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Chapter 2

Connie thought back to the group as she carefully navigated the crumbling gap. It seemed to come back to her much easier now, perhaps she felt more grounded with Virginia. She felt pity for the woman who was much more visibly distressed, unable to push down her feelings like Connie was able to. She couldn't recall much about the poster shop, or waking up, but the memories of the café were much clearer...

"Yeah well I still think I should of driven" Leland spat out.

"Of course you do" Sonny muttered back. 

They were sat side by side glaring at one another as Julie browsed the menu. Connie was sat beside her and Ana, with Sonny and Leland across the table nearer the door. They both had arrived late with Julie due to traffic, and Sonny bit his tongue as they both made snide but truthfully light-hearted comments about his driving. Julie placed the menu down and fiddled with her platted hair,

"I'm not getting breakfast unless you guys are".

Connie looked to her left at her, shifting on the old leather booth. It felt decades old.

"Just order something Julie no one cares."

Julie rolled her eyes back and handed the menu to Sonny.

"Why do you all look so miserable" She muttered.

"Ana has something she wants to talk to you about actually." Connie replied.

Ana looked bewildered. "Danny isn't here".

"It's 9.34am and we were meeting at 9am. I don't think he's coming, he's probably with Maria himself."

"I guess..."

Ana went on to explain her predicament, nervously fiddling with the end of her dress. A large clock ticked above them as everyone but her remained silent during the telling. She pulled out the stack of missing posters and held them up to show the group. Sonny looked genuinely worried with Leland studying the details. Julie reached over and placed her hand on her friend's shoulder reassuringly and Connie nodded along with Ana's recollection of being at hers yesterday. She was about to speak when Ana finished, but before she could a waitress walked over, flicking open her notepad.

"What would you like?"

She seemed disinterested but they could hardly blame her, the building was empty of customers apart from them and it had already been open multiple hours. That was usually the case though. They placed various orders, mostly drinks, with Julie and Sonny ordering sandwiches. Sonny doing so more to please Julie than to cure any kind of hunger. The waitress nodded and walked off towards the counter across the building. The place was run down, letters missing off the sign outside, aged booths and various scratches across the floor. The group had enjoyed meeting there for months as it was local and convenient, they'd meet up to do schoolwork or just chat whenever they were free. Despite its misgivings they loved it dearly. Once she had moved fully out of earshot, Connie began.

"So we were talking, and ya know, we think it's worth looking for her. Like getting out there."

"Well that's not dangerous at all," Julie snorted back.

"We know what way she went and we can take Leland's car."

He looked back with hesitation, and she glared.

"We've not seen or heard from Danny either in case you forgot."

"They must be together somewhere, why do we need to look for them?" Julie commented again. 

"God dammit Julie," Sonny spoke, "Maria and Danny have been missing for almost 3 days now why do you think they wanna go find her? If my girlfriend was missing for even a day I'd be in hysterics, let alone a sibling." 

"This is ridiculous, look I don't want to end up missing too!".

Everyone looked at her in shock and awkwardness filled the air as the waitress walked over with drinks. She quickly placed them down sensing the tension before hurrying away.

"Jesus Christ Julie!" Connie snapped at her. Sonny nodded in agreement as he mixed sugar into his coffee.

"No no it's okay," Ana blurted out, "I understand her. It is kind of scary just wandering out into nowhere, I get it I do. But I want to go."

Julie diverted her eyes away from Leland across from her, who was still looking surprised. She glanced out the grimy window into the mostly empty car park, littered with sand blown in the wind. Truthfully she was worried. She felt fear for her friend but also for herself. The sun was burning strong that day, paired with walking around in the middle of nowhere, it just didn't seem like a smart idea for them all to go out. To put everyone else in danger when the police were already involved seemed unwise; Julie felt so guilty. She loved Maria, she was as sweet as they came. Along with Connie they'd go watch Ana's cheerleading practice at weekends and she'd joyfully encourage her sister from the side-lines, exploding in supportive shrieks of joy whenever they completed a whole routine successfully. She always showed up without fail for Ana even when herself and Connie couldn't make it, rain or shine. They were extremely close sisters and for that she understood Ana's fear.

"Yeah, I'm sorry Ana. I'm just worried one of us will get hurt, and that won't help Maria. I am worried for her too "

Ana smiled at her, she didn't seem much begrudged by her comments before.

"It's alright."

Once Sonny's and Julie's meal arrived, they ate in silence. Everyone was too deep in thought to chat; it seemed inappropriate due to the nature of the situation anyway. Connie drank her tea while watching the clock tick on. Leland fiddled with his shirt collar, while Ana leant against Connie, eyes full of mental agitation. She was conflicted between her sister and keeping her friends safe, was asking them unfair? More people looking would help her after all, yet Julie's concerns were rational. Of course she was scared about wandering out in a desert for hours. But her decision to go wasn't and couldn't be dictated by them. She was going.  Sonny finished before Julie and took the initiative to break the silence by rooting in his jean pockets, pulling out a crumpled map. 

"This is map-"

Julie cut in with a grin "Evidently."

Sonny huffed and resumed, "... it has newt on here. You say this is where she was last seen Ana?".

"Yes."

He nodded and pointed.

"So we are here, Newt is an hour away. It's even smaller than here, realistically we could cover a lot of ground just today. And that's assuming we stick together, we aren't pulling no stupid shit. I don't see why we can't just spend an afternoon looking guys."

Sonny looked at everyone expectantly. 

Connie nodded, "I was going anyway, Maria is our friend."

Leland wiped his mouth with his sleeve, "Suppose I don't need to be anywhere and I can see how it upsets you Ana, even if I'm not super close to Maria. I'll come."

Everyone turned to look at Julie, her fingers nervously tapping on the worn table.

"As long as we stick together, I'm just worried. Maria needs to be found sooner rather than later. God knows the police are useless around here... okay. I'll come."

Ana's face lit up, "Thank you."