who is...she?

twenty-six

jana's pov

it had been hours since we last saw alexia.

aitana and i had arrived at the club together, expecting a fun night out, the kind of night where we'd forget about everything else and just live in the moment. alexia was supposed to meet us here. she said she'd be a little late, something about needing to clear her head. we didn't think much of it—everyone had been a little stressed lately. life had been heavy for all of us.

we waited at the bar, watching the crowd, half-expecting alexia to come through the door any minute, her usual smile in place. but she didn't. not after the first hour. not after the second.

"should we call her?" aitana asked, checking her phone. she'd already texted her a few times, but there were no replies. i could see the worry starting to creep onto her face.

"maybe she's just gone outside," i said, trying to reassure both her and myself. "you know how she is. sometimes she just needs some space."

but deep down, i was starting to feel uneasy too. alexia wasn't usually like this. if she said she was going to be somewhere, she'd show up.

after another hour of waiting, aitana couldn't sit still anymore. "this isn't right, jana," she muttered, her voice low, like she didn't want to say it out loud. "something's off. let's go look for her."

we left the bar, weaving our way through the crowded club, scanning every face, every corner. alexia was nowhere to be found. the music was loud, the kind of thumping bass that makes your chest vibrate, but my mind was only half there. all i could think about was where she could be, and why she wasn't answering her phone.

we asked around—bartenders, people we recognized from our circle, even strangers. nobody had seen her. the club seemed endless, a maze of flashing lights and people moving too fast, faces blurring into each other. i felt aitana's grip on my arm tighten as we moved through the crowd, her worry matching mine.

then, finally, we thought we had a lead. a girl we'd seen around before said she'd seen alexia heading toward the back, near the bathrooms. "she didn't look good," the girl said, frowning. "like, really not good."

my stomach dropped at her words. aitana and i exchanged a glance, and without saying anything, we rushed to the back of the club.

the hallway leading to the bathrooms was dimly lit, almost too quiet compared to the chaos of the main floor. the thumping of the music felt distant now, muffled. my heart pounded in my chest as we approached the door. aitana knocked, then pushed it open when there was no response.

the smell hit me first—the mix of alcohol, disinfectant, and something else, something metallic.

"alexia?" aitana's voice was small, shaky.

i followed her into the bathroom, my eyes scanning the stalls. that's when i saw it. one of the stalls was slightly ajar, the light flickering above it. i hesitated, my breath catching in my throat as i pushed the door open wider.

alexia was there, slumped on the floor. her body was covered in cuts, deep and angry, her hands trembling as she held a small, bloodied razor blade. her face was pale, her eyes distant, like she wasn't even fully there.

"oh my god," aitana gasped, dropping to her knees beside her. "alexia, what—"i froze for a second, my mind trying to catch up with what i was seeing. there was so much blood. too much. my heart raced, panic clawing at my chest.

"jana, call for help!" aitana shouted, her voice snapping me out of my daze. she was already pulling off her jacket, pressing it against alexia's arms, trying to stop the bleeding.

my hands fumbled as i pulled out my phone, dialing emergency services with shaking fingers. my voice was barely steady as i gave them the details, my eyes never leaving alexia.she wasn't speaking. she wasn't even looking at us. her eyes were glassy, unfocused, as if she was somewhere else entirely. i could hear aitana whispering to her, begging her to stay with us, but alexia didn't respond.

the minutes that followed felt like hours. aitana stayed by alexia's side, her hands pressing down on the wounds, her face pale but determined. i stayed on the phone, giving them updates, my mind racing with a thousand thoughts, none of them making any sense.

why didn't we notice sooner? how long had she been like this? how could we not have known?when the paramedics finally arrived, it was a blur of movement. they pushed past us, lifting alexia onto a stretcher, wrapping her arms in bandages, their faces serious. they worked quickly, but carefully, speaking to each other in calm, practiced voices.

"she's lost a lot of blood," one of them said, glancing at us. "but she's stable for now. we need to get her to the hospital."

aitana looked at me, her eyes wide and filled with fear. "we should go with her."i nodded, not trusting myself to speak. my throat was tight, my chest heavy with emotions i couldn't even begin to process. this didn't feel real. it couldn't be real.

we followed the paramedics out of the club, the flashing lights of the ambulance casting eerie shadows across the street. aitana held onto my arm, her grip tight, as if she was afraid to let go.

as the ambulance doors closed, taking alexia away, i felt a tear slip down my cheek. i wiped it away quickly, but aitana saw. she didn't say anything, just pulled me closer, her head resting on my shoulder.

"we'll figure this out," she whispered, though her voice wavered. "we'll help her. somehow."

but as i stood there, watching the ambulance drive off into the night, i wasn't sure if i believed her. i wasn't sure if we could help alexia. not when we didn't even know how she'd gotten to this point.

all i knew was that we had to try. no matter how long it took.

-----

we head back inside, where we make our way back to the table where all the other girls are sat. i sit down next to ingrid and mapi, whom i can both rely on for telling the others what happened to alexia. i let both the girls know, who tell me they are both here for me and that they will make sure to look after alexia.

as the night comes to an end, i have an uneasy feeling settling in my stomach. knowing that it was aitana and i that were able to find alexia in the bathroom before things got worse. what i really want to know though, is was it her that did it do herself or the people that ran out of the bathroom when i called out her name?

i had this uneasy feeling settling in my stomach. for some reason, i felt as if i knew the girl that ran out of the bathroom. i'm not really sure why, because she didn't look like anyone i knew, but it didn't stop the strange feeling in my body.

who was it?

there might be a plot twist but idk...

also i figured out what to write for my next book!!!

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