THE STARKS ALLEY

21

KELSIE'S POV

7 AM, Friday.
Cold, freezing to the bone.
I had my hot mug of milk with me, as usual.

I was at The Starks Alley which was almost empty ever since the movie launch party. Most people were on a well deserved break.

Clearly, my intention for reporting to work everyday that week wasn't to actually get some work done. No, I was hoping to see Kristie on one of those days.

She didn't show up. Not on any one of the days because I was always there, waiting for her. I needed to talk to her, getting desperate with every minute. I could just call her, I know, but it was something I needed to say, face to face. A lot of somethings.

That night I tried to follow her but she locked Dale, Kelly and I in room twenty at Hotel Sankara. After making a few phone calls, someone finally came through and helped us out. I had never spoken to either of them since that day.

I have to man up and face her.

I got into my car and I drove to Crammer West. It was all my fault she had to live there and I regret that mistake.

I went up the seven floors to get to Kristie's apartment. I can't imagine going up seven floors daily, especially after work.

I rang her rusty doorbell, but no one came to the door. I turned the door knob to try my luck and turns out, the door was unlocked. I became nervous, not knowing what Kristie would think when she saw me.

I slowly opened the door and it made a long, loud creak. There was no one in the living room. It looked like no one had been there for days.

I quickly went to her bedroom but she wasn't in! She either knew I was coming or... Kristina Bulero was missing! I noticed a piece of paper on her bed with a few writings on it and I quickly read it and it shook me.

I can't feel anything.

I can't breath; Neck, strangled by betrayal

I can't... I just can't

Did she...No. I'm all up in my head. She needed a long break after that night and one week was not enough for her. I decided to leave her apartment and go back to The Starks Alley. On my way out, I bumped into Mr. Haymahn. His name still amused me. He looked at me full of cheer, like he usually was.

"Hello Kelsie," he said, "I am happy you passed by. I am concerned."

"About what?"

"Miss Kristie. She hasn't been here for the whole week."

A whole week?

"That can't be... Where could she be?"

"I have no idea. Something really bad could have happened to her." I remained speechless as I looked at him; trembling silently. If anything had happened to her, it would all be my fault. I would never forgive myself for that.

I left Crammer West quickly and drove home, trying not to think of the worst. I was guilty for keeping the truth about Dale from her and being a bad best friend to her. I just hope she was alright, wherever she was.

Exactly two weeks had passed and Kristie still hadn't reached out to anyone at The Starks Alley. We were about to begin on a new series and Kristie was needed urgently at work.

"Have you been in contact with Kristie?" Kelly asked me one morning as I had been thinking about her, "She's not responding to my calls and she's not at her apartment."

"No."

"I think you do."

"I don't."

"You look like you do."

"What do you want me to look like, huh?? Should I weep for you to know I'm devastated by her silence? Should I rip my heart out so you can see how much I care for her? Or do you want to have a look at my brain to see how much I think about her!?"

"Don't shout at me because this is all your fault, okay? YOUR FAULT! If you hadn't asked me to come with you that night, maybe she would still be my fake girlfriend!"

"What did you just say?" That was quite the twist I never expected.

"Kristie is my fake girlfriend and dad has been asking for her a lot lately and I am running out of lies. We need to find her, quick!"

"So that's why he's been favouring her all this time!"

"Even at this moment, you can't help but get jealous of her."

"I'm not. I'm just saying it adds up. This is what I found at her apartment." I gave him the piece of paper I had collected that day.

"She's dead," Kelly said giving the paper back to me, "She's dead and it's because of us!"

"She isn't dead Kelly!!" I tried to reason with him, "She writes when she's sad and this is one of those writings. Trust me, I know."

"I don't know where else to look. So we'll wait until she comes back to work," he said.