Chapter One: Bad Feeling

I untie my apron hanging it up on the hook as a huge fight breaks out in the central part of the restaurant; the sounds of glass shattering and screaming fill the air. I turn to walk in but stop before I reach the door, mentally debating whether I want to walk into whatever situation is happening. I should go through and help, but I've just clocked out, which means this, technically, wasn't my problem at this poi. I decided I didn't need that drama in my life, so with a shrug, I headed to my locker, pulling my bag out. The door soon opens and in runs my friend Peter; he slams the door closed, placing his back against it as though it was going to burst open again.

"Everything okay out there?" I ask, laughing a little; he looks up at me, holding his hand to his chest; he even sounds out of breath!

"Let's just say a woman wasn't happy with what the man had to say." He manages to say whilst taking his apron off and hanging it next to mine; well, that didn't give me much to go on. "I mean props to him; he got out of that before they had kids." He sighs, finally giving me something; oh, the guy must have broken up with his girlfriend, and she didn't take it well; you won’t believe how many times that happens here.

"Well, I'm glad I got out of there before it all broke loose." I laugh, closing my locker; he sends me a smile with a shake of his head whilst opening his locker.

I start walking towards the back door alone, but I soon hear him slam his locker closed and rush to walk beside me; I laugh at him as he opens the door for me.

"Jess is having a party tonight; wanna go with me?" He asks as we walk out the back of the restaurant; the sun was starting to go down as we make it to the car park.

"I don't know; I mean, it's the middle of the week." I groan knowing I sound like an old woman, but I've had a long day; I don't feel like being the only sober one, making sure no one does something stupid, like always.

"Come on, it'll be fun, and how bad would we look if we said we'd go and we don't?" He smiles, walking over to his car while I walk to mine, but freeze looking at his smug face.

"You told her we'd go without even asking me?" I exclaim, unlocking my car; he laughs, nodding opening his car door; I look to the ground, knowing I'd regret the following sentence that will leave my lips. "Okay, fine, but I'm only staying for an hour, two tops." I give in, pointing at him with my key; he laughs, throwing his bag in the back, knowing he'd won.

"You say that all the time; I’ll be at your house at 9!" He shouts, getting in the car; I roll my eyes, instantly regretting agreeing to join him and the rest of the annoying people from work.

Why do I give in to him easily? I could have said no, but I just can't! I'm too nice of a person, which does suck sometimes. Peter and I have been friends for years now; the year we left school, we both ended up at some random leavers’ party, when parties were actually fun to attend. We clicked almost immediately, and the rest is history. I quickly turn my car on driving home, still annoyed about this party business.

As I walk into my house, I hear my dad singing in the kitchen; I smile, hanging my stuff up, walking in, where he was stirring a pot of food on the oven. I would have moved out a while ago, but then he'd be on his own in this big house; my mother works as a lawyer person who travels around the country and is hardly ever home. She's probably been home around 30 times my whole twenty-three years of life; it’s been just my dad and I for years; it actually feels weird when she is home as she's missed so much. I walk over placing a kiss on his cheek looking down at whatever he was cooking, it seemed like a stew or something.

"Want any?" He asks looking over at me holding his concoction up slightly, I shake my head going to the fridge for a water.

I mean he is a good cook and whatever it is will be incredible, I'm just not feeling strew tonight especially, before I have to attend that annoying party, yes, I'm not over that.

"Suit yourself, I put some mean ingredients in this, it's going to be legendary, I should actually start selling it to make my fortune." He jokes doing weird motions with his hands, I laugh jumping up to sit on the counter staring at him and his weird actions.

"Well, if that happens, I'll definitely try it, I won't be here tonight, Peter's dragging me to this party, that I really don't wanna go to." I sigh taking a sip of my water as my dad looks through the herb cupboard, it already smelt like he's put enough herbs in the strew.

"I don't know why you can't tell that boy no sometimes, but I guess you're living your life." He shrugs while picking up a weird green herb throwing it in the pot, does he even know what he's putting in that thing?

"Yeah, I guess, I'll just change out my work clothes and maybe when I get down, I'll try some of your legendary stew.” I smile standing up walking towards the stairs but take look back at him singing again, bringing a smile onto my face, he was just happily dancing with no music.

I shake my head walking up the stairs to my room closing the door behind me, I don't take long to get changed just throwing on a pair of jeans and a top. As I open my bedroom door thick black smoke fills the hallway, does he want to burn the house down?!

I walk to the stairs where I hear commotion outside, mostly shouting. I don't think much of it as our neighbours are always at each other's throats.

As make it down the stairs even more smoke feels the room, why hasn't he tried to open a door or even a window?! I get to the entrance of the kitchen to discover the stew he's making was still on the cooker, but was basically on fire but he wasn't there, I run over picking the hot saucepan throwing in the sink.

"Dad, are you trying to burn the house down?" I ask turning the tap on making the saucepan fizz and smoke, okay maybe that was not the best idea. "Dad where are you?" I ask getting a dishcloth trying to fan the smoke away from the fire alarm, still getting no answer from him.

"Dad where are you? I know you've burnt your legendary stew, but you don't need to hide, we can just order a pizza or something." I suggest walking out of the kitchen to the living room but still nothing.

I walk back to the kitchen to see the sliding door is open a little, my dad is always weirdly obsessed with keeping that door closed, which immediately catches my attention.

I open it fully walking out into the back garden where the back gate was also wide open, okay there is no way he'd leave that open. I look around the back garden but no sign of him, panic starts to make its way through me as I begin to call his name. I run back into the house and to my room where my phone was, something wasn't right, my dad would never do something like this.

"Dad, I'm giving you ten seconds to come out from wherever you're hiding or I'm ringing mum, you know she says only to ring her if it's an emergency!" I shout walking around the house double checking that I haven't missed anything, but I kept getting back to the sliding door and still no sign of my dad, I click on my mum's name bringing the phone to my ear.

"It's ringing!" I shout hoping that he comes out from like a cupboard or something, but he doesn't as the phone continues to ring.

"Hello," My mums voice says through the phone causing me to freeze, I haven't heard her voice in what feels like lifetime. "Ally, hello.” She repeats which finally snaps me out of my trace, I continue to run around the house looking for him.

"Dad’s gone, like completely gone, he was there one minute now he's just vanished, I've checked everywhere but I can't find him." I explain quickly as I grab my coat walking back out of the sliding door to see if he was hiding still, but deep down I knew he wouldn't let a joke go this far.

"What do you mean your dads gone?" She asks as I get to the back gate, but he wasn't there, I was panicking, and it was annoying me that she wasn't.

"Dad was downstairs cooking dinner, I go up to get changed but when I get down the dinner is basically on fire and he's gone, his car is still parked at the back of the house, but the door was open as well as the back gate." I explain further walking out the gate looking around, he wasn't in the street that I could see. “Listen to me mum he's gone, dad isn't like this I have a bad feeling." I say as headlights light up at the end of the road along with screeching tires, in seconds the car was heading straight towards me, I scream jumping out the way landing on the floor.

"Ally, Ally! Ally!" I hear my mum shout from the phone, I look up at it laying a few feet away from me on the grass, but it all goes dark.

I wake up in pain looking around, it was blurry, but I knew I was laying on grass still. Car headlights blind me and in seconds a person was beside me, someone I've never seen in my life.

"Ally, I work with your mum she told me to get you." He starts to explain, I look up at him as he helps me to stand which I couldn't do so well, he tries to help me walk but I just couldn't my legs felt like jelly.

He picks me up and runs to the car someone else opening the door, I'm placed in the back before I knew it, we were driving down the road. I look up to discover my head was laying in someone's lap.

"Mum?" I question as the world starts to go dark again and before I knew it, I passed out for the second time.