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When 17-year-old Arbor Hayes' best friend turns up alive after a mysterious six-month disappearance, she must piece together the fragments of her story to make sense of what happened. But as clues e...
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My head is swimming.
I need to tell Jordan she was right about Emma running away! And I need to tell her the best part—I actually have a name.
Stefanie Colin.
Emma did meet her on the priZm app. In her last journal entry, it sounded like she was having second thoughts about taking off—yet she still went missing for six months. Which means Stefanie must have convinced her to stick with the plan.
This girl obviously has access to drugs; that's how Emma has them. And from what I read, she planted all sorts of bad ideas in Emma's head, doing her damndest to create a wedge between her and her family.
How could Emma have been stupid enough to fall for that? She left Menteuse to be with her, but it's obvious things didn't go as planned. If they had, she'd still be gone.
There is so much Emma's kept from me. Not only about Jordan and Stefanie, but other things, too.
Like how all this time she's hated soccer, but it was her parents that forced her to play. I never knew about her confusion regarding Smith, either. Or that she wanted to be a psychologist one day because she's seen how therapy can work. It doesn't take a genius to figure out she was talking about me.
But the worst part is, I didn't realize she felt so alone.
If only she'd confided in me, maybe none of this would have happened. Maybe Emma wouldn't have gotten wrapped up in that app and met the wrong person. Maybe she wouldn't have been weak enough to take drugs.
And maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't have turned against me—her very best friend.
That's what stings the most. I've run through everything that happened before she left, trying to recall what could have set her off. A reason she might be upset with me. But there's nothing. And after everything I just read, I still don't understand why.
At this point, it doesn't even matter. Too much has gone down for me to trust her again. Between the lies about her driver's license, the pills, and now her journal, it should be enough proof to take to the police. Then Emma can finally get the help she needs. I'm not sure if things will ever go back to how they were before, but at least I'll know I did what I could to set her on the right path. As her former best friend, I at least owe her that.
The only problem now is getting a hold of Jordan, but every time I try, it goes straight to voicemail.
"Is everything okay?" Mom's voice drags me back to the living room.
Our eyes connect over the rim of my phone. "Just trying to get in touch with a friend."
While I tuck my cell into my back pocket, Mom positions herself on the opposite end of the couch. "You barely touched your dinner."
"Sorry. Guess I'm not hungry."
There's something more she wants to say. I can tell by the way she massages the back of her neck, and glances away. "Your father's stopping by after work to check in on you."
