Turning Page | Embry Call [1]

Chapter 1

It was a dark, cold night when Riley left the bar. He pulled his coat tighter as he looked around. It was late yet he knew Grace would be sleeping, probably not up for a call. He didn't mean to leave so late or ignore her. That was alway the way though, it was always one of them would forget to call, one of them would not be available.

Half the time Riley wondered why they were still together. Sure, there were the memories they had, something he would cherish. But that was all it seemed, memories left behind.

Riley took out his phone and turned it on, seeing multiple texts.

Hey, sorry I was out.

Can I call you?

Riley?

Goodnight.

Riley sighs and types goodnight though it was already an hour later. Perhaps she was ignoring the signs that they were over too, he thought. They had grown apart, it was simple as that.

Riley walks through the rain, feeling the water crash against him, getting heavier by the second. He tries to get through the rain as his feet then making him crash.He looks up, seeing a dark figure before it quickly disappears. On the ground, he gasps, his heart beating faster against his chest. He stands up looking around, turning.

"Who's there?" He asks, though no one would answer his obvious question. "Who's there?" He asks again, his voice battling against the rain. He takes a deep breath, but before he could even make another move, someone grabs his throat, throwing him back into a wall.

He could feel the bruising form on his back and the pain radiate throughout his body but he still could get up. Slowly, Riley stands up once more, clutching his upper arm. He looks around until he saw a building. Calling for help, he runs towards it only to be blocked by his attacker. He started running the opposite direction, his feet smacking against the wet roads until he came up to the edge. A dead end. With wide eyes he steps off, turning in circles, feeling mad for getting attacked by something he could barely see. "What do you want?!" He yelled out.

His attacker bites him, and he felt excruciating pain. There was no other pain like that. The searing pain in his hand that spread making him scream and fall to the floor laying down. Staring at the bite once more, Riley yells out in pain, not noticing the phone that fell out of his pocket and ringing with the contact name of Grace.

Months later, Grace was still helping Riley's parents search for him. Her own family, her aunt, uncle, and cousins all offered their help, putting up missing person posters and getting the word out. But no one had heard or seen anything. He had just disappeared without a trace.

Riley was not just her boyfriend, but her best friend like family after not being too close to her own. Grace felt a panging in her chest as she stared at the papers plastered with his smiling face.

She felt the guilt go through her as she thought about her last few texts to him. To think she thought about breaking up with him before he was gone. At first she thought that night that he was ignoring her, delaying their fate. She wouldn't lie that she had ignored it too. But then his parents called her. They hadn't seen him and his friends hadn't seen him since that night. It wasn't like Riley to disappear without telling anybody.

And here she was, holding the posters to continue a search for him. Grace takes a deep breath, putting her coat closer to her body before she goes out the door. The wind blew against her face, feeling her cheeks get red already. She shudders, feeling strange though she did this most weekends she had time. Any stress she could take off of Riley's parents shoulders she put onto her own and accepted it. She wondered if he had not disappeared what she would be doing now.