(song: "Cold" - Maroon 5 (clean version) )

1 Year Ago . . .

     "We never fight!" Cassie shouted at me.

     "There's a first time for everything!" I growled back at her.

     I knew I was being horrible, but I couldn't help it. My fingers ran through my hair and I paced around my basement in circles to calm myself. I wished I was a smoker so I could ease my nerves with a cigarette, but I wasn't so I chugged energy drinks like they were beers.

     "Listen Cassie, I know you've always felt like you could tell me anything, but there's a line you can't cross. I don't want to hear about yours and Greg's sex life!"

     Cassie sat on the couch looking up at me with tears running down the sides of her face.

     "You're my best-friend, we're supposed to be able to share anything with each other. We're not kids anymore, I'm going to want to talk about more adult matters."

     "Not this!" I snapped. "If you want to talk about sex you need another best-friend. Not me."

     Cassie stood up and looked at me with defiance. "Maybe I will get one. Kristen and I have gotten along particularly great lately."

     I straightened my arm and pointed towards the stairs. "Great! Go be friends with Kristen then and stop coming here!"

     "Why are you being like this Toby?"

     I wanted to tell her that I was in love with her and hearing about her first time with a guy was ripping me in half.

     "Because you annoy me!" I lied. "All you talk about is Greg. It's just so annoying and I hate it. So please leave."

     Cassie stormed up the stairs both angry and hurt, midway she stopped and looked back to me. "You know Toby. . . Greg and I are just a high-school romance. I expect him and I to fizzle out and become a memory I cherish telling my future kids. I thought you and I would always be in each others lives."

     That's where I started to feel guilty. I sighed and said nothing like an idiot.

     She left. I should have gone after her, but I didn't . . .

I hit the play button.

     I hold my breath and lean back. I feel a hand grip my arm and it catches me off guard. Kristen is gripping onto me terrified of the static on the screen. I have no idea how to comfort her so I just let her keep holding my arm.

     The static starts to clear and the screen reveals Cassie sitting in a chair in-front of the camera. Wherever she is, it's dark. She smiles warmly and shows no signs of distress. At least that rules out the kidnapped theory.

     "Okay, so if you are watching this tape that's a good thing," Cassie says with a deep exhale. "It means two things have happened, firstly that I successfully ran away and secondly that I managed to contact you by postcard. I guess I should start off by saying that I wasn't kidnapped or coerced into leaving, but it doesn't mean that I'm not in danger."

     Kristen looks at me and I know what she's thinking; all her worries have been justified.

     "Why a VHS tape you ask? Well, anything digital, texts, emails, videos can be hacked, traced and stolen. I couldn't contact you three through any modern mediums, but don't be scared. The people I'm in trouble with are not looking for any of you so you guys are safe. I wouldn't be contacting any of you at all, but I need your help. I'm involved in something. . . something big. The three of you are the only ones who can make this right again. Of course, any of you three have the option to just stop this tape and get out right now. I won't be upset, I won't hold it against you. Just pause the tape and consider things carefully before continuing, because I'm going to ask you to do things, things that might change your life forever. So pause right now—"

     I press pause.

     Kristen releases my arm and pushes her palms deep into the couch cushion beneath her. "I knew it, she's in trouble. Are you finally ready for us to turn this over to the police?"

     "What? No. If you don't want to be a part of this you need to go and I'll finish the tape," I say.

     She sighs and reminds me a lot of my mother; always worrying. "This is too big, Toby. I'm scared."

     I really, really suck at making people feel better, but I decide to try. "Look, I'll put it this way. If you are really scared and want no part in this, then go. Don't tell the police, just go live your life. I will watch the tape and help with whatever she needs, maybe even Mr. Perfect Greg will feel like helping me too. So you don't have to worry, I got this."

     Kristen chews her lower lip. "What if Greg doesn't want to help you?"

     "Then I'll do it alone," I say with certainty.

     "Cassie was my friend too, but—"

     "I'm in love with her," I say all to easily.

     Wow, I've never actually said those words out-loud before.

     Kristen is shocked into silence.

     "I'm in love with her and never got the chance to tell her because who'd want a negative guy like me when they can be with a guy like Greg. Even after they broke up, my friendship with her had taken a lot of hits and I never got the nerve to say anything to her about how I felt. Maybe if I had she'd have told me more, or let me in more and she wouldn't have needed to run away in the first place. So, this isn't me wanting to help out a good-old-pal, this is about me wanting to help the person I love, even though she doesn't love me back."

     "I'm sorry, I didn't know you felt that way," Kristen confesses with her eyes lowered.

     I look a the screen and not her because I really hate pity. "I'll watch the tape, you can go home. I'll bring the VHS player on Monday and you can get it back."

     Her fingers take the remote control out of my hands. She points it at the screen and inhales a few times to steel herself. "We're in this together, Toby. Come hell or high water."

     I smile at her. The mouse is finally trying to become a lion. "Hell or high water, Chapman."

     She presses play.

     Cassie's face resumes moving on the screen. "Okay, whoever is left watching this, I'm going to apologize in advance. I'm going to try and give you things to do that are going to be the least painful courses of action. Don't worry, I've gone through most of it for you, so it's just tidying up the loose ends. On the USB drive you'll find some documents, print them out, read them if you want. They need to be delivered to 2812 Cherry Grove, put them in a big paper envelope and label it as 'Attention: David Walters'. When you finish this, I included a stack of postcards, this will be your only way to communicate with me. Send a card back to the Phoenix address saying simply 'we all miss you here', nothing else. Then you will receive a postcard with the next VHS tape location. Don't try to find me, the address goes through a mail forwarding service so I'm not at that address. Don't do more than I ask you to, and when I ask you to. My safety and yours depends on it—"

     The tape stops.

     Kristen shivers and neither of us know what to say. We stare at the blank screen and our own reflections against the black surface. Everything feels like a joke, but it isn't, it's real.

     Kristen tries to stand, but her legs are so weak she falls back against the couch and I catch her arm to steady her.

     "Hey, are you okay?" I ask a dumb question.

     She rubs at her temples a few times. "I haven't eaten. Ballerinas don't really get the luxury of eating much. It really sucks in situations where you need a lot more calories to handle the stress of your best-friend pulling you into a conspiracy."

     "I have some left over pizza if you want to stay and eat for a bit," I offer.

     She shakes her head. "Thanks, but I can't eat pizza. I'm on a strict diet plan."

     "I'm not letting you drive home until you eat." I sound like my mom.

     Kristen side eyes me a little and I know my apathetic cover is blown. "Do I detect caring in your voice? Cassie always told me that you don't care about anyone or anything."

     "I do care . . . about myself. If you had an accident after leaving my house because you passed out from low blood-sugar they'd blame me. Police would come here and cuff me and say, 'if only you'd given the poor girl a ham sandwich'."

     Kristen smiles a little and then breaks into a laugh. I've never actually seen her laugh before, it's actually pretty cute.

     "So stay, eat. I'll order rabbit food and we can devise our great plans for operation rescue Cassie."

     She bobs her head and smiles a little wider, "Hell or high water."