The Lines Between Us | ✔

|.13.|

September 14th, 9:32 am,

Ash

A yell. ''What do you mean you don't know where she is?'' I woke up no less than a minute ago. Bella wasn't next to me. I was alone. I searched the bed, frantically checking to see if she had slipped beneath the covers. My mind was racing. A manic freakout. I scanned every inch of the room in a breath. She wasn't there. My key was on the floor next to the door. They locked me in and put the key back through. There is no way Liam could have taken her without me knowing. He wouldn't have posted the key back.

''I don't know where she is,'' Noah states for the second time today, with a puzzled look on his face. He and a few other guys are seated on the sofa, watching TV. I don't know why they are up so early, but it's not important to the situation. My body shakes rapidly. They all stare at me wide-eyed, looking me up and down. I look like a mess. I am in a pair of grey pants; shirtless.

''Please tell me you are joking!'' I shout, my voice threatening to crack. The smile that was just on the other guys' faces leaves immediately. I stop closer to Noah, ready to pounce.

''I don't know! I thought she went out shopping or something. There's a note by the door.'' His eyes travel out the exit and to the kitchen.

''You thought she would write a fucking note to go out shopping in the middle of the night?'' I roar, my temper rising. ''If anything happened to her. . . I am holding you personally responsible.'' A finger jabs at Noah. Racing out the room, the paper catches my eyes. Smashing my hand on top of it, I pull it towards my eyes. They are met with my name on the outer layer. It is precisely folded, but I take no notice, tearing the folds open and reading the contents. I scan simultaneously whilst heading back to the living room. My face falls deeper with every word I read.

I can feel eyes on me as they wonder inquisitively what the note says. My face drops, tears welling up in my eyes. It hurts me with such an unexplainable amount of force my heart physically aches. It feels as though someone took a shovel and dug a hole in my chest. My lungs heave into a knot, closing in. I can't breathe. My legs tumble backward as my eyes close. The paper scrunches in my fist. Noah shoots up from the sofa, heading to me quickly. A hand slides up my back. ''Woah, Ash, what's wrong?'' He guides me to the couch. I let him, my body threatening to fall to the ground if he lets go. The room is now silent except for the dull television. They are all starting dead at me, equally confused as to what happened.

Falling limply to the couch, I flop my head into my hands, the tears escaping. I drop the crumpled letter to the ground, evoking a response from Noah. He leans down, retrieving the note, a hand still on my back. I want to scream in his face, snatching the letter back, but I don't. Lifting my head up, I see his eyes scan the note through the fog of my tears. I'm not even scared to cry in front of them. I wouldn't even show this much emotion in front of my parents, never mind my friends. Since I met Bella, my feelings have been heightened massively.

''Oh My God,'' Noah half mumbles, half shouts. He jumps up from his seat, causing me to sink back into the fabric. The others stand, scanning the note in a few seconds each.

That's all it takes.

A few seconds.

She wrote a tiny note. Brief. So brief. She was hiding something from me.

They each share the same look of concern. Even though it has only been a couple of days since we met, they know how much she means to me. Reading the note seems to have affected them the same way as me. Not nearly as bad, but still they look hurt. Most of them have met and spoken to her. I don't even pay attention to myself anymore, my mood constantly fluctuating with emotion. I can feel my face heating up, flushing an awful crimson color. Salty tears prickle my eyes, pooling into my hands and down my bare arms.