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“She’s back on the pills, Evelyn. If you have any idea where she would go, please tell me.” He places a hand on my shoulder, imploring me to give him any information I can, but I don’t. I don’t know where she could be.

“I-I don’t know, but I’ll try to find her.”

He nods at me and storms out of the front door.

The tears swell in my eyes as I walk back to her room, looking for anything that would tell me where she would be.

I check her bed and find nothing. Nothing in the trash, nothing in the closet. Fucking nothing.

I sit on the bed and try to call her again. “Please answer, please answer, fucking please,” I whisper to myself through my tears.

The bed vibrates underneath me.

I stand up and rip the blankets off the bed. Nothing. I press call again as I try to locate where the vibration is coming from. I slip off her sheets. Nothing.

I take her mattress and pull it off her bed. There it is.

I swipe her phone off the box spring and grip it tightly.

The tears stream down my face. Why would she leave us? Why?

I can’t lose her. She seemed so happy yesterday. We laughed and shared some drinks. We were okay. I sob as I stare at her phone.

I unlock the screen to get to her messages. Maybe she told someone she was leaving, but I pause when I see a message she received from an unknown number.

We know who killed your sister. Come alone. No devices.

Symphony Hills Park. Mile marker 3 on the North Bend Trail

4 P.M.

She went to find out who killed her sister without telling me. Guilt swimsin my stomach like a school of sharks circling their prey.

I know who killed her.

The sobs flow out of me as I break down on the floor. She isn’t suicidal. She is just looking for closure. How could he take her from us?You need to find her. Why isn’t she back yet? What if she is next?

Panic consumes my body as I scramble out of her room. I run into her kitchen and take one of the largest knives I can find. I don’t know if she is safe. I just hope I don’t have to use it.

I get in my car and take a deep breath, preparing myself to go find my friend. I refuse to lose her, too.

I can’t let Dante find me. He will force me to come back. I can’t. He ruined my best friend’s life. He is ruining my life.No, he’s not. He’s yours. He makes you feel alive.

I open my phone and turn off my location settings. I’ll never be with a man who killed an innocent woman.

I speed my way to the park. It’s just after 7 P.M. and darkness rules the sky. I know the park, but no one goes there. It is pretty unkempt. Most of the trails are also not maintained.

I park my car and step out. Letting my eyes adjust to the dark. I don’t want to use my flashlight in case she isn’t alone. I slowly approach the path she should be on and walk quickly, scanning the woods as I work my way through them.

The sounds of crickets and crushing leaves fill the air. My feet are moving quicker the further in I get.

They told her mile marker 3. I am almost there. I sprint to the mile marker. My heart is racing in my chest.

I stop in front of the marker, scanning the woods around me. I’m alone. She’s not here. The tears roll down my cheek as defeat washes over me.

I pull out my phone and turn on the flashlight. I point it left to right, seeing nothing, hearing nothing. I point it down at the trail and I see dropsof blood on the path.

I follow the small splatters and walk off the main path.