Missing

“Shannon, just admit that you took it!” Sharon screamed at her twin.

They were just graduating high school when their dad pulled out the little black notebook of poems that their mom had written.

They lost their mom just a few summers before to a tragic accident. Just before leaving a family vacation at Myrtle Beach, Shannon and her mom wanted to jump in the ocean one last time. She was caught in a tidal wave and dragged too far out.

Sharon resented her sister for their mother's drowning. Due to this, the two were never as close as they once were. Sharon refused to share anything with Shannon, kicking her out of their room, snatching clothes off her back, and never telling her any sisterly secrets. At first, Shannon blamed herself too, enduring everything her twin threw at her.

“Are you going to wear that?” She asked, disgusted at anything Shannon would wear.

“I'm not eating that, it looks nasty.” She’d turn her nose up to Shannon's cooking as well.

Shannon had had enough of Sharon's constant pettiness. She had never been one to take anything and she wasn't going to take being called a liar or a thief now.

“I didn't take it, Sharon, calm down.” Shannon tells her sister as she tries to find the gift.

“But it was just here!” Sharon insisted.

“Well help me look…” Shannon started to yell, when she noticed her sister crying. “I’m sorry, Sharon, it's just that I didn't take anything, ”

“I know, Josh did.” she blurred before bursting into tears. “Josh took it and I don't know what to do.”

“Are you saying your boyfriend took our mom’s book?” That just didn't make any sense to her. “Why would he want a notebook of poems?” She asked.

Remembering the day their dad put it away,

“What are you two trying to do? Shred the contents of your mother’s heart?” Their dad had asked them. “You can have it back once you two mature or graduated, whichever comes first.” He scolded years ago.

“EX! Boyfriend and no he’s the thief.” Sharon hesitated, not sure if she should say anymore. “Look, I didn't mean to accuse you, ok!” As she slumped her head forward and cried into her hands.

“Umm, ok,” Shannon muttered, not quite sure how to respond. Her sister never tried to apologize and never let that much slip about her personal life. Something big must have happened, she thought. “Wanna talk?”

But no response.

Sharon didn't know how to. What was she supposed to say, “Hey, I know you tried to warn me, you were right. Now he took a lot of money, money that I wanted to keep a secret.” Nah, she thought.

She knew her sister thought she was greedy and maybe she was to an extent. She saved her money for college because she didn't have the scholarships Shannon had.

As they stood alone in the kitchen of the house they were raised in, the home they were once a happy family in, the only thing that came between them was the past four years, silence and tears.

Shannon didn't know if she should speak up and ask again, go over to her sister or leave it up to Sharon to elaborate or not. So she didn't do anything. She just stood there.

“What are you staring at?” Sharon snaps when she lifts her head and sees Shannon's face. “Yeah, he stole from me! Are you happy now?”

“What did he steal? Money?” Shannon inquired. They both had after-school and summer jobs at the local mall and also did some babysitting on the side. She knew Sharon was serious about saving her money and she had suspected Josh did too.

Sharon, just cried. “No, I mean yes. But I can’t talk about it.”

Most of their petty fighting had been over Sharon not sharing, earning her the nickname “No Share Sharon.”

“No!” or “It will cost you!” was her answer depending on her mood.

After Shannon saw Josh take a twenty from Sharon's dresser, she tried to warn her.

Outraged Sharon lashed out, “You're just mad that I have a boyfriend and you don't.” That led to a knockdown drag-out fight that landed them both grounded for most of the summer before.

“That's not fair, dad! She started it!” They blurred out at the same time.

“Not fair? Not fair? Let me tell you two something about not being fair, ” He paced back and forth across the room, reminding himself to breathe. “What's not fair is all that I try to do for you girls. I work hard, sometimes 7 days a week. I try to get you what you need and most of what you want too, right?” He stood still before looking up at his brand new 72” screen TV again. “What’s not fair is that I don't ask you, girls, for a dime. You fuss, you fight and things get broken. What's not fair is I've warned you a hundred times, but I have never made you responsible for your actions. That's not fair!” He said.

Which Sharon still had not forgotten because they didn't get off of punishment until the TV was replaced. They both had savings, but blamed the other and didn't think they should be the one to have to replace it.

“I don't care. I didn't start that fight. Your stingy butt did so go on and pay all of it.” Shannon argued when Sharon mentioned having “half of the money.”

“You just don't want me to see Josh and you know it!” She huffed, stomping her feet before leaving Shannons doorway.

Shannon didn't want Josh to hurt her sister, though her sister didn't mind hurting her. However, $600 was a lot of money and she knew her sister knew it was her fault or she wouldn't have even offered up her $600.

“I said until replaced, not until half replaced and I don't care who replaces it.” Dad, who was way past fed up, affirmed. So the fighting and punishment continued.

Shannon had her share of trouble in the past, leaving her own damages for their father to have to replace. There was a time she hit the mailbox, fussing with Sharon over the radio, damaging both it and the headlight of his car. The time she threw the remote at her sister, breaking the lamp, and just once, without Sharon involved, she hit a softball into the kitchen window.

After a long thought, and just three weeks left of summer, Shannon went to Sharon with her half. Together, they drove to get the new TV, and together they mounted it on the wall.

“Come on Sharon, you can't talk about it or won't talk about it?” Shannon asked, “What's going on with you, how much did he take?” Even though they'd not had too many good moments since then, she knew something was deeply wrong as she heard her twin's sobs grow louder.

“A lot! A whole lot!” Sharon screamed out as if the thought of the number stabbed her. Sobs turned into snorting sobs, Shannon hands her a tissue.

After they had been let off of punishment, Sharon more than made up for the time she spent away from Josh, despite what her sister thought. “How much exactly, Sharon? Dang, another $20? $50? What $100, this time?”

“More!” She cries, “It was a lot more than that!”

“Ya, I would hope so.”

Sharon shot a look at her sister up from the tissue. “You hope so?”

“No, I mean. Come on, you're crying like someone killed your best friend.”

Sharon shot her another nasty look.

“Ok, ok, you know what I mean.” Shannon insisted. “How much and how did you leave ‘More’ out? As she questions, using her fingers to create quotation marks as she emphasizes “more.”

“$20,000” Sharon cried.

“Oh my, wait what?” Shannon in shock manages to get out.”What do you mean $20k? Where did you get that kind of money?”

“I didn't want anyone to find out.” She sobbed.

“You didn't want anyone to find out what? Are you in some kind of trouble, are you?”

“No! Shannon, chill.”

“Me chill? You're sitting on the kitchen floor talking about how you had $20 racks and now you don't, and you want me to chill? Is this drug money? Are you and Josh in a gang, Sharon?”

“No Shannon, geez, you do think the worst of me don't you?” Sharon bursts out laughing.

“Umm, what do you mean? Oh now you're laughing.” Shannon let’s out a giggle. “Is this a joke? That's mean, you had me going.” She started to walk away.

“No, no!” Sharon said as she tried to get up from the floor. Laughing so hard, she subconsciously reached for her twin's hand, yet fell and accidentally pulled Shannon down to the floor with her. The two rolled on the floor laughing so hard they cried. “Oh my goodness Shannon, when’s the last time we laughed like that?”

”A while,” She replied, “a long while.” Shannon continued, though still wanted to clarify. “So this is a joke?”

“No.” Sharon sits up to pull herself together. “It’s not a joke, I won $20,000 on a scratch off. I hadn’t cashed in it yet, now it’s gone and Josh isn’t answering his phone.”

“You really won $20k, Sharon? 20k? She questioned her sister in disbelief. Are you sure?”

“I’m sure, I scanned the ticket and looked up where to go get it cashed.” She explained.

“Ok, ok, retrace your steps. Why do you think Josh may have gotten it?” Shannon immediately goes into detective mode. “Where did you last have it?”

“Right here in the kitchen. I scratched it here last night while you were at work.” She goes on, “I was in shock. I didn’t believe it so I scanned it. Then looked up what to do next, but couldn’t cash it until today.”

“Ok, so where did you go after you found out you had to wait? Did you go to Josh’s?”

“No, I didn’t want to tell him. I was worried he would ask for some and I wanted to use it for college.”

“So you stayed home and no one knew about it?” Shannon asked, trying to help her sister focus, happy to hear she had been taking her warnings about Josh seriously. “If he didn’t come here, it has to be here somewhere.”

“But Josh,” Sharon starts to say.

“No, Sharon. You didn’t let him come over and leave it laying around did you?”

“Of course, not! I mean, I hid it but he didn’t show.”

“But it’s not where you left it? Where did you hide it?”

“In my dresser drawer.”

“Let’s retrace.” Shannon tells her sister as she helps her get up from the floor. Together they go to Sharon’s room. “Which drawer?” She asked before pulling out drawers and dumping them on the bed.

Sharon’s phone rings. “It’s Josh.” She whispers as unsure if she should answer or not. “Wait, what’s that?” As she lays her phone down and runs to the bedside. “I saw something fall.” Sharon kneels down beside the bed, picks the bed ruffle up and “There it is, here it is! Sharon. It was right here all along!” She bursts into tears and hugs her sister. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! She repeated. “Wanna ride?

She knew she had wasted valuable time blaming the wrong people. Shannon cashed the $20,000 winning lottery ticket, and booked a cruise for just the two of them, before saving the remainder. Josh wasn’t happy about it and put up a fuss, to which Sharon broke up with him.

“We really do need to catch up, Twin.” Sharon said.

“I couldn’t agree more, Twin.” Shannon laughed, packing mom’s little black notebook, “We can read it together on the trip.” Shannon adds.

“Yes, together!” Sharon smiled.