CHAPTER FORTY-THREE: WRONG

Life is all about addictions. If you do not have any, you simply do not live.
-Jimmy Nakis

Jem's

I'll admit, when AJ told me if she didn't call me or if I didn't see her than someone went horribly wrong I didn't take her seriously. Micah can make that girl melt, everyone knows it.

So it didn't surprise me when all night, I hadn't heard a peep.

In fact, that seemed like good news.

I figured that after they both confessed and realized how stupidly oblivious they were, they'd go back to his house and be a little too busy to bother with calling me. That made sense to me.

But the next morning, like every morning since then, I expected some sort of good morning from my best friend.

Whether it be a 'wake up Idiot' call, a good-morning text, a smoothie sitting outside my bedroom window as proof that she was waiting in my driveway to take me to school or the addict herself climbing in through my window -I expected her to find me.

It was weird, admittedly, when I woke up and nothing happened.

On the weekends I wake up anywhere from ten in the morning to two in the afternoon but AJ always wakes up at the same time no matter what day it is. Yes that's weird in itself, who doesn't sleep in on the weekend?

Still, I tried to convince myself that they're find and probably exhausted themselves doing things I didn't want to think about them doing. She's not answering her phone and I realize with a sad twist in my gut that I just don't have Micah's number.

What kind of shit friend am I?

That didn't make the terrible feeling in my gut go away, it didn't change how much my instincts were screaming at me to leave.

Leave the house and find her, my conscious screamed at me.

So I found myself climbing out of bed on a Sunday at eight in the morning and taking the path to my best friend's house. It's not too far away from my one story, two bedroom house that Grey Estate puts to shame, but it is farther away than my school.

I rarely walk there since my mom works there, so I get a ride from her or AJ drives me. If I have to I take my bike, but that requires me getting it down from the top of our garage and the sick feeling in my stomach was telling me I didn't have time for that.

Today, I ran.

The key was already in my hand before I even reached the door and I knew something was wrong when her door was unlocked. At night, she never leaves it unlocked. Even during the day that's rare, given where she lives. Even if she was going to go to Micah's for the night, she would have come here first and left a note or at least locked up.

When I went inside though, I could tell nothing was wrong.

Or, at least, nothing was wrong in there.

For once, grabbing the keys to AJ's sexy Aston Martin doesn't make me nervous. Hopping in the front seat and peeling out of her garage is the easiest thing I've done in a while.

She said she was just going to go for a drive, which probably meant she was going to stall until she got them on the highway and either end up at a rest stop or just randomly pull over to talk. Her brain is easy to pick apart, but that doesn't tell me what direction she went in.

For that I went to Micah's apartment building then drove to the closest merging zone, and went from there.

Usually I hate driving without music to accompany me, my mind gets distracted and I end up driving like a eight year old half blind grandpa -something AJ teases me about. Up till now I hadn't realized that the car was dead-silent, but once I hear that my hand slams into her radio button and makes her favorite music blast out.

A really weird mix between soft pop, 80's and 90's rock and screamo.

What a weirdo.

It takes my mind a few seconds to comprehend the truck on the side of the highway, where there's no guard rails because it leads to just a flat field. 

If I'm being honest, it doesn't really look like a truck instead of just a giant piece of crunched metal but the tailgate is untouched.

On it there's a bumper sticker that reads 'There Are No U-Turns On The Road To Hell' next to a cute little devil man twerking. Across from that, but scrapped, is a sticker of a mango who's dancing on a squished avocado.

AJ hates avocados, and had both of those custom made.

Pulling over, I see the tire tracks of a second vehicle -probably one that hit them. When I look inside, there's a lot of glass but I don't think there's blood.

That's a good sign, right?

Sitting down to the rubble, I break down a little and put my head in my hands.

Artemis Ferro, where are you?

After picking myself up the first thing I did was call my mom, who in turn called the police.

I was interviewed, since I was the last person to talk to AJ besides Micah, and wished that I could have been more helpful.

It's been a day and nobody has heard anything.

I've been to every single hospital inside and within 50 miles of Burndaux, I've looked at all their Jane and John Doe's and anyone that got into a car crash that wasn't claimed or unconscious. 

None of them were my best friend and her demon.

My brain couldn't decide whether to be relieved or more worried, so I had a panic attack. I didn't want to, but AJ had already given her permission so my mom made me take one of her pills. That stopped it, but I'd rather panic and pass out then sit in my room and letting worry consume me.

When my best friend is out there, probably more than just 'hurt' and missing, I can't sleep.

As we grow older we are taught to put homework and school first, always. They also teach us that school comes before mental health, that if you're sick you should stop complaining and push through it. 

And that is truly, honestly, is a shame.

I refused to go to school, instead I went to Grey Estate and curled up on a couch with Morty and Lap. Eventually Culpa, who looked sad as if he knew what was happening, came to me and sat against my thigh. Though he's evil, I didn't have the heart to move him like I normally would.

"Are you sure?" A voice, one that sounds like stupid Lorenzo, hisses behind me.

"Yes." A higher pitch voice, sounding like one of the nurses that my mom is friends with, maybe Julia, snaps back. "She's gone, nothing is on the security cameras. Nobody saw anything. I called her older brother, but he told me that she's probably just hiding in the building and not to worry or call the authorities."

My body tenses, and I sit up, accidentally disturbing all the cats.

"Call them." I say, meeting Julia's blue eyes. "Please call them, get them to look for her right away. She's dangerous and willing to hurt people and her brother is just as bad as she is. If she did escape then there's no way he doesn't know where his sister is."

That little fucker escaping and the two addicts going missing at the same time?

Doesn't seem like much of a coincidence to me.

Grabbing Morty for emotional support, I cradle her against my chest as I go upstairs. I know where AJ keeps all her patient files, I also know that my best friend being herself would have got constant reports on Savannah and making notes for herself.

It's probably not ethical at all, especially because I'm not a therapist, but I am a determined best friend and ethic codes aren't going to stop me from finding them.

Three hours pass before I find anything remotely useful buried in the countless papers.

"The Wright's have a old farm house six hours from where they live in San Kilbea, Savvy-" Just by the nickname, an unconscious error formed by years of habit, I know AJ is the one that typed this up. "-has never talked about it. This is weird. Her memories of that place should not go undisclosed, especially where it concerns her drug addiction and..."

Something is scribbled out there, in black ink. Instead of back and forth or a straight line like most would, when AJ scribbles something out she writes more letters on top in a random pattern. Try all you'd like, you'll never be able to tell what was originally wrote.

AJ is a genius, of that I'm sure.

What do I know about her and that farm house?

I know that's where her and Sidney's relationship started, if I can even call it that. I know that's where they threw parties and went on benders, I know that's where Savannah took AJ right before she tried- -and succeeded- -to kill herself for the last time.

They used to have dogs there, big ones that had to be chained up in the back room because they'd break through a cage.

They used to have big dogs there.

They had to be chained up because they'd break through cages.

They had to be chained up.

My movements are a flurry of panic as I rush through the rest of the paperwork, but I can't find a address for the farm house on any of the papers. I know it was near a lake, since AJ told me she would take the boat out at night after Savannah was asleep just to get away for a while. There were horses and goats, and chickens.

It was maintained by a local farmer that the Wright's paid off to be silent and do his work, he's still being paid to this day even though Sidney lives on the property now and they both got disowned.

Apparently even when you're born into the wrong crowd your parents have their limits.

"Mom!" I exclaim, me going through the motions to call her only to yell the second she picks up. "Do you have the forwarding address to Wright's emergency contact?"

"I'm not allowed to give it to you, it would be illegal."

"It's for AJ, please. I told you something was wrong, I told you when I left yesterday morning! Please, trust me. For AJ, please."

My begging works, as soon I have the farm's address and a four hour trip ahead of me. Thank god Burndaux is closer to that place than San Kilbea.

Although, I am dreading this completely because I might be wrong. But if I'm not, this is some horror movie bullshit that I don't want to put myself in the middle of.

All I know for sure is that Sidney Wright is one dangerous son of a bitch.

One I've been waiting to punch for two years.

This all feels wrong.

For AJ and her addict, I remind myself. You have to do this for them. Be the good best friend that she deserves.