Mean Girls Missing

27

July 2

3:13 pm

Monica

The investigation had stalled.

Before, it had halted. Now it was completely stalled. Police didn't know what to do or where to turn.

We knew Carl was the one who did something that later resulted in the twins' disappearance. The big question was what. What did he do? How much money did he pay? Who did he give them to? Where did he put them?

I still operated my research as if Stephanie and Samantha were still alive. My brain just could not wrap around the idea that they were gone. The police had released a statement that the news stations played over and over again. They said that because it had been so long since the twins went missing and there was no clue of where they went, the police assumed they were already dead.

The police had lost hope for them. The department reassured the public that they were still turning over stones and going back to look for things they might have missed. But overall, the main message was that they tried their best and couldn't find them, so now the girls must be dead.

Carlos struggled with that comment. He was having a very rough time pulling himself together and getting back to reality.

I met with him for a late lunch. As expected, I was running late. I scrambled out of my car and rushed into Peppy's Diner. He was sitting at a booth in the center of the restaurant, hands in his hair, face staring at the ground.

This already wasn't looking good.

"Carlos?"

He lifted his head. "Hey, Mon." he said softly before returning to stare at the floor.

"Hey," I slid into the booth and opened my menu. "Hey, are you okay?"

He raised his head again. Tears were spilling out of his eyes. "I'm trying to be."

"Oh, Carlos. I'm so sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry."

"I don't have to be, but I am. This is a really crappy situation." I frowned. "I'm really sorry you feel this way."

His lip quivered. "I just don't understand."

"Is it okay if I sit next to you?"

He shrugged. I popped over into his bench and wrapped my arms around him. He laid his head on my shoulder and absolutely crumbled. Tears, snot, drool, and whatever else poured out of him as I hugged him. The waitress strode over with a happy grin, ready to take our order, but she quickly spun around when she saw the water works.

I wished I could take his pain away. I wished I could discover their hiding place and find them and bring them back. If there was anything I could do that would make Carlos feel even a little bit better, I would. He was my best friend. I hated to see him so broken.

"God, I'm a wreck." Carlos laughed as he pulled away, wiping his eyes. "That girl... she just did something to me, you know?"

I smiled. "I know. She was something special to you."

"She was definitely something," he agreed. He focused on his menu. "Thank you. I'm sorry. I've just been a ball of emotions since this whole... thing."

I nodded. "It's okay, Carlos. I don't mind. Really. I just want to make sure you're okay." I slid back into my booth. "Even though we're old and pay bills now, you're still my best friend and I want what's best for you."

He smiled at me. A real, genuine smile. It'd been a minute since I'd seen that. "You're a really good friend, Monica. I appreciate it. God knows I can't talk to Austin about this stuff."

I cringed. "Oh, right. How has he been doing?"

"Austin? Oh, he's great. He acts like nothing happened. The world never stopped spinning for him."

Yup. Definitely sounds like Austin. I wasn't sure what I expected the last time I talked to him during that one dinner at my house, but it wasn't for him to be stone cold about the situation. This was his girlfriend of almost a year and he just acted like she was never born in the first place.

It would suck to be Sammi right now. At least, wherever she was, she didn't know what Austin was doing behind her back.

"That sounds about right," I said. "You don't think he misses Sam?"

Carlos shook his head. "I don't know what he thinks. I don't know if he misses her or if he's glad she's gone. I know he wasn't happy with her but he never tried to break up with her."

That was also true. Austin wasn't shy to dumping girls. He'd done it all through high school and it was usually for ridiculous reasons. For some reason he hesitated with ending his relationship with Sammi.

Why?

"I don't always understand him," I admitted.

"Yeah, he doesn't think with his head. Or... at least not the one on his shoulders."

Ugh.

"Ew!" I pretended to slap him and covered my ears. "La-la-la-la. Gross! Don't tell me that."

Carlos laughed. "I'm sorry. I'm just saying Austin doesn't use his brain, you know?"

"Yeah. Is he actually, you know, messing around?"

His face turned serious. "Um, well..."

I closed my eyes. Austin was totally sleeping with other girls.

"Look, I'm not saying he's right for doing it, but I don't think it's my business to say it out loud."

"I know what you mean." Carlos didn't respond. We sat in silence for a while, looking everywhere but at each other. "Sammi's going to be crushed."

Carlos sighed. "Yeah, I know she is."

The waitress finally returned to our table after she deemed it safe from emotion. She took our orders, filled our sodas, and left us to converse. Our food came out fifteen minutes later. Carlos dug into his cheeseburger with fries. I scooped some macaroni in my mouth. This diner had the best mac and cheese I'd ever tasted. I think they made the cheese sauce from scratch. It was thick, creamy, and definitely cheesy.

The only audible noise was that on the sports channel, the chewing of food, and distinct conversations from across the restaurant. Once you reached our booth, it was wordless. Just two sad people eating.

Carlos paid for lunch, despite me complaining that I could take care of my own bill. He walked me to my car, playing with his thumbs.

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked.

"I'll do what I can," he noted. Carlos swept his hair out of his face. "Monica, I wanted to ask you something."

I unlocked my car and placed my leftovers on the seat. "Okay. What's up?"

"Do you think they're still alive?"

I patted his arm. "I do. I really do."

a/n - ENJOY! We're almost halfway there. Hope y'all are ready for the ending ;)