Jess sat in her small apartment wondering how long it would take her to regret her decision, how long it would take her to miss her home and her family. She wondered if they would find her, or if they would even look. After all she was turning 18 in two months, she had left a note, she was sure they had all been waiting for it to happen, waiting for her to be gone the next time they woke up. It didn’t matter though, because what was done was done, there was no going back.

She didn’t have a job yet, but in all fairness she hadn’t really been looking. She had enough money to live comfortably for the next couple months at least. She would look soon, but first she just needed time. Time to breathe, let loose, and fix her heart. It hadn’t been broken by a boyfriend, but by someone worse. Her friends, all of them, they just decided that she wasn’t worth their time anymore. She told herself that it was fine with her; she never liked them that much anyway. Part of that, at least, was true. They weren’t her true friends, just poor replacements for a friend she had lost long ago; but despite everything it still hurt to think that they had been using her in the same way she had been using them.

A knock at her door stilled her thoughts, she hadn’t introduced herself to anyone, and this was not the type of neighborhood where people brought a tray of cookies to welcome you. Her heart beat at a speed she didn’t know possible while she contemplated the thought that her family might have found her, might have actually come looking. She finally managed to make her legs work and she stiffly guided them to the door. She didn’t have a peephole or a window, just a solid wooden door obscuring any trace of the hallway outside. With a trembling hand she undid the lock and opened the door.

The face she saw was not one that she ever expected, nor wanted, to see again, but it was one that calmed her heart, at least a little, because it was not the face of anyone in her family. Her secret was still safe, as long as she could ensure that the man in the door never revealed it.

“Mike,” she said, concealing most of her shock, “how did you find me?” It wasn’t until she asked the question that she took in his appearance: tired, worn, and stressed beyond thinking clearly. He wouldn’t have been that concerned about her, so that left one person. Her features hardened thinking about her. “More importantly, why did you find me?”

“She’s gone Jess, someone took her.” She saw the desperation in his eyes, heard it in his voice, but didn’t understand why he would come to her. Her, who she had turned on, abandoned without a second thought.

“Why should I care Mike, why? She turned on me, not the other way around; she thought I was nothing more than a cold-hearted, lying bitch. So tell me, why should I care?”

“You may not care about her, but you care about me Jess, I know you do. So please help. Despite the image you try to project, I know you’re a caring person, and I think you still care about what happens to her. But if you don’t, then at least care about how I feel. Please.”