I wake up in the morning, reviewing the list of notes I made the night before on the complimentary notepad. The whole situation makes my brain hurt but I only see one obvious solution. The internet even proved that my plan can be executed. It’s all shades of gray so I’ll have to find someone to explain it to me, but it’s possible and that’s all that matters. I grab my phone off the night stand, turning it on. I have a bunch of missed calls and texts but I’ll deal with them later. For now, I call Andy, waiting for her to pick up.

“Where the hell are you, Skye? I’ve been calling and texting you all night! Gavin wouldn’t leave me alone with asking where you were!”

“Sorry, I just needed time to clear my head and think things through.”

“That doesn’t answer my question of ‘where are you’.”

“Don’t worry about me. Is Daniel around?”

“Why do you need Daniel?”

I can detect a hint of jealousy in her voice. That and curiosity.

“I just need to run something by him quick. Is he there or no?”

“He’s at work but I can give you his number and you can text him. Would that work?”

“Yes.”

She rattles off his number as I write it down on the notepad. Just to make sure I copied it down correctly, I recite it back to her.

“Okay you have his number, now tell me why you need to talk to him.”

“Don’t worry about it! I promise I’ll tell you everything soon.”

“Skye Cassandra Knight if you don’t tell me what’s going on I’m going to skin you alive and hang you by your toes.”

I cringe at the violent nature of that but I don’t let it phase me. Andy tends to have a violent side when she’s jealous or suspicious.

“Bye, Andy!”

“Don’t you dare hang up o-!”

She doesn’t finish her sentence before I hang up on her. I quickly enter Daniel’s number into my phone, sending him a text.

Me: It’s Skye. I need to talk to you ASAP. When can we meet?

Knowing he won’t respond for a while, I busy myself with other tasks. First on my to-do list is answer all the messages. All of the voicemails are from Andy asking where I am and threatening to kill me herself if I don’t answer her.

The texts are different.

A handful of them are from Andy and there are some from Sonny. The rest are from Gavin.

Sonny: Wanna hang later? As friends

Sonny: I stopped by the apartment and you weren’t there

Sonny: Gavin’s freaking out What the **** is going on

Sonny: Answer his messages before he has a meltdown

Sonny: Please

I message Sonny back, guilt creeping into my stomach, making me sick.

Skye: Sorry. I needed to get away and think.

His response comes back almost instantly.

Sonny: Why didn’t you tell Gavin

Skye: We aren’t really on the best terms since that day we talked

Sonny: Oh

Skye: Yeah

Sonny: I’d message him if I were you

Skye: I will

Sonny: NOW

Skye: Okay!!!!

I exit my messages with Sonny, jumping over to Gavin’s unanswered ones. I scroll through them all, stopping when I hit the first one.

Gavin: Where are you?

Gavin: Are you okay?

Gavin: I found a bloody towel in the sink. Please tell me you are okay

Gavin: How bad is the injury?

Gavin: Are you at the hospital? Is it that bad?

Gavin: There was some blood on the floor too

Gavin: And broken glass in the trash can

Gavin: Skye please

Gavin: I called all the nearby hospitals. Where are you Skye?

Gavin: Skye???

Gavin: Some of your stuff is gone

Gavin: Your backpack is gone

Gavin: If you aren’t answering because you think I’m gonna be mad that you broke a glass, you are wrong

Gavin: At least tell me you are safe

Gavin: Skye please

Gavin: If it’s something I said or did, tell me

Gavin: :(

Gavin: Fine

Guilt floods my stomach, making me drop my phone on the table and rush to the bathroom. I barely make it to the toilet bowl before my baked chicken and green beans from last night make a reappearance. Tears pour out of my eyes too, making the whole situation worse. Once I’m sure I won’t puke again, I flush the toilet and stand up shakily. I turn on the faucet, letting the water get a little warmer before rinsing off my face and hands. I take a good, long look in the mirror as I dry off. I shouldn’t have left his apartment without at least telling him I’m safe. I should have taken care of the towel before I left. I know I should call Gavin, but I can’t right now. My head is clear right now and seeing anybody will destroy my organized thoughts. I need a clear head if I’m going to talk to research this and make phone calls.

I exit the bathroom and sit at the table.

Time to get down to business.