He Had To Go

Chapter Eighteen: I Don't Know Him

I wander down the candy aisle of our nearby supermarket and pick up various boxes of sweets to include in the welcome basket I'm putting together for Xavier's arrival on Christmas Eve.

"Fruity or chocolate?" I whisper to myself. "Both," I say, throwing the boxes into the red shopping basket. Prepping this together is the only thing keeping my sanity, my vision of a cheerful ending. I call Xavier three times daily, morning, afternoon, and night, to ensure his safety and well-being. As far as Eliot, I am still waiting for him; a lot of people are, and more and more, I assume that I was not as important to him as he made me believe, but somehow, I still miss him.

I continue my shopping trip, heading toward the electronic section of the store; I am sure there has to be something for him there. But on my way there, I see a familiar face, Eliot's friend, the blonde one from the spa and party; I never caught his name. Yet, this time, it's a lot different than the first time; he's not friendly, for his eye contact isn't followed by a smile but a cold stare before he returns to his shopping. I roll my eyes, wondering if I want to go over there, but it may be the best option.

"Hi!" I smile, walking over to him. "I am unsure if you remember me, but I am Maya. We met a couple of times, but I guess a face can be forgotten after swiping the screen up." I leave my hand to shake; he leaves me hanging for a moment. Yet, when his hand finally comes in contact with mine, he can't even look me in the eyes but looks around the store.

"I remember you, Maya." He says, tucking his hands inside his coat pockets, still coming off with a cold attitude.

"Oh good." I smile, trying to maintain my smile. "I don't think I caught your name."

"Uh...it's Zachary." He answers, still reluctant to me, probably trying to find any excuse to leave me. And if that is the case, I should probably get the most out of him.

"Listen, Zachary. While I have you here, I just wanted to know if you have seen or heard from Eliot?" I ask, but Zachary glances down at the ground, appearing to be laughing, while he covers his mouth.

"You must be feeling brave asking when you were the last to see him that night." He disrespectfully speaks down to me, but I can't just write him off; I need answers.

"Right!" I smile, trying to hide my spite. "So the last time you saw him was at the party?" I ask, clarifying everything.

"Yes, " he answers. "After, when you two went upstairs to hook up." I feel the need to correct him on that false accusation, but correcting himself is useless. That night never went past a kiss; nothing further.

"What time did you leave Eliot's house?" I ask.

"I don't know... like 2 a.m., " he answers, wiping his forehead, trying to remember. "I think. I was going to say goodbye, but the boys told me not to disturb you, and if you were done, you would have come out. So I left and decided to come back the next day."

"And what happened the next day?" I ask.

"My God, who are you? Some detective, Maya?" He complains. "I should be asking you the same question." I can't tell if he's guilty and knows something, he is just generally annoyed by all of this.

"No, I am just concerned about Eliot like you," I answer. He stares at me for a moment before he continues to talk.

"I went to his house the next day, around noon. Only his car was there; I thought we could chill. But nobody answered; I thought maybe he was using again, and he was out because of those."

"What do you mean by 'using again'? Is Eliot on drugs?" I ask, shocked by this discovery. I never saw him as that kind.

"Chill, Maya." He warns me. "Only on breaks and the off-season, and it's nothing strong, just narcotics." He calls himself relieving me, but it only makes things worse. I suppose it shows I never really knew Eliot. "But I texted him and told him to call me when he woke up, but he never did, and the next day, I got a call from Eliot's mom. She was calling around to see if he was with his friends; after that, she called the Deputy Sheriff, and he interviewed all of us, and we told him the truth. That we last saw him with you that night. And that leads us here." He says, seeming calm about the matter, for he doesn't know the whole truth, but I find it rather disturbing.

"If you knew that there was a chance that Eliot was using, and he could have overdosed? Why did you not call for help? You left him there."

"Listen, Maya, you just met Eliot. You have only become a part of their lives, but it doesn't take too long to know that the Kellers like having a private life, and the last thing they would want is for the world to find out their son went out through an overdose."

"And you would be okay with that?" I ask with much anger and malice in my eyes. No wonder Eliot is gone; he feels like nobody truly cares about him but only the persona.

"But that would never happen. He knows just the right amount to take for his calmness. But I can not judge, for we all have methods for calmness." He answers. "But I am tired of all your questions. I should be the one talking to you. You've been in Eliot's life for what... two weeks? And the next thing he is missing. What happened that night?"

"Nothing odd." I lie; there is no way I am repeating Eliot's and my conversation that night. "We woke up, he made breakfast, and I made coffee; after that, I went home. But when we were eating, he was complaining about the busy week he had had. So I only thought that I wasn't hearing from him because he was busy. But I did not know until the deputy and that officer came to my house. It was a surprise to me, too, Zachary."

"Surprise, not devastated, like the rest of us? " He asks, calling my answer out like I was wrong. "Maya, you seem sweet, but if I found out that you hurt my best friend or had something to do with him disappearing, I will make sure you will never be able to show your face here in town again. Do you understand me?" He asks, holding onto my arm very tightly, only releasing me when a middle-aged blonde-haired woman in a light brown trench coat confronts us with a full shopping cart.

"There you are. Are you ready to go?" She asks Zachary, but she keeps her eyes on me.

"Uh, yeah. I was talking to my friend, Maya... Eliot's girlfriend." Zachary answers like he was not threatening me a moment ago. But I wonder what Eliot said to make everyone think we were together.

"Oh wow!" She says. "I didn't know he had a girlfriend...But I am sure you are just as sad about his disappearance as the rest of us. Zachary and he have been best friends since fourth grade, and he is like a part of our family." She goes on, clutching her hands together, making it more personal. "But I try to stay positive, but we should get going, honey; I don't want the groceries to start defrosting. It was nice meeting you, Maya." She says before walking away towards the checkout section.

"I am assuming that's your mom. She seems nice." I say, trying to direct this conversation in a different direction, but that is impossible; Eliot is our common denominator.

"I'll see you around, Maya. Just remember what I told you." He says, walking away from me and following behind his mom.

I hesitate, torn between leaving the store or remaining here, for I don't want to run into Zachary and his mother again. I can't believe it, first Claudia, and now him - each day seems to be getting worse, with a guilty conscience as if I did something wrong. I feel my breathing getting heavier and my chest moving forward more than before; I try to take deep breaths, but it doesn't seem to work. I only want to ball into a little circle and hide from the world. I squat down in the fetal position, dropping my cart on the ground, only until I am silent enough in my mind.

"Ma'am, are you okay?" I hear someone ask me. I look up to see an employee looking at me; he's young, probably about 11th grade, playing with his work lanyard, twirling it in the air as he waits for an answer. "If you need me too, I can call medical-"

"No, no. I am fine." I say, standing back up, putting on that fake smile, and being that little actress again. "I was just looking for something."

"Okay." He shrugs, mentally clocking out from the conversation when I said 'no.' He then walks away, leaving me to my agenda. I need to get out of here; I leave my basket on random self and walk out of the store, but stop when I see the magazine stands. On the top left side of the rack is the 'River North Crier' and on the front page, Eliot is pictured in his baseball uniform. I pick up the newspaper and read the headline. 'Hometown Athlete's sudden disappearance'

It's no longer a little secret exclusive to a small group of people, his family and friends. But now anyone who can read, anyone who can search, anyone with a pulse can know. And it makes all of this so much more real.