“Yeah, like every night. I could hear them two doors down.” Zoey groaned, rolling her eyes.
“Do you know what they were fighting about?” Emily asked, leaning forward as she rested her elbows on her knees.
“God, I lost count of all the reasons.” Zoey sighed. “He didn’t want her to go to Greece. He was scared she’d find some sexy Greek God and forget all about him. He was jealous, but he always has been.”
“Really? She’s never mentioned anything. She’s always said he was a perfect gentleman.”
“Well, did you ever tell your mother about your boy troubles? I mean, once you tell your mom, the guy is pretty much screwed after that. If mom hates him, the whole world will hate him.” Zoey smiled.
“Yeah, you’ve got a point, there.” Emily laughed. “So, did you see her last night? Did you hear from her? Did you hear her and Cole fighting?”
“I went out last night. I was on a blind date. I left at around six and didn’t get home till eight or eight-thirty.”
“So, you didn’t see her before or after?”
“No, ma’am,” Zoey said. “I got home, took a bath, and went right to bed.”
“I’m sorry I’m asking all these questions. It’s just that—” Emily stopped, staring down at the tan carpet, searching for the words that were building up inside her. “You know Blair, Zoey, or at least, you did. You know she tells me everything. You know she wouldn’t go somewhere without telling me or Cole. Her car is still outside, so she either walked, or she had a ride.”
“You’re wrong, Miss Keller. I really don’t know Blair, anymore.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry. I’ve taken enough of your time,” Emily said as she stood up from the sofa.
“And I don’t think you do, either,” Zoey spat out, her eyes looking up to Emily.
“What?” Emily asked, lowering herself back down on the sofa.
“I don’t think you know Blair all that well anymore, either. She’s changed,” Zoey said, staring down at her lap, her eyes filling with tears.
“How so?”
“Before she left for Greece, she was skipping class and going to the bars. She never did any of that before. That’s why we got along so well. I mean, we used to study and drink wine and stay in and hang out. All of a sudden, she became this, this party girl. She was always out late. She was always acting so shady.”
“Do you think she’s on drugs?” Emily asked.
“To tell you the truth, I don’t know. I wish I could tell you, but I can’t.” Zoey shrugged. “All I know is she changed. And then she was talking about leaving Cole and moving out of the apartment and dropping out.”
“She was talking about dropping out?” Emily gasped, her eyes wide. Were they talking about the same Blair? The same Blair that threw a fit about missing half a day in second grade because she had to get a tooth pulled? The same Blair who got perfect attendance her entire four years of high school? The same Blair who didn’t even skip on senior skip day?
“Yeah,” Zoey said sharply. “I was shocked they even allowed her to go to Greece. I mean, her grades were seriously slipping before she left. But, somehow, she pulled it off.”
“I just can’t believe what I’m hearing right now,” Emily said as she stood up, making her way to the window as the millions of questions flooded her spinning head. Emily stared out through the parted yellow curtains, eying Blair’s parked car far below as the raindrops started pelting against the glassy surface, the water trickling down the window in front of her in tiny streams and rivers. Why would Blair lie about all of this? Why would she lie about her friendship with Zoey? Why would she lie about how happy she was with Cole? All the questions swirled through her head, the lies circling like a tornado, shattering every piece of trust she had in Blair.
“She’s just not as innocent as you thought, Miss Keller,” Zoey said as she stood up from the lounge chair. Emily slowly turned from the window, her eyes settling on Zoey as she stepped toward her. “I know parents want to believe their kid is a diamond, a perfect person and a stand-up student. She was, at some point, but something snapped inside of her. I don’t know what that was, exactly. But she had me fooled. And from the sound of things, she had you fooled, too.”
missing
Emily’s fingers tapped nervously on the wooden counter in front of her as her eyes darted left and right, scanning the deserted lobby of the Elwood Police Department. It had been four hours since she left Blair’s apartment complex. But there was still no word from Blair. This wasn’t normal. Something was wrong, very, very wrong. Emily stared down at her white sneakers as her stomach twisted, the pain radiating from her belly button to the center of her chest. Her legs trembled beneath her weight as she leaned forward, balancing herself against the counter as she waited for someone, anyone, to come and help her.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. I hope you haven’t been waiting too long.”
The thick, southern accent rang in Emily’s ears as she quickly looked up from her shoes and stared back at a tall, gangly officer behind the front wooden counter. A thick, gray mustache sat above his top lip, his gray hair slicked back beneath an Elwood Police baseball cap.
“No, I just got here,” Emily lied, swallowing as she felt her heart speed inside of her chest. “I think I need to file a report for a missing person.”
“Okay, well, who is the missing person?”
“It’s my daughter. Her name is Blair Bradley. She’s twenty-one, and she lives at 804 Maple Road, apartment
