Disclaimer: Don’t own Life With Derek. ‘Nuff said.

Author’s Note: I am SO sorry that it took so long for me to update, but I went through a period of Writer’s Block. I wasn’t sure where I was going to take this story, but with help from one of my good friends, I was able to figure most of it out.

Important Note: I had to tweak the prologue a bit, so please re-read it.

Now… enjoy!

X

The Key
Without a Trace

X

It was while in the midst of watching a particularly intense hockey game that Derek first felt it; the strange ominous feeling that enveloped him out of the blue. But, being the type of guy he was, he simply brushed it off as hunger and nothing more before yelling up to Edwin and ordering the younger boy to make him a grilled cheese sandwich and some bacon.

When Marti didn’t come home after school, initially no one thought anything of it, for she often went to her friends’ houses to do homework and eat dinner. When she didn’t call to inform them of her whereabouts, they found it to be a little strange but again, they didn’t break a sweat over it because everyone forgot that sort of thing every once in a while. At 9:30 PM, an hour after her scheduled curfew, that was when they started to worry. Her parents called the school, the neighbors, her friends and just about everywhere and everyone they could think of, but when no one was able to provide them with any answers, they finally sought out the police, who immediately began looking for the young girl.

By 10:45 that night, five search parties -- most of them made up by the residents living in their neighborhood -- had already formed, but despite their growing numbers, they were unable to uncover Marti anywhere. Many gave up after a day had passed without any sign of luck, save for the Venturi-McDonalds themselves, the police and the Davis’s.

But it was an odd case, because no one could say for sure what had happened -- whether she’d gotten lost somewhere, or ran away, or been abducted… nothing.

It was as if she’d just vanished without a trace.

x

In the days following Marti’s disappearance, tensions in their blended family reached an all time high. In fact, it had gotten to the point where they couldn’t even have a simple dinner without someone ending up injured or in tears.

It was inevitable, though, because they hadn’t always been the closest family, especially in recent years. The loss of her baby due to miscarriage had sent Nora into a spiraling depression. She’d refused to leave her room for months, until finally her sister had come down and convinced her to see a psychiatrist to help her cope. She’d gotten a little better since then, but she wasn’t the same -- no one was. Lex’s death had affected everyone under their roof, some more than others. She and George busied themselves with work, Derek and Casey did the same with school and if Lizzie and Edwin weren’t acting out and getting in trouble with their teachers for one reason or another, they secluded themselves in either the Games Closet or one of their bedrooms. As for Marti… her only company had been Daphne.

Now that she was gone, the rift that had formed over the last couple of years increased tenfold. If George and Nora weren’t downtown at the station helping investigators, they were drowning themselves at work. Derek and Casey, who’d finished their second year at Queen’s a month earlier, were now finding stuff to fight about to keep themselves distracted. Edwin and Lizzie, in the meantime, refused to go to school and hadn’t left their rooms since the day after Marti had gone missing.

The scary thing?

They all knew their family was falling apart, and yet no one was doing anything to stop it.

x

“Fine, Casey! Fine! You know what? Don’t take my advice! But when Trollman -- I’m sorry, Truman -- takes advantage of you for dressing like a bloody prostitute, don’t come crying to me!”

With a frustrated growl, twenty-year-old Derek Venturi slammed his door shut and locked it. He regretted his words about a minute later, when he heard his step-sister shuffling around in her own room, trying to fight back sobs but failing miserably. Sighing, he made his way over to his bed and collapsed on it, burying his face in his pillow.

In actuality, the skirt Casey was wearing could hardly be called slutty. He was just being an ass. What else could he do? It wasn’t like he had anyone but her to keep him preoccupied. He could if he wanted, but sex with random girls just didn’t help him when he was in self-pitying mode. It did when he was in high school, but not anymore. The only thing that seemed to do anything for him now was bickering with Casey, but since she had her scumbag boyfriend to cry on, she was hardly ever home.

‘Damn it.’ He thought. ‘Damn it, damn it, damn it.’

He really needed a distraction.

And quick.

With that in mind, he dug through his pockets, found his cell and dialed the first person he recognized.

Kendra.

x

Lizzie stared at her reflection in the mirror. She couldn’t even recognize the girl staring back at her, and she didn’t know whether to be thrilled or sickened.

Three years ago, she would’ve never been caught dead in the getup she was currently sporting -- the tight, cutoff jean shorts that barely covered her thighs; the flimsy white tank top that did little to hide the fact that she wasn’t wearing a bra; and of course, the thong. Her hair looked like she’d taken a leaf blower to it, and she’d caked on enough eyeliner to start resembling a raccoon.

If only her mother and father could see her now. They’d be so disappointed…

That thought should have scared her, but instead, it made her laugh.

After applying some lipstick, she turned on her heel and made her way out of her room and up the attic steps. She adjusted her clothes one last time before knocking twice.

A small smirk formed when she heard a distinct crash, followed quickly by a series of swears courtesy of her favorite step-brother. The doorknob jiggled a few times before it was finally yanked open, and a disheveled-looking Edwin stood before her. His eyes, swollen and bloodshot -- and not because he’d been crying, if the smoke behind him was any indication -- raked over her appearance, trying to figure out who she was. She knew if he hadn’t been in the state he was in, he probably would’ve said something about it, but at the moment, he was far too out of it.

“What do you want, Liz?” He asked at last, sounding anxious.

Lizzie’s smirk grew as she stepped forward, pressing herself against the length of him.

“I need… an escape.” She confessed, her voice just above a whisper.

Edwin nodded in understanding and motioned her inside his clouded bedroom. He paused momentarily to check if the coast was clear, to see if anyone had been watching the scene unfold, before closing the door and locking it.

X

Again, kind of a short chapter, but in the next one, things will start to pick up. This one was simply to show how the characters are reacting to Marti’s disappearance.

I hope you enjoyed.

Please REVIEW!

-Lady Azura-