William blinked back the tears threatening to spill from his blue eyes. His girlfriend, the beautiful Autumn, had gone missing again. Now, mind you, this happened fairly often, but it never hurt any less. Would it kill her to tell him before she left the face of the earth without a trace? William paced back and forth, running his hands through his blonde hair while one of his friends watched.
"Why do you stay with her, man?"
"I love her."
"She keeps leaving you, how can you love her? Sure, she's hot, but there are other fish in the sea."
"I don't want anyone else, I want Autumn. My Autumn."
This was normally how their conversations went, and nothing significant changed this time. William anxiously called Autumn's phone, and to his dismay, was once again sent directly to voicemail.
"Hello, you've reached Autumn. Text and leave a message, but don't expect an immediate reply. I love you, Will."
William paused. That last sentence was new. The last time he'd called Autumn had been at 9:30 the previous night, so she must have changed it since then. The words calmed him some, as they were probably meant to reassure him. Sometimes she did this before she came back, changed something only few people would find.
William's friend shook his head, "She's playing you. If she really loved you she'd be here right now."
William flipped off his friend and went home.

Once home, William called her again. He shivered a little when he heard her familiar voice as the quality of the recording was a tantalizing imitation of the real thing. The recording hadn't changed, so he decided to leave a message.
"Hey, Autumn, I miss you. Are you okay? I've been looking for you all day today and you've really outdone yourself. Where are you? Please just let me know you're alive, I need you. I love you."
No sleep was achieved that night.