Bitch Be Gone

Chapter 16: Every Little Thing is Gonna Be Alright

Ryan's P.O.V.

It had been two days since we were called into the police station. I had stayed home from school on Tuesday and Wednesday, but since it was the last week before Christmas break, I decided to go on Thursday.

It didn't take me long to realize that the fact that I couldn't remember anything from the night Andrea went missing couldn't have been a coincidence. I was trying my hardest to remember what I had done and seen that night, but still nothing came to my mind. Until I remembered anything, I just had to hope and pray that the police wouldn't be asking me any more questions. Sure, I might've been Andrea's boyfriend, but how can the guy who claims to remember nothing from the night she went missing not look even a little bit guilty. The authorities were doing whatever they could to find Andrea, but I wished I had at least some information to help them out.

I hadn't told Elizabeth about Andrea because I knew they were close, and I didn't want her to have to worry about it. Although I wasn't going to tell her, that didn't mean the media and other people were going to keep their mouth shut. Ever since Andrea's mom called it in, people around town all started to figure out about Andrea. It wouldn't be long 'til the story was at least on the local news.

It wasn't the media I was most scared to face, though. I hadn't spoke to any of my friends since we were all at the police station on Monday, but I knew that was about to end as I pulled into the parking lot of Westview High.

Once I found a parking spot, I hopped onto the asphalt and grabbed my backpack from the passenger seat. As I walked toward the front entrance of the school, I noticed all the people around me were shooting me sympathetic looks. I hadn't even thought about all of the students at my school knowing about the disappearance of my girlfriend. I wasn't just getting looks from fellow students, either. The teacher's looks were even more intense and depressing. It didn't get any better once I entered the building, either. At least in the hallways it was crowded enough that I couldn't tell if people were staring at me or somebody else, even though I knew they were all looking at me. I could at least pretend though.

Out of habit, I started heading towards the courtyard that was located in the middle of the building. Once I reached the glass doors, I noticed Bri and Grant talking to each other beside the picnic table Andrea and I would always sit at. They both had a panicked look plastered on their face. It wan't long until I was spotted by Bri. She gestured for me to hurry up. I pulled open one of the doors to enter the courtyard, and then began to speed walk over to where Bri and Grant were chatting. I was planning to just go hide in the library once I got to school, but I guess plans change. I was scared to go where my friends were and risk the chance of talking about Andrea. Although I was fully aware of what happened to her, I wasn't ready to talk about it. For some reason I thought that if I didn't say it out loud, then it wouldn't be real. Maybe that sounds crazy, but I knew that if I really talked about it and acknowledged it then I would end up getting way more depressed than I already was.

"Merry Christmas!" I heard a voice chirp from behind me. I turned around to see Emma, one of my friends from church. We never really talked at school since we both hung out with different people, but when we did hang out I always had a lot of fun.

She reached into a plastic Walmart bag she was holding in her hand. I could see the outline of something red and green inside the bag, but I couldn't tell what it was. Before I could even think, Emma flung her hand towards me and I was soon covered in Christmas colored confetti. As much of a bad mood I was in, that still got me to laugh. I looked up at Emma's face which was bright red from laughter. I loved the positive energy that she gave off.

I smiled at her. " You know Emma, you're the first person that has actually gotten me to smile in a long time..." That wasn't a lie. I mean, of course i'd smiled since Andrea went missing, but they weren't real smiles. I immediately began regretting what I said. Emma was trying to spread happiness, and I, Mr.Debby Downer, had to ruin it by bringing up Andrea. I didn't say her name specifically, but I could tell Emma knew what I meant. I felt bad, but I couldn't help it. There wasn't one second that I didn't spend thinking about Andrea since she went missing. Normally the thought of her alone would bring me joy and happiness, but now it only brought me sorrow and sadness. It's not like Andrea was dead, but I still felt like I had lost her forever.