lost ↠ d.t.

Chapter 2 : Memories

"So... what's the plan?" Ethan scratches the back of his head, trying to comprehend what's going on. I nervously bite the inside of my cheek as I'm delimiting a stratagem in my head. I look up at my friends, my head exploding at the million scenarios that could've happened yesterday night. I take a deep breath and finally reveal what they've all been waiting to hear.

"We're going to have to split up. Ethan, Cameron; search the parks. Enora, Caleb; the streets. Grayson and I will take care of the forest on the East side." I let out all at once, not even realizing how serious the situation is.

My sister is missing. I never thought I would ever pronounce those words inside of my head. I always thought that I would be the first one to get kidnapped between the two of us since I'm the more silly one. When we were younger, we used to invent stories where I would get kidnapped and she would rescue me like a knight in shining armor. They were just stories, we were just messing around. Never would I have thought that those stories would become reality... but I guess that in this case, I'm the knight in shining armor...

"Caleb and I are going to take the car, if that's okay with you guys?" Enora steps up and we all give each other a confirming look. After we all determine our roles, we split up in three groups and head different ways; Grayson and I running towards the forest as soon as the conversation ends.

I run ahead of him; determined to find my sister before anyone else does. She's my sister after all. He catches up in a split second since he has a bigger stride than I do. We exchange a worried look, leading him to ask the question that I was so afraid of.

"What if we find her dead?"

His words echoes in my head, making me slow down and think about my answer for a moment. I purse my lips, staring blankly at the ground.

"Then we'll call the police." I look up at him, eyebrows cast downwards. He intertwines his fingers with mines, making my heart instantly fluster at this not-so-foreign contact.

"Just because I asked, doesn't mean it will happen." his rough thumb scratches the skin on top of my hand. I look down at our connected fingers and smile to myself.

"We'll find her, Gray. I'm sure." are the last words I say before we continue our run.

"Carrie?!"

"Carrie!?"

This name. Her name... is the only thing we holler at the top of our lungs. People give us weird looks every now and then, wondering why the hell we're yelling like this. We don't care. We need to find her...

Many hours later, after several calls between Enora, Caleb, Ethan and Cameron, we finally call it a day. I hate to say this, because if it was just for me, I'd still be looking for her. But my friends are tired and I don't want to make my parents wait for too long. They keep texting me every 30 minutes to make sure I'm okay.

Grayson swings our hands back and forth between the small space separating us when we make our way back to the meeting spot, which is basically in front of my house. Ethan and Cameron are already waiting for us there. When we reach them, I throw my arms around Ethan's neck and hug him tight, sighing over his shoulder.

"Thank you for your help..." I whisper, swallowing back my tears.

I never ever cry in front of my friends. I've always been the clown of the class; the toughest of the group; the girl who never shows any emotions except compassion and love. I guess that everything changed now.

"We can keep looking for her tomorrow, when it'll be day time." Ethan pulls away from our embrace and places his hands on my shoulder in a comforting way. I shake my head.