Young and Hungry (Just Write it-2015)

Young and Missing 5

JOSH
I could feel her arms around me as the breeze swept over us leaving goosebumps in their wake. I could again smell the lakes water as it's soft smell envelopped us, overpowering her perfume only slightly. Through all of those wonderous senses only one stood out above all; the touch of her lips on mine. It was as if I was reliving all of it again. As if I could change how things had happened.. if we had stayed on the dock longer maybe.... if the photographer had asked to take more pictures then.... but it was no use.

Thinking through every possible change I could have made wasn't going to bring her back.

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"Did you send out the report?" I ask immediatly after I entered the living room, where everyone had gathered.

"Yeah. No word yet." Sophia says from the couch, her eyes sorrowfully glued to the floor.

"Well we have to go find her. Sending out a report just isn't enough." Yolanda says her hand still on Sophia's back continuously rubbing circles.

"We are, we are I'm just waiting on.."

"It's here. " Elliot says after several beeps emmit from his tablet.

"What is?" Yolanda asks.

"The helicopter." I say as I walk across the room and grab my coat and a bag of items that I had asked Yolanda to prepare for me.

"Sophia are you coming?" I ask now already standing in the doorway.

"Wait, are they not going with you?" She asks looking at Yolanda then to Elliot.

"No, you're more in shape then they are and I figured you and I would be better suited for an on the ground search. I've taught Elliot a few technical things and he should be able to help navigate the search via satellite. Yolanda was going to make a statement to the press if needed." I say my body shaking so hard I could barely force myself to stand still.

"Everybody listens to a black lady on Tv." She says trying, and failing, to sound cheery.

"You comin?"

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We finally take the flight of stairs to the roof and we both hop inside the black, vibrating helicopter. I thankfully had stopped shaking but Sophia wasn't so lucky.

"I'm afraid of heights." She says after she was already strapped into her seat. "But nothing is going to stop me from finding Gabi."

I have been in a helicopter quite a few times actually but never under these same pressurous circumstances.

"Where are we going?" The pilot asks me.

I silently hand him the map and point to the gas station we had spotted her thinking that would be the best place to start.