The Games

[THREE] Theresa

-THREE-

Theresa

"When do you think she will be back?", Maya asked, wrapping the sweets that we bought in wrapping paper.

"I don't know", I said "She could be gone for weeks, it looks like she might have packed a bag to stay away for a few days"

"No, is not like her at all. She wouldn't do that without leaving a note", Maya said anxiously.

She looked worried, like she thought that something might have happened to Lexy. I know that Lexy would not get into trouble that easily, she is a very strong and independent woman. No one can knock her down that easily. I walked towards Maya slowly, not wanting to intimidate her for some reason. Maya did not even flinch, so I put my arms around her. She hugged me.

"Thank you," she whispered softly.

There was pain in her voice, and she started sniffling shortly after. We stood there, her crying and me holding her, for some time. It was like we were caught in a trance. Time just went by without even touching us. We were in our own universe, and the only thing that mattered was that I had to comfort Maya. She was the only thing that mattered. I felt a need to protect her, and it seemed like she wanted to be protected. She needed protection from the outside world.

"I- I just want her to be ok, she seemed so hurt. What if she went to go see him? What if she just gets hurt by him even more?", she sobbed, slowly backing up and breaking the hug.

"She wouldn't want us to worry about her. Look-", I started to say, but got interrupted by a ringing.

Maya grabbed her phone, which was the source of the ringing, and looked at the display. "It's Theresa", she said, looking at me. I just nodded, signalling her to answer the call.

Theresa was Lexys best friend. Yes, Maya and I were her best friends as well, but Theresa was just in another league of best friend. She and Lexy have known each other since they were about two years old. They did everything together, they went to the same school, same after school activities, same babysitter, they were family to each other.

"Hello?", Maya said, trying to mask the rough tone of her voice.

"Hey, Maya?", I could hear over the speaker "its Theresa. You probably know that Lexy wanted to meet up with me today, but do you maybe know where she is?"

"No, we don't. Lexy was supposed to meet you at two, right?", Maya asked, looking at me worried.

"Yeah, but she never showed up. So, I thought that maybe you would know where she is. I tried calling her, but she never picked up", Theresa said, her voice distorted thought the phone.

"Yeah, we have been wondering where she is as well. We were at our favourite café in the morning, but she stormed off. Here there was a huge mess, I think she might have packed a bag and then took a room at a hotel or so", Maya told Theresa.

We moved to the living room, Maya was pacing up and down in front of the TV. I was sitting on the couch listening to the conversation and sometimes adding on to Maya's sentences.

"Yeah, you're right, it's very weird that Lexy would leave without saying anything or without leaving a note", Theresa said, after Maya had explained what we had found. "Hey, would you mind if I come over and we can talk about what we know? I think it might be a good idea if we collect our thoughts"

"Yeah, for sure! I'll send you our address", Maya said without hesitation.

"Ok, perfect! I'll see you there in an hour", Theresa said, then she hung up.

"What was that?", I asked, feeling my anger rising. I could feel rage and sadness in my veins. I had a bad feeling about Theresa coming here. Maya was just paying attention to what she wanted, she did not care about what I wanted. "How could you just invite her over without asking me?"