۫ ּ  ִ ۫   ˑ ֗ 𓏲˖ 𑁍 ࣪ ִ ۫ ּ  ִ ۫   ˑ ֗
࣪𓏲ּ ֶָ ✩◿𝓓𝓣𝓐◸ 🂱 ࣪𓏲ּ ֶָ
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO—
a missing lab partner.

Sarah smiled to a few familiar faces as she walked into school that morning, her Dad pulling off in the police car. She took a look across the street at her middle school, hoping to get a glance at Robin or Finney before they headed inside, or Gwen on her first day, but they'd already been there or haven't arrived yet.

"Hey, Sarah." Miss Delgado waved as she pushed her glasses higher onto her nose. "Good summer?"

"Great summer. Thanks." Sarah smiled, gripping her backpack more. Henry high-fived her as he passed with a few of the other baseball boys, making Sarah smile at the way he didn't seem ashamed to high five someone below his level. She walked with a small bounce in her step, stopping at her locker. She looked right across the hall to the right side where Vance's was, seeing it hadn't been touched yet and he was not there. She figured he wouldn't show up the same time she did anyways.

Sarah put her books inside and checked the time, speed walking to the freshman hall and making a B line to the first english class. "Yamada!"

"Sarah!" Mr.Yamada cheered as he looked up from his papers. "Oh my god. You have to help me. Look what this kid wrote."

He turned the paper around, Sarah winced. "What does that say?"

"I have no idea!" he tossed his hands up. "Why does Denver not have smarter kids?"

"Send em my way." Sarah gave a teasing smile and tapped on the side of her brain. "I'll smart em up for you."

"That's my girl." Mr.Yamada gave her a point as the bell rung. "Lunch?"

"Lunch." she confirmed, headed to the door.

"Bringing Vance?" he called.

"Bringing Vance!" she headed out of the door, taking long strides as her height became her best friend, bringing her to chemistry. She'd fly through this class with ease, the only one she wasn't taking that wasn't advanced. She only did it to be with Vance.

"Sar-bear." Bruce ran up behind her, tossing his arm around her shoulders. "Take a deep breath. How does it feel to no longer be freshman? To no longer get smacked on the head by seniors?"

"It feels great." she exhaled. "Like a fresh out the womb baby."

"That's the spirit." Bruce nodded. "Where's your arm candy?"

"Off doing arm candy things, probably." she shrugged, sitting down. Bruce sat behind her. "You seen him?"

"Not this morning, no." Bruce shook his head as Sarah frowned. "He'll turn up. Probably skipping first, seems like a Vance thing to do."

Sarah exhaled with a smile. "That's true. Or maybe couldn't find his locker and just decide to leave."

"Also a Vance thing." he agreed with her, the pair sharing a giggle as they turned back in their seats when the new chemistry teacher walked in and began to introduce herself, the boys eyes gawking at her beautiful face and nice legs.

Sarah expected Vance to show up half way through class, but he never did.

When the bell rung again and she left, she paused at the blonde sight down the hallway. "Leslie?"

The blonde turned with a sigh of relief. "Oh, Sarah. Thank god, I have been looking for you."

"Of course." Sarah hugged her. "What's the matter? Are you okay?"

"Yes. Did Vance walk to school with you this morning? I always drop him off on the first day, to make sure he goes, you know, but when I woke up he was already gone." her words made Sarah's stomach drop, the entire hallway was spinning. Leslie was just an echo, fading away as Sarah was left alone in the hallway. She inhaled as the Hopper woman touched her arm, bringing her back. The hallway stopped twisting, and people began to flood her vision again. "Sarah?"

"He wasn't here." Sarah inhaled deeply, immediately shoving the office doors open. "Miss Bell, I need the phone. I need the phone!"

She hung it up fast, giving it to Sarah in fear. Leslie was frozen, she didn't react the same way Sarah did but her heart was doing the same. Sarah's shaky hand dialed the number and held it to her ear, inhaling deeply and shutting her eyes to try and catch a breath. Her eyes dropped into the calendar on the wall.

August.

"No, no, no." Sarah mumbled under her breath as the phone picked up. "Agnes! Agnese, is that you?"

"Sarah." the older woman gapped. "What's the matter? You sound-"

"Is Vance there?" she asked her quickly. "At the pinball machine? Is he there?"

"No, I haven't seen him all morning." she said in return. Sarah dropped the phone before she could say anything else.

"What'd she say?" Leslie asked. Sarah ignored her as she dialed a new number. "Sarah, talk to me."

She wanted to, but she couldn't.

"Dad." Sarah's voice broke when he answered the phone. "Dad. I need your help. I need your help so much right now."

"Sarah." Jason stood up. "Where are you? What's wrong?"

"From the baseball field, there's a little trial right between the field and Grab N Go. There's a bridge, go over it and stop at the big rock." Sarah couldn't breath, talking was hard and painful. "I need you to go there right now and tell me if Vance is there. Please!"

"Vance isn't at school?" Jason grabbed his keys, waving for his partner to follow.

"No, and he's not home, and he's not at Grab N Go." Leslie left, she hurried out of the school and went on a search for her son, hoping to find him walking the side walk somewhere near by, unharmed. "Please hurry, Dad. Please!"

"Sarah, breath." Jason spoke to his daughter. "Don't go anywhere, do you hear me? You stay right where you are, i'm gonna come to you right after. It's gonna be okay."

Sarah hung up, gripping onto the office desk as she inhaled deeply. She couldn't breath, nothing was helping. She'd only felt this way once before, and that's when Billy went missing. It was too similar, she was experienced Deja-Vu. She couldn't do it again, not him. Not Vance too.

"Sarah." Mr.Yamada was called from his class by Miss Bell, a sub stepping in to take care of his class so he could be with her. Sarah was squeezing her eyes shut, trying to breath. "Hey. Hey, look at me. What's going on?"

"We can't find Vance." she wasn't crying, but that would have been better then how she looked now. Mr.Yamada thought it seemed like someone had their hands around her throat, crushing her windpipe and shortening her breath by the minute. "It's August. It's August, I didn't even notice! It's been ten months since Griffin, twenty since Billy. There's gonna be another, i've said it for months. I've said it infront of him!"

"Hey." he gripped onto her tightly. "Look at me in the eyes. Remember to breath, you have to breath."

Sarah shook as she gripped onto his shoulders, following his movement to take a deep breath and exhale it. He nodded after the third. "Good. Good. See, just a deep inhale and a big exhale. You got it."

She did, but only for a few seconds before the flashing lights of the police cars flashing through the windows. Sarah broke from his grip and took off out of the office, then the doors. Jason met her half way, getting out of his car as she hurried down the steps. "Dad?"

Jason frowned as he shook his head. "He wasn't there."

It was back. She forgot to breath, her legs felt like jelly. "No. No. No."

Sarah was falling as her Dad caught her arms. "We have to wait twenty-four hours. He could just be-"

But, she didn't hear anything after that. She knew, so did he. Vance wouldn't disappear for twenty-four hours without letting her or Leslie know. He was gone, taken the same was Griffin and Billy were. Sarah knew it as she hit the steps, her Dad holding her up as she felt as if someone was holding her under water. "Dad. No."

She wanted to tell him what to do next, wanted to say so much, but only a few words came out. She couldn't form a sentence because her brain wasn't functioning to do so, there was only one thing she could do if she couldn't talk. Sarah cried as loud as she could.

•

kylie speaks

the next five chapter
hurt so bad but we will
get through them...before
we hurt a lil more but at
least we'll get girl bosses
gwen and sarah going detective
mode...before we hurt a lot
more.