s.t.a.y. | ethma

12

Ethan
Monday

Emma and I weren't planning on seeing each other yesterday because she said she needed a day to relax after she was supposed to end things with Jared.

But I was at least expecting a text back.

She didn't even show up to school. I purposely got to first hour late so her and I could have the last two seats left in the back.

But that didn't happen.

I texted her asking if she was okay during lunch. No answer.

So, I found Alayna and Grace before lunch ended. They both said they haven't heard from her.

Something's wrong. Where's Emma? I needed to call her.

So I called her. It rang all the way through before going to voicemail. Emma always has her phone.

This is not looking good. Even if she didn't want to answer, she would've declined the call instead of letting it ring. I know Emma.

Monday means no football practice, so I drove to Emma's after school. Her car was there.

I knocked on the door for a solid fifteen minutes. No answer. What. The. Fuck.

Where is she?

So, I found the spare key in its usual spot under a rock by the porch.

I let myself in, and the house was unusually quiet. Eerily quiet.

"Emma?" I called. Nothing. I didn't even hear any movement or anything.

I thought that I'd she was anywhere she'd be in her room.

So, I went upstairs and found her room the cleanest it's ever been.

I immediately noticed that the spot her laptop usually sits in was empty. Her phone was left on the nightstand. No wonder she wasn't answering.

The bathroom was empty. The rest of the house was empty too. I looked everywhere. She's not here.

But her car is. This is so confusing.

I called Sophia, and she said she hasn't heard from Emma at all since yesterday.

I remembered that Emma had a stash of money hidden in a floorboard at the bottom of her closet. She showed it to me when we dated.

So, I checked. Completely empty.

That's when it came to me. Emma's gone. I know everything about her. And all the evidence says it. She ran away from home.

Sure enough, her skateboard was gone from the spot she keeps it when it's not being used.

No. This can't be happening. We were supposed to be together. We were finally gonna be happy. This can't be happening.

I called Grayson as I got into my car. My blood was pumping so hard I thought that I was gonna have a heart attack.

"Hey, E. What's up?"

"Where are you?" I asked.

"Home. Where are you?"

"Have you heard from Emma?"

"No. Why?"

"I think she's missing. She wasn't at school, and she didn't answer her phone so I went to see if she was home and her car was there, but she was gone. I knocked on the door for fifteen minutes before I decided to just go in and see what was going on."

"Fuck, this isn't good. Did you call Sophia?"

"Yeah. She hasn't heard from her either. And neither did Grace or Alayna. I think Emma might've run away."

"Wait why?"

"Because her car was home, but her skateboard was gone. Her laptop is missing, and her room was super clean. She also left her phone at home."

"Fuck. This isn't good. We need to look for her."

"I fucking know that, Grayson." I didn't realize how fast I was speeding down the road. I got home in five minutes instead of the fifteen it usually takes me to get home from Emma's. "I'm home now. See you in a minute." I said, hanging up the phone.

I went inside, and Grayson was with my mom in the kitchen.

We started talking about all of the details, and my mom went in a different room to call the police. Emma was now registered as a missing person.

She could be anywhere. Knowing Emma, she probably could be in a whole different part of the country by now. She goes for what she wants, and if she wanted to get away from home, then she's getting there.

It's just a matter of which direction she went.

Grayson and I drove around town, going to all of the places she could've been if she was still around here. We even called Jared to see if he knew anything. He simply told Grayson and I that him and Emma broke up, and that's the last he heard from her.

After driving for over five hours, we were getting nowhere.

"What the actual fuck." I said, leaning my head back against the passenger seat and closing my eyes. "Where the fuck is she? She could be anywhere by now. Fuck. I fucking hate this. You know, Emma and I were planning on getting back together after she broke up with Jared and now she's fucking gone. She left me again."

"What do you mean again?" Grayson asked.

"Fuck. You weren't supposed to know, but Emma and I kind of hooked up. And that's why her and Jared broke up. We were gonna get back together. But I don't know how that's fucking possible anymore because she left. Yet again. Man, I'm so worried about her. I just want her to come home."

"Me too. We're gonna find her. Someone's gonna find her.

This was the first Thanksgiving with Emma gone. But we all felt too worried to celebrate, so
we didn't. We just kept up the search for Emma.

By that point it had been two weeks with no sign of her. Sophia came home on a red-eye flight the day we figured out she was missing.

Emma was all over the news. The whole country was looking for her now. T-shirts, flyers and posters were made, spreading awareness of her disappearance.

Every night I would go to bed, not being able to sleep.

Damn it, Emma. You better be somewhere safe. You have to be safe. Please come home. Nothing is okay when you're not here.

I need you.

Come home.

Please.

i love you.