked it up.
It was a red plastic bracelet.
A name had been written on it in faded black marker.
NORA BLAKE.
Underneath were three more words.
CEDAR GROVE ELEMENTARY.
I couldn't read all of them.
But I knew something else.
May you like
Nora had given me the bracelet for a reason.
She wanted someone to find her.
