Danica

Friday, July 19th, 9:35am.

Sweat is running down my back by the time the others arrive. I had been close by when Olivia had texted me about the proposed meet-up and since then I've been waiting for them at a table by the Subway. Even though it had been cool last night it's still late July and the heat has cranked up for the day as the sun glares down at me from a clear, blue sky.

A bicyclist pedals by on the trail and I wonder what it's like to be that kind of crazy.

It feels like it's a hundred degrees out.

I sit back and listen to the waves from the nearby harbor as I try to relax in the shade of the umbrella that is stuck in the middle of the table. If it weren't for the humidity it would probably be a nicer day, but since there isn't even a breeze the air feels thick, like I'm breathing through a warm, damp washcloth.

Car tires crunch on the gravel behind me and I look up to see that Amelia's silver Lexus has pulled into the parking lot by the Subway. She parks the car and gets out after a moment as she lifts a hand in greeting before Mila gets out on the passenger side and shuts her door.

"Sorry about the short notice," Amy apologizes as she walks up with Mila trailing behind her.

"It's fine," I lie as she gives me a tight smile.

It's really not, since this isn't how I wanted to spend my one day off this week, but oh well.

"I know work is kicking your ass but I promise you I'll pay you back, have you eaten breakfast yet?" she asks as she begins to rummage through her clutch purse. "I'm paying."

"Thanks but I already ate," I say as another car pulls into the parking lot.

Olivia gets out of her little blue car, her hair pulled up into a high ponytail that I envy since I hadn't been thinking about it getting this hot today. I push a thick lock of loose hair out of my face as she walks over and takes the seat next to me.

"Hey," she greets Amy as she gets settled, her dark eyes flitting from me to her.

"Did you want anything for breakfast?" she asks, but Olivia shakes her head.

"No, I ate."

"Oh, well Mila and I are going to go grab something to eat here in a little bit," Amy says as she sits down across from me, "in the meantime, can you guys help me sort this all out?" she looks from me to Mila, "What exactly happened last night?"

"Well, last night we had to play that game to get into our sororities and fraternities, the one I texted you about?" Mila explains as she sits on the edge of the bench. "So part of the game was to leave our phones behind, so we did that, but then...well Derrick and I were tasked with finding a cooler while we were out in the park and we-."

She looks away then, her tanned cheeks turning red as she gnaws on the edge of her lip.

"We got a little drunk and...well...that's not important," she says hurriedly.

I feel a flash of anger at the implication of what she and Derrick did, especially since she's talking about it in front of Olivia of all people. I look at her out of the corner of my eye as I expect some sort of reaction out of her but she doesn't seem to hear or care as Mila rushes on.

"Anyways, so Derrick was a little drunk and he kind of wandered off later on when the guys were burying the CPR dummy and we left the park without him because Paxon didn't want to wait," she says and I frown.

Paxon wasn't going to wait all night for him, is what I want to say, but I don't.

"What I'm getting at is I'm worried he could have gotten hurt out there, it was really dark and he was alone," Mila concludes as Amy nods.

"I can see where you're worried but he's gone missing a couple times before after parties," she offers, but Mila shakes her head.

"Yeah but those were times where he blacked out and was really drunk, this was just buzzed."

"And I'm just saying that my dad has already called it into the police so there's not a whole lot we can do," Amy assures her.

"Can we maybe drive by and see if his car is still by the lecture hall?" Mila asks.

Amy's lips press into a thin line then as she sighs, "Mila, this has happened before there is nothing to be worried about, besides, if he woke up hungover this morning, wherever he may be, he probably shouldn't be driving."

"Please? Can we please drive by?"

Amy catches my eye then. They're the same green as her brother but her hair is a brighter shade of copper than his and her nose is smaller. She's only a year and a half younger than him but in that moment she looks older, like worrying about him has only aged her.

"I guess we-," she begins to say, but she doesn't get to finish as her attention is drawn elsewhere and she looks over her shoulder at the parking lot.

I realize then that a local news van has pulled up and a wave of fresh horror washes over me.

Why are they here?

I don't get to think about it for long as the door on the side opens and a man hoisting a camera gets out while a woman who has a microphone in hand straightens her slacks. I don't recognize her at first until she turns around and it's then that I know who she is as she smoothes her dark brown hair against the late summer heat and stalks toward us.

"Good morning girls, Melissa Kennedy of Channel 5 news, we have some questions for you regarding your missing friend, Derrick Morgan," she says as she grins at us with an intensity that makes me shrink away from her.

I've always thought of the woman to be a strange one since I've watched her on the local news since I was little. But now that I'm face to face with her in person I can understand the stories of people not liking her since she appears to have the emotional capabilities of a toaster.

"Can you tell us when you last saw him?" she prods.

"Yes, he was-," Mila replies, but is quickly cut off when Amy interrupts her.

"I can tell you that this is a big misunderstanding, really, Derrick has gone missing before," Amy reassures the reporter.

But this only seems to pique the notorious reporter's attention as she hones in on Amy with a dazzling smile pasted on her face.

"You're Amelia Morgan right? His sister? But you're not concerned about this, you're saying that he does this often?" the reporter says as she points the microphone at Amy's face.

Amy darts a glance at me and I get the hint as I stand up and reach for Mila's hand.

"Mila, let's go," I say in a low voice.

The last thing anyone needs right now is Mila unnecessarily stirring up the press over nothing and I trust Olivia enough to handle herself and get away. I expect Mila to protest but to my surprise she doesn't as she gets up to follow and I start walking for my car that's parked in the lot.

My Volkswagen Jetta welcomes me with a creak of old hinges as I get in and start it.

"Take me by the college," Mila says and I sigh.

I really, really don't want to but when I'm exiting the parking lot I take the correct turn that will take us toward the college.

"Thank you," she murmurs in a low voice and I huff out a laugh.

"Whatever."