His Sister

News

For what feels like the hundredth time this week, I'm abruptly awoken by the sound of my doorbell ringing. I sit up and rub my forehead as I realize I have an intense hangover. I woozily get out of bed and look around my bedroom. The blinds are shut, the door is closed, and the lights are all out. I blink hard and try to remember last night. I can pick up bits and pieces, but nothing really makes any sense.

How am I in my room? I could've sworn I spent the night at Ellie's apartment... Oh, God. Did I drive home?

One of the last things I can remember is the feeling of Ellie's hands on my body. I shudder and the doorbell rings again. I roll my eyes and walk downstairs, ambling toward the front door. I unlock it and swing it open lackadaisically. Jay stands before me with tears running down his face. His lip trembles and I stand there, completely dumbfounded. What the hell is going on?

"Can I come in?" He asks in a raspy voice.

Without saying a word, I nod and step to the side. He enters the house and I close the door behind him. We go into the living room and sit down on the couch. There's an unsettling, awkward silence between us before he finally speaks.

"Tara... I am so fucking sorry. I'm sorry for the names that I called you, for the way I treated you, I'm sorry for all of it. I was just hurt and I didn't understand. I—"

"Jay, relax. It's fine. What I did was wrong and I understand how you felt. Is everything okay, though? What stirred this on?" I ask, handing him a box of tissues off of the coffee table.

He wipes his eyes on his sleeve and shakes his head, "Man, I fucked up. I fucked up so bad."

I raise my eyebrows in concern. Jay rests his elbows on his knees and runs his hands through his unusually messy hair. I wait for him to recollect himself. It takes him a minute, but he finally looks me in the eye and takes a deep breath.

"Last night I hung out with Miles," He starts up.

My heart skips a beat and I already know where this is going. Miles is Jay's friend who has always been an incredibly bad influence on him. When we were in the eighth grade, Miles convinced Jay to streak all the way down the street. Thanks to peer pressure and his overwhelming sense of pride, Jay did it. Guess who also spent the first week of summer vacation locked in their room? That's right, Jay. Anyway, back to real life.

"We got shit-faced... I was feeling angry. I came to your house after I left his place. You weren't here. So I went to Ellie's place next. She wasn't there either... I waited," He sniffs hard and wipes at his eyes, "Ellie got home and I yelled at her while I followed her up to her apartment. I asked her where she'd been and she said she was taking you home, because you knocked out... I smelled alcohol on her breath."

He trails off for a moment and I begin to chew my lip, feeling more and more nervous.

"We really got into it. Worse than we ever have. I told her she needs to be more responsible. I said some shit about the two of you... She said some things back... I got really, really angry... And... I hit her." His voice becomes nearly inaudible, as if he can't bear to admit what he did.

I try to keep my cool as I look at him, "You... Hit her?"

"I hit her hard," Jay says in a whisper, "Once I realized what I'd done, I took a step back. She left. I haven't seen her since. I went to her apartment, I checked, I did. But she was gone and I—"

"Oh my god," I blurt out, feeling myself slip into a full blown panic.

Jay tries to calm me down, assuring me that he'll help me to find her. I start to cry as I frantically gather my keys and my cell phone and hurry out the door. Jay is hot on my heels as we approach my car. I don't care that he's accompanying me. I just need to find Ellie.

"Have you told your parents?" I inquire, pulling out my phone and calling up Ellie.

He shakes his head, "No, no. I can't. I can't do that."

"We need to tell them. We need to call the police. We need to find her." I raise my voice as I speed down the street.

"The police will be here soon if you keep driving like this. Slow down, Tara. We'll find her. She couldn't have gone far." Jay warns.

I slow the car down and get onto the boulevard. I hastily make my way toward the spot Ellie and I visited the night of the fair. Jay seems confused, but I continue on without saying a word. After all, I don't owe him any explanation. We arrive at the edge of the road and I quickly get out of the car. I rush through the thick foliage and search for Ellie, calling her name and looking as far as I can. Without realizing it, I begin to cry. I drop to my knees in defeat and look down at the dirt. I can't believe she's gone without a trace. Where could she have gone? And why would she go?