The Lies I Believed

The Same Story

Asher

I stood on Natalia's front porch, debating on whether or not I should ask her about Lexi. Even if I don't, I'm sure Isabella is going to tell her everything. It's best she hears it from me. Lexi's friends get a little hostile when they think they've been wrong. I pushed the doorbell, surprised to hear a tune that sounded like it came from Fantasia.

"Oh, hey, Asher!" Natalia chirped. She was in nothing but a silk robe. If I had been the teeniest bit disloyal, she'd be in her birthday suit. "It's a pleasant surprise seeing you again."

"I guess so..." I looked around her.

"Ravi isn't home. He left this morning. What do you need?"

"I was wondering if you've spoken to Lexi recently."

"No, not since last week. She sent us a message Thursday morning. She said she had a change of plans and would be leaving to talk to you."

"...What?"

"Yeah, I can show you. It was in our group chat. She didn't say anything after that. I tried calling and she didn't pick up."

"Makes sense."

"Asher, what's going on?" Natalia put her hands on her hips.

"Nothing," I lied. "She's just been a little off. I know it's because of me, but I thought something else might have happened before she left."

Natalia peeked out of her house and looked around. I looked around with her. She pulled me inside and shut the door.

"Asher, I know something's happened. Did she come home?" she asked.

"...No." I sighed.

"I knew it. I knew there was something off. After Sha'Kera left in a hurry Wednesday afternoon, I knew Lexi was bound to go missing."

"What do you mean?"

"She's always had this close bond with Sha'Kera. After Alexander had to return home, she came to see me. She began expressing her concerns about how suddenly she'd left. I get that, because she and Alexander said Kera seemed a bit jumpy before she caught a flight back to New York."

"Didn't you try to persuade her to stay put?"

"You know how Lexi is. She doesn't listen when she has a hunch. I told her to stay with me for the night, but she declined and said she had to go see Samantha."

"Samantha? Don't you mean Isabella? Or Jade?"

"Nope. She said Samantha and left in a rush. I didn't question it, because Ravi came home early and it slipped my mind."

"Thank you so much."

"It's no problem. If you need any help, I'll be here. Isabella also knows about the life she used to live. She might have some information, too."

"I saw her earlier today. She didn't know anything."

"Well, you're going to have to talk to Samantha. If Lexi went to speak to her, then something else had to have been happening."

"Okay..."

Natalia sighed and took my hands. "Promise me you'll find her. I don't think I can go on with life, knowing she's out there somewhere."

"I promise." I nodded. "There's no way I'm going back home without her."

"Not in a body bag, right?"

"Of course, not! I'd have to die with her."

"Romeo and Juliet much?"

"Shut up." We laughed. "I'll see what I can do about this. I'll make sure you're the first to know about her return."