Mean Girls Missing

16

April 30

11:43 am

Stephanie

I had never been so mind-fucked in my entire life.

I considered myself to be a fantastic judge of character. I could see someone's soul and get a feel for who they were from one simple conversation. It was one of my best skills. That's why Sammi and Carlos were the only people I brought into my life – they were the only ones who didn't give me a shady vibe.

But now? I guess even my abilities had disappeared in the dungeon. I felt like I was getting so much information about Arnie. He had a job that had crazy shifts – possibly a doctor, construction worker, judge – and he had an ex-wife. Or so he said. Maybe he was batshit crazy and imagined having a wife, just like he imagines my sister and I as his new girlfriends. Still, I could've put every sliver of Arnie-info into a computer and found out who this creep really was.

Too bad he had taken my phone away from me. I wondered where our stuff really was. The clothes we wore to the frat party, our cell phones and purses; where did Arnie dispose of it? He better not have gotten rid of those clothes. That fur scarf was my staple for all winter outfits.

My tummy was stuffed with ham and cheese sandwiches and fresh strawberries. We had just finished eating. Despite Arnie's napping rules – basically I'm not allowed to sleep during the daytime – I was cuddled up in my bed with my eyes shut. Not necessarily trying to fall asleep, but it was one of the few ways I could meditate. Just minutes of silence where I could piece my thoughts together and see if I could make any connections.

It wasn't much, but it was all I needed to keep that sliver of sanity that remained.

I still had so many unanswered questions and wasn't sure when they would receive an answer.

Why were we here? That was a big one because it stemmed into several mini questions as well. Were we selected? Were we randomly chosen? Did Arnie find pleasure in trauma or abuse? If he did, that would explain a lot. What happened to Arnie's ex-wife? Was she real or a figment of his imagination? Did he kill his ex-wife or did she divorce him? Was Dad one of the many lawyers and authority figures trying to figure out the case? Was Carlos looking for me?

Carlos...

A gigantic lump formed in the back of my throat as his face flashed through my brain. His soft, shaggy dark hair. Carlos had these killer beautiful brown eyes and long, long lashes. Dimples, defined muscles and abs, smooth hands. Carlos was stunning.

I missed Carlos more than I actually missed my old life. Hell, he was my life. I missed the way he would pop up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me close, even as I jumped ten feet in the air. I missed the smell of his woodsy cologne and how the scent lingered on my blankets after he went home. Carlos called me every single day. Whether we saw each other or not, he would always call me before bed. I missed seeing his name pop up on my phone and that giddy feeling in the pit of my stomach every time I slid my finger towards the green bubble.

And his voice...

Ugh.

I really missed his sexy voice. I loved that drowsy voice when he just woke up or if he was about to fall asleep. Carlos was the perfect boyfriend for me. We meshed well. Like peanut butter and jelly. Or macaroni and cheese. He was the ketchup to my French fries, assuming I ate French fries.

"You okay?"

Sammi's voice intruded my personal thoughts. The cloud bubbles burned as my eyes slowly opened to find her hovering above me.

"I'm fine," I replied.

"Then why are you crying?"

I wiped my hand across my cheeks. Yup, hot tears were splashing down. Thinking about Carlos had really focused my attention to the memories, not the brokenness inside of my chest.

"Do you think Carlos is looking for me?" I blurted out.

Sammi paused a moment. She crouched on the floor, her elbows against the mattress. "I think that Carlos loves you and is doing what he can to help."

What kind of an answer was that? Sammi chose those specific words for a reason. What was going on in her head?

"But you don't think he's... like, moved on, or anything, right?" I stammered. "I mean, he wouldn't do that. Right?"

Now I couldn't be confident that my fabulous, amazing, dreamy boyfriend was still in love with me. What the hell was wrong with me? Why couldn't I tell my brain that I was worthy enough for Carlos?

"No," Sammi said finally. She offered a genuine smile. "I'll be honest with you. I think about this a lot, Steph, and I really don't think Carlos would do anything like that. You –" She patted my hand. "are the love of his life. He would be ridiculous to throw that away."

"Thank you." And I meant that. Her words made me feel better this time.

"Think about it this way. Would you rather be with Austin?" Sammi frowned while her eyebrows raised. I didn't respond. "I didn't think so. And if Austin didn't have the decency to cheat behind my back, he's jumping at the chance now. At least you know that Carlos is above that."

My heart ached for her. Sammi was right. Carlos wasn't anything like Austin was. He treated me right and didn't bat an eye when other girls passed by. Before this shitshow that changed my life, I didn't worry about Carlos going out. Cheating was the last thing on my mind. Poor Sammi. Her own man was unfaithful in front of her face and she got to relive that every day. Once I had caught Austin checking me out. In front of his brother and girlfriend. Austin didn't have class. He was another douche bag but I never had the heart to tell Sammi before.

It kinda seemed like she already knew that, though.

"I'm sorry," I whispered to her.

Sammi shook her head. "Don't be. He's not your man."

"He doesn't have to be your man either," I replied. "Sammi, he doesn't deserve you. He's a piece of shit. I don't know why you put up with him."

"And what am I supposed to do about that?" she asked. "I mean, in here. What do I do about him when I'm stuck in here and he's out there doing God-knows-what?"

I didn't know exactly how to respond to that.

"Right," Sammi hoisted herself off the ground. "When you figure out a way that I can break up with him while being trapped inside here, you let me know and then I'll dump him. Sound good?"

"Sammi..."

"No, I don't want to talk about it." She stormed out of the bedroom.

Great. Sammi was pissed off, I was still heartbroken over Carlos, and there was tension between us because I told her that her man was shitty. My bad. Clearly it wasn't a shocking revelation. So why was Sammi so upset that I repeated her very own thoughts back to her?

In a strange way, it was almost funny that Sammi and I could still get mad at each other. I mean, we were stuck in a dungeon and can only rely on one another. You would think we would power through it together as a team. Like all negative emotions would just disappear from existence and we could only feel positives down here. Yet the two of us bickered the days away.

A/N - good afternoon/morning/evening, wherever you're from, i hope you've had a good day or you're currently having a good day. writing playlist for this chapter:

1. Still Don't Know My Name - Labrinth

2. Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day

3. Knock You Down - Keri Hilson, Kanye West, Ne-Yo