Wesley

two

Time ticked by. The sky never changed its endless black and the music never stopped it's obnoxious thumping. Everything was still, and everything felt okay, but that feeling of discomfort still hung over my head.

I sat in the car with the heat on blast, scrolling through Twitter slowly, listening to soft music through the speakers. If I was lucky I was able to ignore the music and listen to my own.

School starts the day after tomorrow. A Tuesday. I'm starting my senior year. That's why everyone is partying so much this summer- so they can taste their last few nights as a high schooler on summer vacation. Because next year this time they will be at their desired college (or sitting around) partying there instead. With new people, new friends, a new location, and hopefully a new life. That's what everyone here hopes for anyway. They dream of the day they will be living in a big, beautiful house outside of the suburbs with a family and a job as a doctor or dentist.

Me? I don't know what I want to be. Hell, I don't even know where I want to go. One more college suggestion from my dad and I might burst into a million and one pieces. I just want to see where life takes me, I guess. Like a feather in the wind.

Or, in my case, a feather in a storm.

I check the time again. It's 1:57 am. Three more minutes. The weight comes off my chest and I lock my phone, start the engine, and stare at the door waiting for Hanna to stumble out.

1:58.

1:59.

2:00.

...

2:01.

I decide to text her, just to remind her. She probably just lost track of time.

Hey. It's 2. I'm waiting out front same place as before.

2:02.

Worst case scenarios flood through my head like water breaking through a dam. What if she is in trouble? What if she's tied up in a closet or being drowned in the swimming pool I assume is in the backward? My heart starts to skip a little faster and my heads start to sweat.

I squeeze the steering wheel to let the tension out. It's okay. You're just overreacting, Kendall. Give it a couple more minutes.

I do.

It's 2:08 now.

I have to go in. I have to go in that hell hole and find her.

I hesitantly turn off the car, open the door, and start walking on the stone path that leads up to the castle in front of me. Every step cut a little bit more at the rope holding anxiety over my head and I wait for it to crush me like a boulder. But the thought of finding Hanna and leaving kept me moving.

The door handle is freezing. In and out. I think. This won't take very long.

I walk inside. People shoot darts through their eyes at me when I squeeze past them, so I apologize just to make sure they don't stab me in the chest with their fake fingernails. Fumbling feet find their way to step on mine, the pungent smell of alcohol fills the room up to the brim, and two guys in the corner take a huff of what looks like marijuana, and I pull down my shirt to make sure it doesn't slide up.

"Excuse me. Sorry." I don't know if they can hear me over the blaring music, but I apologize anyway.

I swerve around a couple people dry humping each other, a couple people making out, and a girl who slaps another girl across the face. I cringe when she does and so does everyone else. I get away from that situation as quickly as possible.