Water Tower

Chapter 32

"MICHAEL!" I yell, slinging the car door open. "MICHAEL!"

"Mandy!" Mason says, grabbing my arm. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" He says, pulling me into his arms.

"Where'd Michael go?!" I ask, shoving him off.

"I don't know. I never saw him walk back in." Mason says. "Did he do anything to you?" Mason asks again.

"No he didn't do anything. I need to find him!" I say, trying to go around Mason, but he grabs my arm.

"You've spent long enough with him." Mason says.

"Mason you don't understand. I need to find him!" I say, trying to get out of his grasp.

"I'm sick of this! You care more about this druggie then you do me!" Mason says.

"Mason, where is all this coming from?" I ask, still trying to get out of his grasp.

"I've held it in long enough. It's either me or that crack head!" He yells.

"Mason, let go!" I say. He finally lets go of me.

"Fine. We're done." He says, throwing his hands up.

"Fine!" I say, turning away from him and running into the house. I ask multiple people if they have saw Michael, but they all say no. I run upstairs and look in the bedrooms but all I see is horny teens. I run back downstairs and run to the patio. I open the door and see everyone still there. "Did Michael come out here?" I'm slowly losing hope.

"No, why?" Luke says.

"Shit shit shit shit!" I say, running my hands through my hair. "We have to find him. Fast!" I say.

"Why? What's wrong?" Kaitlyn says, coming over to me.

"I don't know, but there is a possible chance that Michael may kill himself!" I say, crying.

"What? What do you mean?" Ashton says, getting up and walking over towards me.

"He was telling me how he had thoughts about it and attempted a couple times, but he thought he should see me again and we kissed and the last thing he told me was 'It's too late sweetheart. I've got a jet black heart. Just know I'll always love you.' He got out of the car and I haven't seen him since." I say, the tears still streaming down my face.

"We need to find him." Ashton says, grabbing Lauren's hand.

"Are you looking for Michael?" Some boy comes running out.

"Yes, have you seen him?" I ask.

"Yeah, he did about a couple of lines, took a few shots and left." The boy says.

"Wait, he isn't driving is he?" I ask.

"Yeah. He left by himself. I tried stopping him, told him there was a girl yelling for him, but he didn't listen." The boy says. I start walking towards the boy.

"Which way did he go?" I say.

"I think he went left, maybe." He says. I push past him and start towards the front door.

"Lauren and I will go right, just in case he went that way. You can ride with Kaitlyn and Luke." Ashton says. "We'll call if we find him, you guys call if you find him."

"Alright." I say, walking towards Luke's car. I get in the passenger seat.

"He is going to be alright. Don't worry." Luke says.

"I hope you're right Luke." I say.

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"Luke, I don't see anything." I say, looking out the window.

"We'll find him." Luke says. He has probably said that about a good 25 times so far.

"You've said that about a good 25 times." I say, looking at Luke.

"I'm sorry, what else should I say?" Luke says.

"Guys, just stay calm." Kaitlyn says.

"I'm just about to give up. I should've said more." I say, leaning back in my seat.

"We can't give up Amanda." Luke says.

"Hopefully we'll find him soon." Kaitlyn says. We drive a couple more miles until I see something.

"Luke, stop." I say. Luke stops in the middle of the road. I open the door and get out. "Guys, there are tire tracks right here." I say. Luke gets out and comes over to me.

"They're going towards this way." Luke says, following the tire tracks. We follow them until they disappear into darkness. The flashlights on out phones didn't really light up the area that well.

"Can you see if there is a better flashlight in the car?" I ask, walking closer. I bright light shines and it shows that there is a big drop off not far from where I'm standing.

"Amanda, don't walk any closer." Luke says, walking up next to me. He shines the light down over the drop off and there is a car down at the bottom.

"No no no no no no no!" I say, trying to get a better look at the car.

"I'll try to get down there to it. Kaitlyn, call 911." Luke says, "There is a little trail right down here."

"I'll go with you." I say.

"No, you stay here with Kaitlyn and call Ashton and Lauren." Luke says.

"Come on, let's go back to the car." Kaitlyn says.

"No. I'm staying right here." I say, feeling tears filling my eyes. "Maybe its not him." I say, "Maybe someone else went over the hill, or someone pushed their car over the hill. Yeah. He is somewhere. That can't be him." I say, rambling.

"I hope it's not him." Kaitlyn says, getting her phone and calling 911 and then calling Ashton and Lauren. Soon, we hear talking coming from over the hill.

"Come on buddy! Wake up! Come on! Idiot! Wake the fuck up! Please!" Luke's voice sounds panicked.

"Luke!" Kaitlyn yells, going over towards the edge.

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE THE AMBULANCE!?" Luke yells, worried laced in his voice. I get up and head towards the way Luke went down.

"Amanda, don't go down there!" Kaitlyn says, but I don't listen. I get walking down the steep path.

"Amanda, stay up there!" Luke yells.

"No!" I yell, trying not to fall down the path. I feel my foot slip and I land on my butt. A sharp pain shoots in my ankle.

"Amanda! Are you alright?" Luke asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I say, getting back up and walking back down the path. I finally reach where the car is.

"You shouldn't have come down here." Luke says. I look him in the eyes and see tears.

"I had too." I say. I take a deep breath and look at the drivers seat. What I see leaves me breathless. I take a step back and cover my month to keep in the scream they wanted to escape. I feel Luke's arms wrap around me. "No no no. That's not him." Michael is sat in the drivers seat, pale, looking like a ghost. Blood running down the side of his face.

"I don't know what to do Amanda." Luke says, hiding his face into my neck. I can't take my eyes off of Michael, but I notice him jerk a little.

"Luke." I say, pushing him off of me. I walk over to Michael and see if there is a pulse. "He has a pulse." I say.

"What?" Luke says, coming over to me.

"Michael. It's Amanda. If you can hear me, please try. I know you can do it." I say, grabbing his hand. "Please Michael. Do it for me." I say, leaning my head on his shoulder. Soon, the sound of sirens feel the air. "Michael, help is here. They're going to take you to the hospital and you're going to wake up. I know you will." I say.

"What's the name of the victim?" A EMT guy asks, coming down the steep path.

"Michael Clifford." Luke says. "He has a pulse."

"Ma'm, we're going to have to ask you to move." The guy says. Before I let go of Michael's hand I feel a weak, tight grip on my hand. "He is going to be alright."

"I know." I say.