At 11:47 p.m., the phone rang.
My hand shook when I saw the school number.
“Camila?” Mr. Thomas said. “You and John need to come to the school now.”
“What happened?”
His voice shook. “It’s Livia. She stepped outside, and no one has seen her since.”
“You and John need to come to the school now.”
John was already grabbing his keys.
I said the first name my fear gave me.
“Where’s Mitchell?”
Mr. Thomas paused. “We don’t know that he has anything to do with this.”
“Of course he does.”
“Camila, please just come.”
Balloons still hung from the gym doors when we arrived.
“Camila, please just come.”
Liam sat outside the office in his tux, his bow tie loose around his neck.
I rushed to him. “Where is she?”
His face crumpled. “She said she needed air. I thought she’d come right back.”
“You promised me you’d stay together.”
“I know.”
“Camila,” John said softly.
I pulled away from him. “Where’s Mitchell?”
“I thought she’d come right back.”
Liam flinched.
I saw it.
I just misunderstood it.
Mr. Thomas stepped closer. “We’ve called the police. They’re checking the grounds. Her purse is gone, and her phone is off. Because she’s 18, this could have been her choice.”
“Her purse is gone?” John asked.
“Her purse is gone, and her phone is off.”
I grabbed that detail and twisted it into what I could handle.
