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Chapter 16: Defeat

Come on, Kennedy, pick up. Pick up, pick up, pick up.

No answer.

Kennedy was almost two hours late. And if there's anything I've learned about Kennedy, it's that she's almost never late. Only in the most dire of circumstances was she ever late.

Which is what had me worried.

I had called her cell phone about seven times, one phone call every time I walked a lap around my house. Just in case she was driving, or getting ready, or buying food, or...

Or what? If she were doing any of those things, she would have at least sent me a text saying she was going to be a little bit late. She rejected the calls, and she probably assumes that I can't put two and two together and realize that.

Although I had no idea what was going on, I knew it wasn't good. I knew that I wouldn't like knowing about it, and I had a feeling her mom wouldn't be particularly fond of her daughter's activities either.

I debated between calling her mom or not. I shouldn't. She would never call your mom to let her know... and then I remembered. I remembered because I had been ignoring it. I had come home and set up my house for Kennedy, hoping for a distraction, the calm before the storm. I remembered because the things that are the most difficult to forget always come back sooner than those that are easily missed. I remembered because, although it had only been a day, I could feel something missing inside of me. Something that I knew I wouldn't get back, a void in my chest that could never be filled. Only forgotten.

But now, of course, Kennedy isn't here. The one day I need her most, she's gone and hidden away, either at her house or socializing or hanging out with Ricky. She tends to do that a lot, more frequently now more than ever.

Maybe I should call Ricky. Well that would work, if only I had his phone number. Okay, Ivory, calm down, no need to get worked up. I'm sure she's fine. But I'm not. It would be so much easier to find Kennedy if I were a social person. Extroverts have it so much easier when it comes to hunting down their stupid friends. J. I'll call J. He's friends with Ricky. Maybe he can either tell me Ricky's number or tell me where he is.

Deep breaths, Ivory. You've got this. Just wait a couple more seconds and then call him back. He'll answer eventually.

"Hey Ivory, what's up?" J asks.

"I'm really worried about Kennedy. Where are you right now?"

"Uh, at home. Sitting in bed browsing through the internet. Why?"

"I'm thinking that she might be with Ricky. If she is with Ricky, I need to know where before she does something stupid and something bad happens. If she isn't... then I'll need to find out where she is even faster, because she can get in a lot of trouble."

"Okay, calm down. Take a breath. I think Ricky mentioned going to a party tonight. Does that sound like something she would do?"

"That sounds like something she used to do very often. Now though, I'm not sure."

"Okay, here's what we're going to do," J starts. "I'm going to call Ricky and ask if he's seen Kennedy anywhere recently. If he hasn't I'll find out where he thinks she might be. I'll call you back in a minute."

"Okay. Please hurry, I'm really scared."

"I will. Just wait where you are."

I take a seat on the sofa and pull my knees up to my chest. I hope Kennedy is okay. Once I find her, I'll hit her for being an idiot. But please let her be okay. I can't lose anyone else right now.

The phone rang no more than a minute later.

"Ivory, he's not answering. I'm coming over to pick you up so we can go look for her, okay?"

"No, you don't have to do that, you were busy before I called you."

"I was on Tumblr, not meeting with the Prime Minister. I'm coming to get you." He says before quickly hanging up.

I attempt to stand on shaky legs. Why did she have to go and be an idiot? I slip on my shoes from the doorway and then get a glass of water. I sip it carefully before rummaging through the cabinets for some food, wrapping my hand around a granola bar.

Ten minutes later, the bell rang. I walk over and pull it open, immediately being pulled tightly into a hug by J. I breathe in his scent and allow myself to hug him back.

When he pulls away, all there is in his eyes is concern. Concern for me.

"Are you okay?" He asks.

"No, but I'll be a little better if we can find her."

"Then let's go." Then I'm being dragged away from my house and towards a rickety truck that reminds me of my own and then I'm sitting in the passengers seat.

"It's going to be fine, we're going to find her, you know that right?"

I nod, unable to look at him for fear of losing what small amount of composure I have left.

I think J called some friends to ask where the party was, since he seemed to know exactly where he was going. Or maybe he had been invited, but if he had, why would he say no? It's doubtful someone would decline an invitation to a party in favour of staying home and browsing Tumblr.

We pull up down the street from where the party is, and walk to the door. We let ourselves in, since the party is well underway and the hostess is probably too far from the door to even know we're there.

Some random walks up to us and offers a drink. We decline, and the guy saunters away from us with a massive grin on his face.

"He's so wasted." J whispers into my ear.

"I know." I whisper back.

Someone else starts to approach us, and J's hand immediately finds its way around my waist.

"Yo! Man I thought you weren't going to come! And you brought a chick too, eh? Good job!"

"I wasn't planning on coming, trust me. And she's a girl, not a chick, as she's not yellow in colour and lacks wings," he holds up my arms for emphasis. "I hope you know to keep your hands to yourself, and leave her alone."

"Aw man! Alright, I guess you got her first, I'll back off. See ya!"

"I'm sorry about him. He always gets like that at parties. The drunk people are one of the main reasons I don't go to parties."

"It's fine, as long as he doesn't try anything on me."

"Trust me, if he lays a finger on you he'll regret it. Now let's find them."

We wander through hallways and walk into some rooms that were being very... hastily used, before we find Ricky in the backyard.

"Hey, have you seen- oh." J says. Ricky turns around and the girl that was grinding up on him fell over. When she stands up, I see that it's Kennedy.

"Heeeeeyy giiirrllll. Here to join the party riight? It's sooo much fuun. Way better than your house!" Kennedy giggles.

"How much has she had to drink?" J asked.

"I dunno, probably about the same as I have. You probably wouldn't want to know."

"Shit."

I can't think about how much she's had to drink. All I can think about is the fact that she left me to party with the cool kids, the populars that she loved and then hated, the same ones who abandoned her. And now she was abandoning me.