*Its surprising how I just magically turned this into a mystery...oh well, I hope you enjoy!*
It's been...weeks since that party. Eliza's party. The party where she was sure that she was being stalked. I remember Tanyon not being there to make sure that she for sure was not being stalked. The stalker took a picture of her front window. It showed Eliza smiling and looking at the TV. We couldn't find the stalker but we made sure to report this. The party ended on a bad note, obviously. At first, I was concerned, but I was sure that it was some kid or something that was trying to scare people. I didn't know how wrong I was about this not being the most major problem because now, she was nowhere to be seen.
A few weeks after the party...
I entered a Starbucks cafe with a sigh. I found Naail sitting in a chair, looking majorly concerned as he kept sipping his hot coffee. I walked over to him and sat across from him, catching his attention. He quickly changed his expression, soon turning into worry. "Hey, are you alright Nimrah?" I sighed and covered one half of my face, frowning. "N-no Naail..i can't find her.." Naail frowned and looked away for a moment. Eliza's disappearance has taken such an effect in me. I still search for her everywhere. Our old dorm room, the park, the lake..everywhere! But she was nowhere to be seen. "You reported her missing right, Nimrah?" Naail asked, concern hinting at his voice. I nodded. Of course I would, "I did..a long time ago too. The police are still trying to search for her, but she's nowhere." Naail sighed and looked down at his coffee, "Her family must be worried sick." I nodded, adding, "And Tanyon. Oh I can't imagine how he must be feeling..." Tanyon also took this hard and we haven't been seeing much of him at all. We also thought that he might be searching for Eliza, but we haven't talked to him. Naail nodded, pushing away his coffee a bit. I sighed sharply and brought my hand down, looking at Naail with a painful expression, "What should I do Naail? Why did she suddenly disappear? Was it the stalker or something? Did she just want to ditch everyone?!" Naail shushed me and took my hand, motioning me to stand up. "Nimrah.." he tried whispering, but I couldn't deal with my sorrow. "Why Naail?!" Naail took me out of the cafe and hugged me tightly, letting me sob on his shirt. He comforted me and took me home, not letting my hand go. We sulked over Eliza over our way home and once we entered our home, Naail took me and walked me over to the couch, hugging me and softly brushing my hair with his fingertips. He looked down at me with sorrow. "Nimrah..we don't know why Eliza would do such a thing. It's so unnatural of her.." I looked at him and loudly spoke, "I know! So she probably didn't do this! It's probably the stalker!" Naail nodded slowly, agreeing with me. I suddenly had an idea. What if the stalker was Hardin?! I stood up quickly, letting go of Naail's embrace, and approaching the front door, grabbing my things. Naail quickly stood up and wakes up to me, grabbing my hand and looking concerned, "Wait wait, where are you going?" I turned and frowned, giving him a painful expression, "I'm paying a visit to a dickhead."
***
I entered the same Starbucks that I entered last time and looked around the cafe. I looked at the counter and wanted to scream out of anger. Hardin wasn't there. Maybe he was just working somewhere behind the counter, I thought. I walked up to a barista. He had blonde sandy hair, with blue eyes. He immediately noticed me and gave me a quirky smile. I spoke with a rushed tone, "Hey! Um, do you know if a Hardin still works here? Or y'know is still here?" He puts a cup down and looks around. "Uh no actually. I think he ended his shift. Why ask?" He smirked down at me and I felt a little uncomfortable, "Well i really need to see him." I said. He shrugged and picked up his cup. "I mean why would you need to talk to him?" He asked, filling up the cup with some coffee, "Doesn't he seem kinda weird? Like..perverted weird?" He added. That was kinda true, I mean this is why I think he had something to do with Eliza's disappearance. "Well yeah, but if he isn't here, then there's no other reason for me to be here. Have a good day sir", I said as I took my things. "It's actually Andy," he spoke and I smiled at him before turning. "Have a good day Andy." I left the cafe and sighed. Eliza..where are you? I asked. Everyone is worried about you. I felt defeated and horrible, so, I walked back home, feeling defeated.
***
The next day
Naail and I walked over to a bar a couple of days after my encounter with Andy. We were both exhausted and Naail suggested that we might take some drinks. Once we arrived and sat down, we turned our faces to the side and gasped. It was Tanyon. It wasn't the goofy and funny Tanyon however. He looked like one of those guys that are struggling to lose with a couple of drinks to take them away from reality. Naail and I looked at each other and nodded. We both knew that Tanyon was seriously not alright and we needed to help him. Like Eliza always said, friends will always be there for each other through the darkest times. We needed to be the friends Eliza was talking about. We both stood up and walked over to Tanyon. Tanyon laid his head on the cool surface of the table and crossed his arms on top of the table, hiding his face. Naail placed a hand on his shoulder and shook it. "Hey man," he said, "are you alright?" Tanyon looked up at him. His eyes puffy and red from crying and his expression dark. "Well, what the hell do you think Naail?" He answered roughly. Naail frowned and laid his hand on his shoulder. "I know how you must feel Tanyon. I also feel deeply upset by her disappearance.." I said as I frowned and looked down. Tanyon looked over at me and held a breath in. "I can't fucking take that in! I want her back..why did she despair damn it!" He slammed his hand on the table harshly, catching the attention of other people in the bar. I started to tear up because I felt bad for him. He's taking it so harshly and breaking apart. He misses her. We all miss her. I looked at Naail and we both met our gazes. I walked over to him and grabbed his hand, pulling him to a corner. "We have to find her! Like right now!" I spoke as my voice cracked. Naail sighed and pulled me into a warm embrace. "Yeah we have to, but do you have any idea where she is? What about that Hardin guy? Did you find him." I shook my head and pulled away from his embrace, holding his hands and tracing my fingers on his veins. "No, I found another guy, but im sure he knows nothing." Naail perked up a little. "What's his name?" He asked. "His name's Andy, but like I said I'm sure-" Before I could continue, I noticed his expression. He looked a bit shocked with a mix of confusion. "Hold on Nimrah.." He said softly. He ran over to Tanyon and shook him, trying to get his attention. "Shit! Tanyon, Nimrah said she found a guy. Its Andy Hood.." Tanyon looked at him with shocked expressions on stood up. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!!" I was so confused. Why are the two of them getting shocked because of him? I walked up to them and asked, "wait, why are you guys freaking out about Andy?" Naail and Tanyon looked at each other with a worried expression, before looking at me. "Andy was almost committed to murdering someone." I wanted to freeze and faint at that moment. "WHAT?!" I yelled, catching one again the attention of other people. "Sandy blonde hair with blue eyes?" A voice spoke up. We all turned and gasped. It was Hardin. He wore dark clothing with ripped jeans and a loose shirt. "What the hell are you doing asshole?" Tanyon spoke up, taking a step towards him. He shook his head and sighed. "Seriously? I let the girl drink away her feelings with her own will and i'm the asshole?" I blushed a little from embarrassment, but my anger was peaking. "DID YOU TAKE HER?!" I yelled at him and walked towards him. He backed away and looked a bit scared. He then sighed and whispered, "Let's talk about this outside hm?" We all walked outside slowly, keeping our guards up in case he were to do anything to us. Once we were outside, we turned to him with our faces piercing from anger. He looked scared once again. "My God, please stop looking at me like that, I'll give you a simple answer. No, I didn't take that coward lady." I stepped forward and slapped him. "Do not call her a coward!" I yelled at him. He rubbed his cheek and sighed. "Look, I'm trying to help you and all you guys do is freaking yell and accuse too quickly." He said as he backed away from us. We came closer to him and I could swear that Tanyon was looking at him like he wanted to just kill him right then and there. Hardin cleared his throat before speaking, "Andy was drunk one night and well he started rambaling on about wanting to kidnap some girl and probably rape her and stuff. We thought he was just joking since he was clearly drunk, but..maybe he really did take Eliza.." Hardin looked closely at both Naail and Tanyon. "Wait..you guys were there! I remember you were sitting with him and then walked away from him." I turned around and looked at both of them. "What happened at that time boys?" Naail looked over at me with worry, while Tanyon looked down and covered his face with his hands. Naail took a breath and grabbed both of my hands his. I looked up at him with worry. "Please," I said, "Tell me what happened at that time." Naail sighed and embraced me in a tight hug, which I returned, tracing circles on his back. He seemed worried and sad. He pulled away. "Alright, I will." He said.
~end~
