════════════════════════════════

❝Sometimes you have to do what you don't like to get to where you want to be.❞

════════════════════════════════
___

♚ Feel free to make me smile like a goof by just clicking on that orange-lined star on the bottom. Also, a comment would make me beam ;) . Xx, MD ♚

___

"MISSING? WHAT do you mean by missing?" I ask incredulously, positive that I heard wrong.

Mrs. Robbins closes her eyes and sighs deeply, wiping the endless tears. I feel a pang of sadness for her. If this is how I feel about April going missing, then her whole world must be upside down.

"After her horseback riding lesson, she didn't come back. Even though she's never late, I waited and waited until it got too much. I called the police." She shifts her weight to the other foot and I notice how tired she looks.

"I-I'll leave you be," I say. It's like my mind flipped upside down with all the crazy possibilities, making me not able to form coherent sentences. "Please, if you hear anything, just call me."

She nods and looks down as she closes the door.

The ride back home is a blur, my hands driving the car like a robot, my mind not thinking straight.

Missing. Missing.

The word has been echoing in my mind repeatedly as I try to wrap my head around it. How can she be missing?

I turn off the engine when I reach our house, and step out of it. Turning the keys in the lock and opening the door, I'm greeted with my mom standing in the doorway.

I look at her confusedly. The sun is almost down, and usually, she'd be at work now along with dad. They'd come late at night and I'd have to cook my own dinner or order it if I'm feeling too lazy.

"What are you doing here now?" I ask as I slip off my shoes.

She straightens the skirt of the royal blue dress she's wearing and pulls her fuchsia painted lips into a disapproving grimace. This is the look she'd give me when I'd do something wrong ever since I was little.

A memory flickers in my mind of when I was in a costume school party in elementary school. Every girl was either wearing a princess costume, a fairy, or a butterfly. Mom had been trying for a while to convince me to go with a classy Cinderella costume, but I wouldn't budge.

"Come on, honey, the dress will make you look like the prettiest princess in the whole school. The color will make your beautiful eyes pop, and I can curl your pretty blonde hair like her," she had said, following me into my room.

"Mom, I don't want to be the prettiest princess," I protested with crossed arms.

She exhaled heavily and pinched the bridge of her nose. We had been going at it for a good forty-five minutes now. "Go ahead, then. Show me what you want to wear."

I grinned, satisfied, and stepped into the closet, pulling out the black outfit. It was one I made myself; a more badass version of Mulan with a black ripped kimono and combat boots. I had tied up my hair in the classic rock style with two chopsticks.

Now that I think about it, I realize it was sort of a phase. I'm not goth or emo, I just think black is a pretty color. My bouncy, blonde hair and striking blue eyes often trick people into stereotype-ing me right away.

"Tada." I stepped out of the closet and struck a pose, crossing my arms with narrowed eyes.

She pulled her lips into that same grimace she's wearing now as she shook her head. "Get that rubbage off now. You're going with a Cinderella costume whether you like it or not."

I didn't go to the party that night. I spent the night crying in my bed while mom and dad flew out to Venice, leaving me to my nanny.

Now, I look at her as she crosses her arms. "The school told me that you've been skipping school for a couple days now. I told you, you need to stop."

I blink at her blankly.

Right now, mom is the last thing I need to deal with. I have to start acting to get April back. I have to get her back. I'm not making the same mistake again.

"Okay."

I shrug my jacket off and hang it on the crook of my arm, watching her face turn into a confused one. I roll my eyes and sidestep her, walking up the stairs.

"India, what-"

"I said okay. See you tomorrow."

I leave her speechless as I climb up the stairs and walk into my room. I wait for a few seconds, my ear pressed flat against the door as I strain to hear. After a short while, I finally hear the sounds of her heels walking up the stairs and into her room.

I step into the closet and hurriedly slip on my pair of white vans. Hunter wants to meet up with me, saying that he has something important to say and after what I just found out today, I also need to see him.

I quietly turn the doorknob and pull the door open, turning my head left and right. Good, I think, she's taking her afternoon beauty nap.

I roll my eyes when I remember the frivolous activity as I start climbing out of the window. With all the assignments, tests, and projects I have due, that's the last thing on my mind. She should have even less time than me, considering she owns a company.

I have nothing against caring for yourself and how you look like, I actually admire girls who have the time do so, but some things just aren't for everyone.

Without any complications, I finally jump off the last step of the ladder. It is a handmade ladder that I made when I first started sneaking off.

Thankfully, I don't have to drive the car this time. We're supposed to meet up at the Starbucks near our neighborhood, and as expected, I'm already ten minutes late.

After ten minutes of walking in the humid weather of post-summer Miami, I reach the crowded coffee shop. Through the glass, I see Hunter sitting at a table in the corner, laid back in his seat. One of Hunter's best treats, is that he has always been a patient guy. Very rare it is that I find his anger getting the best of him.

Even after all that happened between us, I can't help but admire his good looks. He's wearing a tight fitted blue polo shirt, showcasing his toned arms. He's wearing the customary Hunter expression on his face: bored, impassive, and blank.

As if feeling my gaze on him, his eyes snap to mine. I scold myself for staring at him for too long before pushing the door open and walking to his table.

"You're twenty minutes late," he says, sitting up straighter.

"I know, sorry. I had some things to take care of." My mind flashes back to the image of Mrs. Robbins sobbing on her porch at telling me the shocking news.

His observant eyes narrow at me, but I ignore them as I take my seat.

"I have a proposal for you," I tell him.

I've been thinking about it for a while now, but after hearing today's news, I think I have to finally do it.

He nods, gesturing for me to continue.

"I'm taking the girls down. . . meaning that I'll expose them," I say quietly. Strangely, he doesn't look surprised. Like he already knew that was going to happen.

"I saw that one coming," he muses. "Why now, though?"

Still confused to how he saw that coming, I continue to clarify. "April's missing. The only possible explanation is that she ran away. She's been going through so much and it's not only from Phoebe. I don't know if it's only a break or . . ." — I close my eyes and shake my head — "I'm doing it now."

"When do I come in this," he asks with furrowed eyebrows.

"I need your help." I bite the inside of my cheeks, weary of his reaction. I watch as the pieces click and he lets out a laugh. Hunter is a close source to Phoebe, his help would be very much appreciated. And with his observant skills, the whole task would be really easy.

It's not like I can't do it by myself, but with the time I have, I need all the help that I can get. I'm planning on giving Kingston High my grand show right before Winter Break.

Sort of like a farewell good bye show, I think with an internal smirk.

I'm snapped back to reality when Hunter talks again, "I am not going to get in between your girl drama."

I scowl at him, but remember what I'm here for. I can't show him that I'll back off easily or that this is all a joke.

"Haven't you been listening to anything that I've said?" I ask, hardening my face. "April Robbins is missing. The cops are looking for her. Her mother is loosing her mind. I know her well enough to say that she'll only come back if it's safe for her to do so. Which means never."

He exhaled heavily. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to get myself involved."

"That's alright," I say with a smile much to his confusion, "I guess everyone's going to have to know how your dear mother gets-"

"Stop talking before I do something I know I'll regret," he says eerily calm as his eyes roam around the crowded room.

I watch him as he grinds his jaw together with closed eyes, trying to figure things out. It's almost as if I can see the wheels turning frantically inside that calculating brain of his.

He opens his eyes and zeroes the deep blue orbs into mine with a glare, making me almost flinch.

"You promised." His voice becomes lower.

"Every man — or woman," I say with a smirk, "is for his or herself."

Pulling his bottom lip between his teeth, he says the words I've been hoping for ever since I saw him through the window: "What do you want me to do?"