32.
chapter thirty-two
Misty's gone?

May's message was oddly unsettling. I couldn't wait until the second-floor hospital wing to ask her what she was high on when she sent the message.

Misty's gone?

Bursting into the room, I didn’t particularly care that I was supposed to be silent. "May?!"

The girl was sitting on the edge of Dawn's bed. She flinched, gingerly turning to me.

Panic coursed through me as I approached her. Drew was perched on the other side. "What's wrong? What about Misty?"

She blinked, then tapped furiously on her phone before proffering it to me. It showed a list of text messages between her and Misty. The only absurdity was that...

She hadn't received a reply to any of those. I looked up from the screen, worry seizing me. "Did you see her? She knew we were going to spend time with Dawn if she woke up."

My memory flashed back to when she and Gary had quarreled their way out. "That's the problem," I mumbled, clenching my right hand with the left. "She doesn't know Dawn woke up."

The bluette in question tilted her head, her eyes widening. "I thought so too. I only saw you when I woke up."

"What could have happened to her then? She isn't picking up any of my calls," May worried. "Why don't you try, Serena?"

I instantly reached for my phone, but Drew cut me short. "There's no use. I tried too. Just a few minutes before you came in. Maybe she's just hanging out with Gary, and y’all are hyping it up. Let them be and get along without turning the house upside down, you guys."

We exchanged a glance. May and Dawn were easily swayed, but it went further than just inverting the house or committing arson. It went to extracting the human lifeline when it concerned those two.

Even as Dawn was discharged and we boarded Drew's car, my mind kept wandering to Misty and Gary. They didn't seem so desperate to run away or anything the last time I saw them. But this was Misty and Gary I was talking about.

Part of my mind wanted to phone Ash. Tell him everything. Maybe Gary could be in med school. And maybe he dropped Misty home on the way. It was nearby either way.

I was so preoccupied in my head that I never paid attention to the changing scenery, and soon, Drew was driving away.

"Serena, I'll go get some snacks from the nearby departmental store," May said as soon as we helped Dawn to her bed.

"I'll keep her company until then."

And company, I kept. Despite my mind wandering to my orange-haired best friend and her soulmate. To my own soulmate.

"An accident is how you met him? That's honestly so book trope!" Dawn mused, wiggling her eyebrows as her eyes darted between me and my phone. The home screen was a photo of Ash and me, and to be under her cooing breath was a total train wrecker.

"Yeah, I suppose," I trailed off, a nervous laugh escaping my lips despite myself. Peering over my shoulder, I caught the girl scrolling through the photos of us and May and Drew from the double date a few days ago.

"Aww, you guys look so cute." There was an unmistakable hint of melancholy etched in her voice. It weighed my heart down.

Apparently, she sensed it too, for she changed the topic quickly. "Oh, are those churros I see? No fair! I want some too!"

I laughed, the somber atmosphere quickly shifting when she pouted, pointing at the photo of May feeding Drew a churro. The boy's secret smile was caught in 8K, I noticed.

"I'll ask Ash to get some then." I grinned, and the girl mirrored my reaction with a finger gun.

"Dang, you and May are hella lucky. Like, look at Drew and Ash, O-M-G! I know Drew's all lovey-dovey, but from what I heard from May, Ash is a total keeper?!"

I blushed, heat creeping to my ears. "Yeah, he's really sweet and adorable—"

We were cut short when my phone rang. One look at the name lighting up the screen, and Dawn burst out laughing. "Speak of the devil, and the devil shows up! I mean, your angel!" she winked, handing me my phone when I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever," I shot back, slumping onto a chair to pick up the call. "Hello?"

"Serena, don't go anywhere!"

My heart skipped a beat, his tension radiating off his voice tremendously. "What's wrong?"

There was a sharp knock, and Dawn motioned that she’d answer it. I watched her trudge out of the bedroom before returning to the call, clutching my phone tighter against my ear. "Ash? Are you there—?"

"They've got Gary and Misty. I'm on the way to pick you up. I can't confide online. Just stay where you are, and keep the doors locked!"

Doors locked.

"Wait." I felt my lungs constricting. Before I could make a move, Dawn's sharp yelp echoed off the walls, tearing through the house. "They're here!" I exclaimed, my feet breaking into a run to the hall. Ash's voice faintly echoed.

"Run! Leave her house! Run! To my med school! Paul! Hold the phone!"

But I wasn't listening. Dawn's screams were resonating in my ears, mulled by my heart pounding. I gripped the edge of the doorway, knuckles turning white when I spotted them: the men in white.

As if they had caught sight of their prey, they advanced. I could only catch a glimpse of Dawn, sprawled on the carpet and unconscious, before I was cornered.

My mind went blank when one of them pushed forward, his wrist slamming into my stomach and knocking the air out of my lungs. I hit something hard, and that seemed like the end of everything.

"She was child's play," I heard faintly. "Let's get her to boss."

There was a grunt as I fought to stay awake—a battle I was losing easily. Ash's voice on the call was the last thing I heard before everything bled into an abyss of darkness.

"SERENA!"

— 🫧 —

Dun, dun, dun!
Cliffhanger! How do
you feel?

Thank you for reading!

Miyoko x