"And lastly, that's Madison, or Mads, my little sister who is also trying to climb up the broken lifeguard tower. We're only a year apart. When she's not doing some odd job for extra cash she is on the HMS Pogue with the rest of us. Most loyal perso...
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Pope had such a headache from the day before that his only thought when he got up was to eat something but now that JJ mentioned it he hadn't seen the youngest Routledge when he woke up. "I don't know."
"What? What do you mean 'you don't know'?" JJ tried not to freak out as he jogged behind the counter to check the pantry. She wasn't in there though and he ran from the pantry, to the bathroom, to the back deck but he came up empty. "Maddie!"
Kiara was pulled from her slumber by the sound of JJ yelling, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she sat up, "What's wrong?"
"Maddie's gone," Pope answered, now standing from his seat, his head to his chest to avoid making eye contact with his friends. He should have seen the second he woke up that she wasn't there. Why hadn't he noticed?
Kiara quickly stood from the bench, searching the restaurant as if she would be able to find their friend, "What do you mean she's gone?"
"She's gone, Kiara, how else do you want us to say it?! She's not here!" JJ ripped the hat from his head and ran a hand through his hair. He felt nauseous at the thought that he had no idea where she could be.
He paced back and forth, muttering under his breath while he attempted, and failed, to come up with what to do. "Jayj," Kiara understood his concern, especially after the last couple of days, as she tried to get his attention. "JJ," she got a little louder and though he didn't answer he at least looked in her direction. "Where's your gun?"
He visibly paled at the question as he yanked his bag off the floor, dumping its contents out on the table. There were extra clothes, a baggie of weed, extra hair ties for Madison, and his switchblade but no gun. His heart began to race and his breaths became shallow and rapid. He should have stayed awake last night, how stupid was he for even dozing off, he didn't even feel her get up. Panic was gripping at his chest but he fought to maintain his composure. They were going to find her, he was going to find her, and she was going to be fine. She had to be. He tried to focus, but the world around him blurred, and his hands trembled.
"Holy shit," Kiara breathed out, immediately feeling guilty for not asking Madison about her own fears the night before. She had picked up on the subtle things her friend was doing even though Kiara knew the girl was doing her best to hide it. She saw the far off look in her eyes, the way she stared at the gun, the way she was just a shell of the girl she had come to love. She should have pressed harder, should have said something to JJ, should have done something.
"JJ," Pope walked over to his friend, putting a hand on his shoulder, and forcing him to sit in one of the chairs before he passed out. He had seen Madison have an attack before but he never knew the blonde had them too, unless this was his first one, but it worried him all the same. "Hey, we're going to find her."
