Missing Abby by Lee Weatherly Read Free Book Online

would be coming off you.’
    For a second Debbie looked like she was going to say something else, and then she smiled slightly.‘Well … that goes without saying. I'm just a supermodel, me.’
    I could feel Jo's eyes on me. Finally she smiled, too. ‘Hang on, I thought
I
was modelling it.’
    ‘Nah, you're too tall,’ said Debbie. ‘And leggy and blond. No way are you model-material.’
    ‘Oh, sorry – didn't realize
short
was a requirement.’
    ‘She'll be the most gorgeous munchkin at the ball,’ I said. ‘Look at this one, Debbie – what do you think?’
    We kept the banter going, leafing through the magazines and laughing, but it almost felt like we were reading lines. Not to mention that Jo and Debbie kept darting these concerned looks at each other when they thought I couldn't see.
    Part of me ached to talk to them, to tell them all about Abby, and how scared I felt, but I couldn't. What if I slipped up, and mentioned Karen? What if they found out how pathetic I had been – Emma, the cringing joke of Balden? I clutched the slick page of
Now,
staring down at the model. No way. I was never going to be that person again.
    Then the programme came on.
    ‘Should I change the channel?’ Debbie's green eyes cut towards me doubtfully.
    ‘No, that's OK.’
    Jo straightened up. ‘Ems, are you sure?’
    Ems
was completely sure. ‘Yeah, I'm fine. Just leave it on.’ I turned a glossy page, pretending to be engrossed in an article on plastic surgery.
    ‘Tonight our focus is on missing Hampshire teenager, Abby Ryzner. Abby went shopping in Brookfieldlast Saturday, took the bus home – and hasn't been seen for six days, despite increasingly desperate pleas from her family, and a police hunt that has involved over a hundred officers …’
    My eyes kept drifting towards the screen. Finally I gave up pretending, and shoved the magazine away.
    Sheila hadn't looked at all like Abby in real life, but now I could hardly tell the difference. We watched her say goodbye to Mrs Ryzner, walk around the shops in town – and it was even Abby's
expression;
that sort of dreamy, not-quite-there look.
    Then I came on, and it was just bizarre, like someone had been hiding behind the next seat over, filming Abby and me. I watched us talking on the bus, with the familiar streets and buildings trundling past the window, and goose pimples scattered across my arms. It was like watching a pair of ghosts.
Turn it off!
I wanted to scream, but the words wouldn't come.
    When Sheila called out her infamous line, I winced despite myself. Jo touched my arm. ‘Are you OK?’
    ‘Sure,’ I said, not looking at her. On the screen, a number was flashing for people to ring if they had seen Abby.
    Finally, finally, the segment ended. Debbie sat up, pushing her dark hair out of her eyes. ‘Um … so what's D&D, anyway?’
    Jo sat up too, the same question on her face. Like I was some sort of expert, just because Abby had asked me to play. It wasn't as if I had gone
with
her that afternoon.
    If I had, would she be missing now? No, don't think about that.
    I lifted a shoulder. ‘Some sort of game she was into. I don't really know, to be honest … it sounded pretty weird when she described it.’
    Remember Esmerelda? Sort of like that, but better …
    Abby's back garden flashed into my mind, heavy with the scent of summer. We were sitting hunched in her playhouse – only it wasn't her playhouse; it was a dungeon in Esmerelda's castle, and the faint sunlight was light through a tiny barred window.
    We'll have to try the spell, my friend – we've no choice.
    No! It could destroy us both!
    And it could save us, too …
    A wave of longing smashed against me. Abby, please be all right …
    ‘Well, how did—’ started Debbie.
    ‘It was so stupid!’ I burst out. ‘She was always doing stuff like that – I mean, she just didn't get it, she just didn't
get
that you don't do that once you get to secondary school!’
    Jo and Debbie were staring at me,