Manhunt (Sequel to Bechloe - Chicago was a mistake)

Chapter 17 - Reminiscent

Chloe's POV

The radio turned on when we got into the car. Nelly's only just a dream started flowing softly through the speakers. I tried to keep it on but I couldn't. I remembered that night in the empty swimming pool in college. The admiration I had for Beca only grew that day. The way her mind effortlessly made us sound the way we did. Without her we would've sucked at the competition. Without her we never would've changed. Without her I'd probably have never sung again. After my surgery I would've been no use to the ordinary Bellas, she made a place for me. Now I was wondering if she was alive.

After a few hours questioning from the police we were finally allowed to leave. The bodyguard and I headed back to my house. I didn't want to be there what with all the memories of the missing girl but there was no where else to go. I called Aubrey and she said the three of them would be over as soon as possible. Emily was coming over too. I couldn't just sit around and wait for her to turn up I had to find her this time. Last time I left it to the cops and no one found her. I couldn't even imagine how she'd felt. No one had even come close to finding her let alone rescuing her. She must've felt alone, broken. When she was in that accident it was both a relief and it's own damnation. She was a broken girl and that hadn't changed over the years. Now I knew she'd been protecting us from her same treatment. I didn't want her to suffer. Then with the retreat. The shades of her stomach and back were horrifying then there was the sight of her in the tub. She was right, it had to end. I didn't know I had to lose her in the process.

Beca Mitchell had changed drastically over the years. When we first met she was grumpy, closed-off and completely focused on her music. With the help of our friends she opened up. Senior year she seemed a little more closed off but maybe she was just stressed? After graduation Fat Amy, Beca and I all moved to New York. It was pretty fun, I even got to share a bed with her. She was overjoyed when she first got her job but that came to pass. Then the whole shenanigans with the USO tour and her jealousy and moving to California. It only really escalated from there. Before she went missing the first time I could tell something was off with her but still went against my own judgement and ignored it. I was a mess when she was gone. She'd been that empty, broken, shell of herself since a little while before she left to basically now. She had her dream job but couldn't enjoy it, it seemed. I wanted my Beca back. Even if she wasn't the same girl from college or whenever I didn't care. I just want her.

I sat on her little rooftop. I'd never had the heart to change it so it was exactly the same. She thought it's best use was a place to think and honestly, I agreed. I also used it to remember her. Sitting on the same side I'd once found her asleep on I thought about all our stupid, little fights. Some of them were so petty now that I looked back or easily preventable. A prime example being when we went to Aubrey's death camp. It was fun while we were there but the fight wasn't. I was mad at her but she was right, I was scared, we all were. I was scared to leave my friends, family even, scared to join real life, scared to have to grow up. She was overwhelmed. She so desperately wanted to get her life in order before she left. She started pushing us away a little. I'm not sure I saw her enjoy mixing music that year. They were always for the Bellas or her job. That all came out that day. She started to take it out on me and I let her, even daring to do the same. The truth is that when Amy made that comment about us together I wanted that. I was too scared to just outright say it and tried to hint at it all the time. I guess my little friend didn't pick them up. I even let my anger out when she went up in the net. She was screaming about being scared and my heart dropped when she started to fall. The confessions were rather odd but so was she, it was part of her charm. That day seemed to be what everyone needed. I knew I cared for her already but that day helped solidify the fact that I loved her, as more than a friend. Around the campfire, singing to each other and showing emotion. The truth is when she fell in that net I felt my heart stop. If she hadn't have gotten up immediately I would've been right next to her, possibly attempting cpr.