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Sean
WHEN I WOKE UP IN THE tent the next morning, I glanced over at the empty spot next to me. Lila’s sleeping bag and duffle bag were still there, but she was gone.
It was odd, because I was usually the one who had to drag her out of the tent in the morning. She loved to sleep in.
Tugging a shirt over my head and pulling on some shorts, I climbed out of the tent. As I stepped outside, I realized I was the last one up. Our friends were already packing up their cars.
“Hey, have any of you seen Lila?” I asked as I approached them.
“No, I haven’t seen her.” Krista shook her head.
“Me, either,” Juniper agreed, glancing over at me. “I thought she was with you.”
That was all it took to set off all types of alarms in my head. She must have never come back the night before after I’d apparently went and made things awkward between us. I wasn’t even sure what I was thinking. Of course I wanted to be with her in that way. I’d always wanted to be with her in that way, but liquid courage is what had finally given me the guts to try.
I tried not to jump to the worst possible conclusions. Maybe she’d just gone for a walk or... I didn’t know where else she could have been. I couldn’t seem to shake away the idea that something was really wrong. And if I was right, if something had happened to Lila, I would have only had myself to blame.
I scanned the area for her. There were woods beyond the lake, but I doubted Lila would have gone in them. She’d always been afraid of running into a black bear on one of those trails to brave it alone. I didn’t see her on the shore surrounding the lake, either, though, which could only mean one thing.
She’d gone somewhere else.
I heard the sound of a phone ringing. I would have recognized the ringtone anywhere.
Lila’s cell phone.
I felt hopeful. Maybe she was trying to call me.
I made a mad dash for our tent. Slipping inside, I grabbed her phone out of her duffle bag. Glancing down at the caller ID, I saw the call was from a blocked caller. Sliding my finger across the screen, I pressed the phone to my ear.
Before I had the chance to say anything, I heard a man’s voice ask, “Lila? Are you going to meet me today like we discussed last night?”
“This isn’t Lila. She’s... she’s gone. Who is this?” My voice probably came out gruffer than I’d intended for it to, but I couldn’t help it. Something about this call just didn’t feel right.
I heard the sound of the man breathing on the other end of the line for a moment before he hung up the phone.