Reflections of Light

The Lines Of Paranoia And Rationality

"Hey dude, you good?" Dec asked, sliding his drink along the bar to chat to his best mate Travis, who was typing hurriedly on his phone.

"Hang on..." Travis said, motioning for Dec to quiet down as he lifted the phone to his ear, listening to the dialling.

Then, he pulled a face and hung up. "She's not picking up."

"Who?"

"Nyx. She went out yesterday, and hasn't come back yet."

Dec took a lazy drink from his glass, shrugging nonchalantly. "It's probably fine. It's her birthday tomorrow, isn't it? She's probably out ... You know... Celebrating."

"She could ring. Or text."

"You literally said your call couldn't get through. Maybe her phone's having issues, simple as that."

Travis didn't respond, his thumbs once more working over the keyboard of his mobile.

Dec sighed. "Look, have you tried ringing her friends? Or... Is she seeing someone? Because I don't know about you, but if I were going to be twenty tomorrow, I'd be with them."

"Yeah, but... She could still call."

"She's probably very distracted, Travis." Dec said with heavy intonation.

Travis grimaced, and put the phone back to his ear. "I'm ringing Maddie. See if she knows."

She hadn't been in her room the previous night. He knew that, as when he'd come to see her once more, the room had lain bare in the pale lamplight, the stillness of the air suggesting the place had been unentered for hours.

Immediately every worst possibility had flashed through his mind, playing out their taunting scenes on the edge of his minds eye.

Then, shaking his head, he rationalised it to himself; she had family who were always going out at all hours, she had friends who whilst may have been few were close.
Most likely, she had chosen not to stay in the house that night, and to take some time for herself; and it was selfish of him to believe otherwise. He was being paranoid.

But where did the lines between paranoia and rationality cross?

Slipping back out of the window, he'd headed off down the road, away from the house.

"... So, she went out yesterday, around the afternoon, spent the night away from home and hasn't returned yet? Travis, mate, that's not a cause to panic.
She's a grown woman, practically. She's allowed to do things like this."

"Normally, yes, I'd agree." Travis nodded, scanning through his texts in search of any hint. "However, you told me yourself, some weird stuff has been happening around here lately. You can't blame me for being concerned."

Dec groaned, knowing he couldn't fault his friends logic even as he found it a stretch. "Okay, okay. So, she's not with Maddie. Who else is she likely to be with? A boyfriend maybe? Girlfriend?
I don't know what your sister likes."

"Chris."

"I'm sorry?"

"She's been hanging out with that guy Chris a lot. Like, it's fairly obvious there's something between them." Travis replied, taking a steadying draught from his drink. "Works here, doesn't he?"

"Yeah." Dec said, a distracted edge to his voice, his expression loosing it's magnetic cheerfulness as his eyes scanned the small bar room. "Yeah, he does."

"Great." Travis chirped, oblivious to Dec's sudden change. "Can you call him for me? I don't have his number."

"No need, he's right there." Dec said, gesturing with his eyes.

Travis looked over his shoulder, seeing the man in question. "Oh, hey Chris. Didn't see you there."

Taking it as an invitation, 'Chris' came over to the bar, and into their conversation.

"What's this about Nyx?"

"Oh, we can't find her." Travis said, giving his phone a gestural shake. "I've called her, but it says her phone is out of range.
We were wondering if she was with you, or... Well, she's evidently not with you."

"Where would she go?" He demanded, the suspicion he'd felt earlier in her room crashing over him like a tidal wave. "Is there someone she'd go out with? Would she go to a club or somewhere?"

"We don't know." Dec answered in a flat tone, stern eyes booring into the man before him.

"She's not with any of her friends." Travis contributed. "Not any of her usual ones, anyway."

"Well, I'm not staying here, I'm going to find her." He got up, going to head to the door.

Travis got up as well. "I'll come with you..."

"Whoa, Whoa, hang on!" Dec cut in. "Nobody go anywhere yet. We're not done here. No one overreact."

His hands were out in a motion to communicate them both to stop, but his eyes were trained on 'Chris', watching him like one watches a snake in the grass.

"Look, Dude, this is my sister." Travis said, eyes pleading with his friend.
Dec steeled his nerves, sympathy for Travis swirling in his gut in a brew of suspicion and instinct.

He couldn't let Travis leave. Not with HIM.

"Look, Trav, before you rush off half cocked, why don't you try phoning the hospital? If anything has happened, chances are she'll be there."

It'd at least occupy him for a while.

"You do that, I'm going to look for her." Chris half-snarled; as Travis dialled up the hospital, excusing himself to the back room to take the conversation.

"Chris... A word?" Dec said, signalling him back over.

He came over, a scowl pasted across his face. "I don't have time for this."

"Trust me, it's relevant." Dec assured in a neutral yet light manner. "When was the last time you saw Nyx?"

"The night before last. She was there. She. Was. THERE."

"I'm not implying she wasn't, or anything really. I just want to know how she was. Was she acting strange... Upset, maybe?" He suggested, pressing for information and praying it was nothing like he suspected.

"... A little."

The confession shocked Declan to his core.

"She... It was after the fight; you know the one, here.
I was hurt, I went to see her... She was upset about it, of course..."

"That does put a different spin on it." Dec said, nodding.

"What, you think I did something?" It sounded more like an accusation than a question.

"Not necessarily." Dec said, trying to smooth it out. "I'm just saying, if she was upset, that could be a factor..."

"Are you saying she ran away?"

"I don't know, did she?" Dec's expression was one of pure accusation.

'Chris's' hand collided with the bar top, the sound making Dec flinch reflexively. "This. Is. Ridiculous. I'm going to find her."

He turned on his heel, and swept out of the bar; ignoring Dec's various objections.

Watching the man leave, Dec picked up his own phone; he had some important calls to make.

Dun, dun, duuuuun!
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