Alex

The holiday break is over, and my internship as a resident is over. The return to college was harder than I expected. The tranquility of the classrooms could not compare to the hectic task of shadowing doctors, trying to save patients' lives from disappearing completely.

I open my locker, pulling out my computer case, before heading to my car to finally go home.

I turn on the air conditioning, searching for my charger inside my backpack until I remember I've left it in the glove compartment of the car. I reach down to open the hatch.

I startle when something falls.

My body goes still, understanding what it is that has fallen.

I pick up the small black velvet box.

I sigh, leaning back in my seat. I grab my cell phone, only to see the unread messages. The unreturned calls.

Three weeks without knowing anything.

I haven't managed to surprise her at school, like the last time she was planning to run away, when I couldn't hear anyone inside her house.

It was just silence.

As if she had decided to leave.

The same pressure I've felt since Christmas starts to build again.

I go online one more time, searching for her brother's name, her parents' name, or any relative's name I can remember, but I always get the same results.

I go on her social media, but even if I follow some people, I can't be sure who are her friends, who would know what happened to her.

I cursed myself for dropping the box next to me.

I drive home, hoping the pressure will ease.

Knowing full well it won't, not until I see her.

Char

The bell for last period rings, and students start walking to their classrooms.

I open my locker and see my cell phone. Dead since that night.

In desperation, I reached for my charger, trying to contact him to explain why it wouldn't arrive, but the little wire was cut, and the bucket was submerged in water.

I look at the cell phone one more time before deciding to take it out of the locker.

"Jora," the redhead turns around at me and smiles.

I approach her slowly.

"Char, I hadn't seen you today, did you just get in?" she asks, and I nod, hoping that no one in the group saw me come in the morning. No one did, so I don't have to explain why I've been avoiding her as much as I can since returning from vacation.

"Yeah, I overslept." I say this, smiling sheepishly at her. The girl in front of me smiles back, trying to hide the slight worry that appears in her eyes. "Could I borrow your charger? I left mine at home, and my cell phone died." I'm pointing to it.

Jora smiles and nods, taking her bag off her shoulders, reaching inside and then passing me the wire.

"Thanks, I'll give it back to you when I'm done using it."

"You can use it as much as you want, Char; I have another one at home, don't worry," she says. My mouth opens to refuse, but she takes my hand, waving goodbye to me before walking to her classroom.

I sigh, closing my eyes.

I walk to an empty classroom, plugging in my cell phone. I'm praying that all those weeks haven't caused the battery to die.

Alex

The sound of my cell phone wakes me from my sleep.

I groan, shifting on the sheets. I notice how I didn't even take my shoes off before falling into my bed.

I glance at the clock on my nightstand, so I'm half aware of what time it is.

I frown to see that it's a little after ten o'clock at night.

The noise of my cell phone stops.

I stretch again and sit up, moving my hair from side to side to try to open my eyes.

I grab my cell phone and squint at the bright light.

I turn on the night lamp before looking at the cell phone again.

I jump out of bed at the sight of the five missed calls.

A message pops up.

"Are you home?"

I open the door, my breath hitching after running downstairs. My eyes widen in surprise, even with the slight pressure in my chest—pressure that turns into something I can't describe when my eyes land on hers.

She was there. After almost a month, her hair is short, where before it reached almost to her hips, it now barely reaches her shoulders.

Her cheeks are flushed, as if she had run too.

Her hand is near her ear, and that's when I notice my cell phone ringing. She's calling me again.

She lowered her hand after canceling the call. She breathes heavily and opens her mouth, and her eyes are determined.

"I'm sorry I couldn't come for Christmas." I see sadness and regret in her eyes.

She looks at me nervously, analyzing every part of my face as I am analyzing hers to make sure of everything she might be thinking.

I step out of my house, reach out my arms, and pull her to me, wrapping her in my arms.

A sigh of relief falls into her hair. It takes Char a while, but she returns my embrace, snuggling as close as she can to my chest.

"I thought..." I put my hands on her shoulders, pulling her away from me a little, so I could see her face. Char lifts her head so she can get a good look at me. "I don't know what I thought, but I'm so glad you're here." I hug her again, sighing again.

Trying to calm my heart, which ached every time I saw the unopened messages, every time I saw her lonely house every day I passed by after college, when it wasn't even the usual way.

The sound of the oven beeps. I opened it and put the two cups of tea on the table.

Char thanks me as she pulls it close to her and sniffs a bit of the aroma before taking a sip.

The little black-haired girl takes a bite of her food, looking out the kitchen window that reveals the city lights.

"Char." My voice gets her attention. She hasn't said much since she arrived; she hasn't explained what happened, and I've been debating how to bring it up.

"I bought you a present." Her voice cuts me off, and my surprise is palpable on my face.

Char bites her bottom lip, her cheeks flushing, but she looks down at her plate once more.

"Something happened... And it was ruined," she says, and she looks at me, smiling sadly. "I promise that by next Christmas I'll bring it to you."

I smile back, walk over to her, and stand next to her. Char moves towards me, looking up to look at me.

My heart is pounding, and I can't find the words to let her know that the fact that she already takes it for granted that we will spend next Christmas together is gift enough.

"It wasn't a good gift after all," she says, flustered at my silence.

"Anything coming from you would be perfect." I whisper, close to her.

Her hand begins to play with mine, and her eyes are looking at our hands. The little girl sighs before looking at me.

"Whatever you say," she says, rolling her eyes. I let out a small laugh.

But my smile disappears as I remember my questions.

Will she run away again if I ask her?

"You know you can count on me for whatever you need, right?" Char tenses at my words, there is fear in her eyes.

Her hand stops moving, but our fingers don't stop intertwining.

"I don't need anything," she replies mechanically. She notices, so she sighs a little. "Dad wanted us to spend Christmas together, that's all." She moves her free hand in a motion of indifference, like it doesn't matter at all.

"Char." Her eyes stared at me and cut off my words.

"I'm serious, Alex. You know how dad is, he loves this holiday. I've been hanging out with you and your friends a lot, he wanted Christmas for himself." My eyes flick back and forth, trying to decipher the clear lie in her words.

I sigh and give her a small smile.

"Sure you do, you have my number, you know, and you can let me know if anything happens."

"I know, don't worry about me." Her words are softer, relieved that the conversation is ending.

"You can't ask me that."