♦𝕭𝖑𝖆𝖐𝖊♦

The day before

"No." I growl at Isaiah again as he tries to convince me to jump in the fountain in front of the mall we're walking past.

"I'll give you twenty bucks." He bargains.

"Ohhh." I mock excitement before letting my face drop back to one of annoyance. "No."

We still have shopping to do, no way am I walking into the supermarket drenched in fountain water.

"You're no fun." Isaiah kicks a rock, sending it flying across the walkway. He's been in a bad mood for the past hour and it's getting on my nerves.

"What's the matter with you?" I finally ask. His body is slumped and he dramatically sighs every few minutes trying to get me to pay attention to him, but I haven't caved until now.

"My best friend isn't responding to my texts!" Isaiah wines.

"Ace? He said he would meet us back at the house later." I say confused.

I needed groceries and Ace decided to go home while Isaiah and I went shopping.

Isaiah lets out a long groan. "Not Ace. Rose. I wanted her to come shopping with us, but she won't respond." He shoots me a glare. "Probably because I said you would be there." He grumbles.

"What the fuck? Why would that matter?" Rose and I are on good terms, she wouldn't not respond because of me. Right?

Shit, did I do something to upset her?

"Maybe it's because you call her cupcake all the time." I point out.

I don't think she cares, but he never asked if she was ok with it or not. A look of panic covers Isaiah's face. "Does she not like it?" I don't like it, that's for sure. Who the heck does he think he is giving her a nickname like cupcake. Jackass.

"I'm just joking." I say to calm him down. We all tend to get a little bit protective over her, and also worried she'll end up leaving, because what girl would want two rough fighters and an airhead as her friends?

Rose apparently, and she fits with us so well. It seems like we've known her forever even though it's only been just over a month.

"Why do you think she's not answering then? '' Isaiah mopes.

"Maybe she's working?" I offer.

"She always responds right away though." He says.

True, she usually texts back within a few minutes. "Maybe she's sleeping?" I try again, only to get a scoff from him.

"In the middle of the day?" He emphasises the word middle.

"Sick?" I say, and the word already has me starting to get worried too.

"Maybe, that's an issue though. Right? What if she's so sick she can't make a call? Does she live with anyone? What if she hit her head or something?" Isaiah speaks rapidly.

His panic started to make my brain run wild. The last time we hung out I asked her if she was safe at home, she said sometimes. That means sometimes she's not, I didn't want to pressure her to tell me what was going on, but now I'm kinda wishing I would have.

Does she still live with her parents? Are they nice people? Or maybe she lives with roommates. Or maybe she lives alone, with an alcoholic neighbor who picks her to attack when he's had too much to drink.

What are the sometimes that aren't safe?

"She's probably fine." I say, trying to convince the both of us. No need to panic over one unresponded text.

We left the supermarket with a cart of groceries, Isaiah complained the whole time about the text and it eventually worked me up enough to try and call her. It went straight to voicemail, and now it's all I can do to not lose my Goddamn mind thinking the worst.

I think we ended up getting a couple things on the list, but the rest was stress shopping. Way too many bags of chips and candy were bought today.

"I got it!" Isaiah exclaims as we set the last of the bags on the kitchen island. "It's probably broken." He says like he just cracked a code.

"What do you mean?" I question, putting the few refrigerated items away.

"Your phone. It was old and cracked. She probably dropped it or it just gave out. She's not ignoring us, because the calls go straight to voicemail." He points out, actually making sense now.

"Yeah, or the phone could have died and she's in the middle of a job, maybe she doesn't have a way to charge it." I add. We're grasping for anything to ease our worry, and it's finally working.

"Why do you guys look so down?" Ace says as he walks in.

"Rose didn't reply to a text I sent. And now the calls are going straight to voicemail." Isaiah explains.

"So?" Ace says, his eyebrows raised in question.

"What if something happened to her!?" Isaiah's voice raises again.

"You guys have issues. I'm sure she's fine." He says untroubled at the situation.

"You guys? I didn't even say anything!" I grunt. His hand reaches out for a bag of chips, but I swipe them away and put them in the pantry before he can get them. I'm not so sure I like his attitude today.

"Your face says it all, lover boy." He shrugs, then grabs a bag of candy before I can stop him.

"What the fuck?" I yell as he retreats to the living room. Lover boy?

"Don't even try to deny it. I see the way you look at her." He says, smirking as he does.

"Yeah, you won't even let me give her a friendly hug." Isaiah adds in.

What the hell, now they're teaming up on me in my own house? And eating the food I just bought?

"Yeah, and how exactly do I look at her?" I challenge.

"Like she means the world to you." Ace stated.

"I'm that obvious am I?" I sigh, slumping down on the couch.

"To everyone but her." Isaiah confirms. "I think she's had some trouble with friends or something before. She doesn't even understand why we would want her around." He adds, making my heart clench. "She's warming up to us though, I can see it." He continues with a smile on his face.

I'm pretty sure we've all made it our main goal to make her want to be our friend, as much as we want to be her friends.

"So you admit you like her?" Ace pries.

"Yeah, I do. It's strange though, you know? I've never felt like this about someone before." I admit.

I never imagined myself being with someone, I always thought I'd be alone. But then Rose got stuck on Olivia's roof and that way of thinking seemed to vanish.

"That's good. Maybe you won't have to go through a bunch of heartbreaking breakups like Isaiah did." Ace mocks.

"Hey! When the fuck did this become about me?" He yells.

"When you decide to buy Lucy that two thousand dollar bag." He shoots back.

"Oh my God. When are you going to let that go?" Isaiah groans.

"Never, obviously." Ace laughs.

I guess he enjoys being able to tease us both about girls now. Great.

Isaiah is just about to start a yelling match with Ace that would piss me off when a knock at the door sounds.

"Did you order pizza again?" I ask as I stand up.

"No, I didn't order anything." He says, also confused. I open the door and on the other side stands a man I've never seen before, but he has a little girl attached to his leg and a boy in his arms.

Cole and Lilly, what are they doing here?

"Hi, can I help you?" I ask, trying to piece together what's going on and why the kids look so upset.

"Where's Rose?" Lilly whimpers as she tries to fight back tears that are building in her eyes.

"What?" I ask confused, looking at the man holding Cole.

"Sorry to bother you. I'm Bob, their dad. Rose was supposed to be at our house for dinner. She texted me hours ago saying she was thirty minutes out, but never showed up. I can't get a hold of her, and the kids are worried sick. Lilly wanted to come check and see if she's here with you." Bob says, looking a little worried himself.

It feels like the world spins out of control for a second, all the previous worries Isaiah and I had swinging back full force.

"She's not here. We've actually been trying to get a hold of her for a while too." I say worried.

Cole's big eyes look up at me as his lip starts to quiver. "No, Rose?" He cries quietly.

"Hey, don't worry. We'll find her." Bob promises him.

"Do you think something happened to her?" I ask, trying to stay calm for the kid's sake.

"I hope not. But it's not like her, she always shows up on time." He holds Cole closer to him and gives me a look. A look that tells me he doesn't have a good feeling about what's going on. I nod my head in understanding.

"I'll tell the guys and we'll go looking for her. Let's exchange numbers so I can let you know if I find her, vice-versa." I say hurried.

We exchange numbers and then he leaves with two sad kids in his arms.

They were going to look for her, but had no clue where to look. So since the boys and I are going to be out looking anyways, I suggested they go home just in case she shows up there like she was supposed to.

"Who was that?" Isaiah mumbles with a mouth full of food as I close the door behind me.

"We need to go." I rush out, searching the room for my car keys.

"Why?" Ace asks, picking up on my frantic movements.

"That was the kid's and their dad. Rose is missing." I hissed, getting pissed that I can't find my keys.

"What? What do you mean?" Isaiah asks abruptly, swallowing the food in his mouth, almost choking in the process.

"I mean she's missing. He said she was supposed to be at their house hours ago. But she never showed and they can't get a hold of her." I say aggressively as I flip the couch cushions up.

"Where the fuck are my keys!" I yell. I just fucking had them, where could they have gone?

"In your pocket." Isaiah says. Both Isaiah and Ace grab their phones and rush out the door. I pat my pocket down and sure enough my keys are in them along with my wallet.

I run out the door, down the steps and to my car. The boys are waiting by it and jump in once I unlock it.

"Where could she be?" Ace asks from the passenger seat once we peel out onto the road.

"Isaiah, where does she live?" I ask, he's the only one who has picked her up. My heart is beating harshly against my chest, my fingers grip the steering wheel tightly.

Please, let her be fine.

"She lives in the apartments next to the market on 5th street. I'm not sure what number though, she met me outside." Isaiah says, his voice becoming serious.

"We can check the parking lot for her car." I state. If her car isn't there then she probably isn't either.

"Good idea." Ace nods.

"I'll keep trying her phone. Maybe she'll pick up one of these times." Isaiah mumbles from behind me.

"Do you think maybe we're being a little over dramatic? She probably just had something come up and turned her phone off." Ace says composed. But the way his hands are clenched by his sides tell me he's actually nervous as hell also.

"I hope so. But think about it, she always responds to us quickly, and it's been hours. Plus she loves those kids more than anything, she wouldn't just stand them up like that." I say, my insides twisting as I become nauseous.

"Shit." Ace breaths out, the weight of my words hitting all of us, hard.

Even if there was something that came up, Rose wouldn't just not tell the kids. And if her phone broke, she would have just driven over there anyway, so why didn't she show up?

"Turn here! She was right there when I picked her up." Isaiah points to a cluster of apartments. I pull into the parking lot and drive around, when we don't see her car there we check the surrounding streets, then the supermarket parking lot.

Nothing, her car isn't anywhere near where she lives.

"Fuck!" I yell, slamming my hand down on the steering wheel.

I barely know this girl, but the thought of her being in trouble, or hurt, sends a surge of pain through my chest.

She holds a piece of my heart with her, and I don't even know enough about her to know where to look next. I'm such a fucking idiot, I thought I shouldn't ask to many questions, that I would scare her off.

But she doesn't talk about herself unless asked, so why the hell did I think she would just magically open up to me one day. She practically admitted to me that she was in a situation that wasn't safe, I'm such a fucking idiot for letting her leave that night without asking why.

What if that was her way of asking for help, and I just brushed it off thinking she didn't want to talk about it.

I'm such a fucking idiot.

"We should check the waterfall." Isaiah suggests. "She didn't ask but maybe she's there." He says hopeful. I nod my head and step on the gas. Please be ok.

"Do you have tracking on that phone?" Ace askes, taking out his own. "I don't think so." My brows furrow as I think. "I'll call our provider and see if there's a way to track it." He says, dialing numbers as I speed through a yellow light.

"Ok, just make sure to tell them we aren't worried about it being stolen. They might lock it, then she won't be able to use it if she tries." I hurry out before they pick up the line. Ace nods and starts talking with them, giving information and numbers.

"Anything?" I question Isaiah who hasn't stopped trying to get a call through to Rose's phone.

"Nothing." He sighs and tries again. Ace hangs up the phone and I look over at him briefly before focusing back on the road. I don't like the look on his face.

"They can't track it, there isn't anything they can do I guess." He says, his voice becoming frustrated.

"She's probably at the waterfall." I nod to myself. "That bunny probably found her again, and she lost track of time." I smile at the memory, she was extra dang cute with that bunny curled up on her lap.

But then I remembered the time before, when she climbed up a fucking cliff that could have gotten her killed if she slipped, and the smile is ripped right off of my face.

"Yeah, probably." Ace nods. I can tell we're all thinking the worst right now, but none of us are going to say that out loud.

⇼♢⇼♢⇼♢⇼♢⇼

"Fuck, she isn't here either." Ace's fist slams against the door as the parking area for the waterfall comes into view. I swing around and start driving to the next destination.

"Call your mom." I instruct Isaiah. "Maybe she ended up there." I'm running out of ideas, out of places that I know Rose's goes to.

Isaiah calls Olivia, but Rose isn't there. "Let's swing back by your place. Maybe she's there, and if not we can all take different cars to cover more areas." Ace suggests.

I give a quick nod and take a left back towards my place.

We searched the whole night, drove every street in the city, but didn't spot her car anywhere. We contemplated going to the police only to realize we don't have a picture of her, or even know her last name.

I called Bob when the sun rose, he hadn't heard anything from her earlier, and the kids cried themselves to sleep.

"What do we do now?" Isaiah yawns as he walks out of the bathroom in my apartment. We came back to refresh and make some coffee.

"I don't know, we've searched everywhere." I say defeated.

What if she skipped town, or someone forced her to leave? The thought of never seeing her again is a pain I never thought imaginable.

I'd take getting clobbered in the cage any day over the ache in my chest right now.

A soft knock at the door flows into the apartment.

I walk over, my fingers hovering above the handle for a second. I can't help but think of the possibility of Rose standing on the other side of the door.

I take a deep breath turning the handle and open it.

"Rose! Holy shit, thank God you're ok!" I bellow.

Instinctively I pull her towards me, wrapping my arms around her tightly so she won't disappear again.

"Oh my God." Isaiah yells running over to us.

"Is she ok?" Ace questions, trying to get a look at her, but my arms are covering her head completely. Fuck, why does she fit so well against me.

"I think she's ok." I mumble, my brain sleep deprived, trying to process she's actually here.

"Why don't you ask her to make sure." Isaiah suggests.

I don't because that would involve dropping my arms, and because I thought something really bad happened, because I was scared I'd never see her again and now that I have her in my arms I never want to let go.

Rose wiggles in my arms, breaking free she gasps for air. Shit, I was squeezing her too hard.

"Where the fuck have you been, Cupcake! We've been worried sick!" Isaiah yells, his voice dripping in anger. Rose's eyes widen so slightly that you'd have missed it if you weren't staring at them.

"W-what? What do you mean?" Rose stammers, confused.

"You weren't answering your phone. And the kids showed up last night worried when you didn't show up." I explained, trying to keep my voice level so I don't scare her any more than Isaiah just did.

"Oh no!" Rose chokes on her words. I can see the same panic that Isaiah described the first night he saw her returning to her face.

"Hey, it's ok. Why don't you give them a call now so they know you're ok?" I suggest. My chest constricts at the site of her worrying, the need to stop it and make everything ok becoming unbearable.

"I can't, my phone died. I have to make sure they're ok." She mumbles, biting her nails. Her eyes lose focus as she shifts from one leg to the other.

"Here." I grab her hand and place my phone in it. "Bob's number is in there already, go call them." I urge.

She needs to calm down or she might send herself into another attack.

She nods her head, quickly dialing the number and walks to the kitchen to talk.

I turn to Isaiah, "What the hell? Not ok, Isaiah." I growl. His eyebrows raise in shock.

"What?" He questions. Now I understand why Cole didn't like him at first. I know Isaiah meant no harm, but that doesn't do much to stop the urge I have to punch him in the face for the tone he just used with her.

"Watch your fucking tone with her." I grit. "She doesn't deserve that." I add. Who knows what's happened to her, all we know so far is that her phone is dead. But if that was it, she would have just gone home and charged it. The fact that she ended up at my apartment tells me there is way more to the story.

"Shit, I didn't mean to." Isaiah whispers, combing his hand through his hair. Rose walks back into the room, the frown that was covering her face gone.

"Thank you." She says as she hands me my phone. Her green eyes sparkle up at me, and I forget how to breathe.

"I'm sorry!" Isaiah blurts out, the feeling of wanting to shove his head down a toilet returns when her eyes look away from me and over to him instead.

"Hit me, I deserve it!" He yells, one eye closes as his body slightly folds in, anticipating a punch.

Rose looks at him confused for a moment, then her eyes look back at me. She slides closer to me and tilts her head towards my own.

"Is he ok?" She whispers out of the corner of her mouth. I shrug, because I ask myself that question multiple times a day.

"Go on, hit me." Isaiah pivots his body so his right shoulder is pointing towards her.

"No, why would I hit you?" The look of complete disgust crosses her face. Of course she wouldn't want to hit him, she doesn't seem like one of the girls who would get pleasure out of that.

Unlike one of Isaiah's exes, she loved smacking him around, even though she never did major harm to him, it took a toll on our friendship.