The Chloenicles #1 [COMPLETE]

CHAPTER 16: Lose my number

The minute I stepped outside The Hot Spot and was back on the corner of the cobbled street, my phone hit reception and figuratively exploded.
For a couple of minutes, all I could do was stand there, with the buzzing, blinking rectangle in my hand, waiting for it to be done with catching up with every message I had received over the last two days.
Once I could be sure that the explosion was over, I dared to take a closer look. Next to the messaging app and my missed calls was a little red number that said ‚99+'.
Oh boy.
I opened my text messages and scrolled through them.
So many numbers I did not have as contacts in my phone had written me.
I opened one of the text from an unknown number and read it.
Hi Chloe remember me we haven't spoken in a long time!

If you read this please come back! Thinking of you, Love Marcus

Marcus?
Did I know a Marcus?
Oh, maybe it was my seventh grade boyfriend Marcus.
The only time we ever spoke was when he asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes. We had not exchanged a word before we got together and we had not spoken since.
So technically, we were still dating, I guess.

I shook my head.
How dared he to wait nearly eight years until his girlfriend went missing before he called her?

I had heard through the grapevine that he was dating men now.
Hopefully, they did not need to be kidnapped before he remembered to talk to them again.
I closed the message and continued to scroll.
Between all the unfamiliar phone numbers I spotted my high school friend Susi's name.
Let's see what she had to say.

„If I was allowed I'd kidnap you and tie you to a chair
Because you not being with me just isn't fair
I'd look you in the eyes and never let you leave
Because when it comes to your love I'm just a thief"
- Riki, flawless 5, „Song for my sweetheart", verse 2
Chloe, I miss you, I hope your kidnapper at least treats you as well as Riki would his girl. 

I had to laugh a little.
Classic Susi, quoting the douchebag 5.

I knew she meant well, but I was quite happy that Miranda and Paul Herford did not treat me like Riki would his girl.

I opened another message from a number I did not know.

Chloe, I'll hope you come back safe and unharmed!
Christine

Oh yeah, Christine from first semester chemistry class.
I think she had brown hair.
I read more messages like Christine's. Some people did not even bother to write their name underneath it. How was I supposed to know who has sent it to me?
I also was not sure if I thought it was cute that so many people cared about my whereabouts, or if I had to think of them as attention seeking phonies, who just dug up my number to text me because It was cool to care at the moment.
I was glad that my reception was not strong enough to visit a social network. I did not even want to begin to imagine what people posted on there about me right now.

The last message I opened was a text from Max.

Chloe on the off chance that you are reading this: We are looking for you.
We'll get you back. Stay strong!

I sighed.
You could say what you wanted about Max, but he was a good egg. I usually was so busy being annoyed by him that I did not give him enough credit for that.
I remembered the image of him, Laura and Angela with their posters in front of the superstore, I had seen on TV earlier.
I decided to text him back.

Max don't worry I'm fine! I'm with friends. You can stop looking for me!

I stopped. This felt a little cold to me. After all, he had pledged to do whatever the kidnapper wanted to get me back.
I added:
Thank you for all your effort!

Then I realized that a kidnapper would probably say exactly that when they got a hold of their victim's phone. With the hopes of him remembering I wrote:
And please, stop hiding pizzas under newspapers in our fridge!
Chloe, who is NOT a drug dealer