Dreaming Is for the Free

Ten

"Halo?"

"Halo, get your ass up."

Maya's raspy voice is what brings me back to reality, even though I didn't necessarily realize I lost touch until now.

I don't know what happened. I don't know if I passed out or if I fell asleep. I don't remember the seconds leading up to me being in that state of mind. I flutter my eyes open and instantly regret it as a raging headache follows. I wince at the pain and bring my hand towards my forehead.

"You okay?"

I hear Kiara's voice and then I feel a hand on my lower back. I quickly shuffle away even though I know that it's only Kiara and not some lunatic out to get me.

And that's when I remember the note.

The note!

Where's the note? I frantically look around and at first glance I don't see it. I pull back my desk chair and look under the desk. It's not there. I pull out my drawers and shuffle through all of my bras, socks, and pajamas. Still nothing.

The last I remember is sitting at the desk staring at the note before everything gets fuzzy. I look at the time, and it's 6:51 PM. Maya and I arrived at the dorm just before six. There's no way I could've misplaced it in that short amount of time.

Did somewhere come into my room and take the note? Could it have been the same person who wrote the note? Who else has access to this dorm? The RD? Where was Maya?

I focus all of my attention on Maya and ignore the confused look Kiara is giving me. Maya's face matches Kiara's but I'll explain everything to them when the time is right.

"Did someone come in here?"

Maya shakes her head, squinting at me like I have a huge pimple on my face.

"Are you sure?" My tone is edged with a bit of intensity.

"I'm sure. I've been in the living room the entire time." Maya responds, but I also notice that she takes a step back.

Am I acting crazy? Am I turning into a lunatic?

I shake my head remembering the killer migraine that is lingering inside of my cranium.

"I'm just not feeling good."

That's true but there's also more to the story than I'm letting on.

"Here." Kiara walks back into the living room.

Maya and I follow her.

"I have some Tylenol." Kiara rummages through her purse before handing me the small bottle.

After I've settled down, for the most part, I try to bring attention to Kiara. That's why we're meeting up in the first place. She has something to tell us about what's going on with Charlotte's disappearance. But I also know that the little freak out moment I just had minutes earlier, is fresh on Maya and Kiara's mind. I can sense it in the way that they're looking at me as if I'm some delicate flower that they don't want to disturb. They've asked me six times in the last two minutes if I'm okay. Maya has even given me an ice pack for my head since the Tylenol hasn't kicked in yet. Kiara is still rubbing my back and every time I glance over at her, I catch her giving me puppy dog eyes even though she tries to change her expression when our eyes meet.

I let out an over exaggerated sigh. "I'm good. Now tell us what you came here to tell us."

Kiara gives me one last glance before taking a deep breath.

"All right so like I said, Charlotte's parents came to the dorm with some police officers. They wanted to go through her stuff just in case there was a chance that she ran away for a few days. She is a senior and sometimes senior year can be stressful knowing that in a year, you'll be out in the real world." Kiara emphasizes the words "real world".