I waited around after school for a bit, just in case Lizzie didn’t actually go on that run with Andrew. Sitting in the car, just scrolling through Instagram, the windows down. It was a nice afternoon. That was before we knew she was missing though. I saw Derrick and Ethan crossing the parking lot. Ethan waved at me, and Derrick got this look on his face. You know the one boys get. That look that says everything he’s not saying. I waved to them, and watched Ethan nudge Derrick toward my car. He seemed reluctant, but eventually obliged.

I put my phone down in my lap and rested my arm against the open window. “Hey,” I said slyly as he came forward.

Derrick looked back at Ethan before he answered me. “Hey, Beth. You waiting on your sister?”

                I nodded, smiling. I tried not to seem shy. “I might be. I think she was going on a run. Not sure though. Didn’t want to leave her here, in case she changed her mind.”

                Derrick looked like he didn’t know how to respond. He fidgeted for a moment before asking, “Want me to wait with you?”

                I felt a slight fluttering in my chest. “That’d be nice,” I said. I picked my bag up off the passenger seat and tossed it in the back. “Get in.”

                He came around the front of the car, opened the passenger door, and slid in next to me. He was quiet. I was too. I was nervous. Not just about having Derrick in my car, but about Lizzie. She had just been so off that morning.

                “Can I ask you something?” I blurted, before I could stop myself.

                Derrick looked bewildered. “Sure,” he stated, nodding his head.

                “What do you do if somebody you care about is chasing after the wrong person?”

                Derrick cracked a half smile. “You talking about Lizzie and Andrew?”

                I was kind of surprised he knew junior drama. I only knew about it because of cross country. Well, I knew about it because Lizzie is my sister, but if she wasn’t my sister, I’d still know about it because of cross country. “How’d you know?”

                Derrick rubbed his hand over his mouth, thinking. “Well, people talk about other people. I hear all sorts of stuff. Did you know she was crying in the lunchroom today?”

                Lizzie and I don’t eat lunch together. She goes to first lunch, and I go to second. “She was?”

                Derrick nodded. “I just thought she and Andrew had a fight. That’s kinda what they do, right?”

                “Yeah, you’re right about that.” I paused. “Wait, I didn’t think Andrew had first lunch.”

                “No, he doesn’t,” Derrick confirmed. “But Ashton told me that she’d seen them talking near her locker before third period started, and both of them looked so tense. There was a solid three foot circle around the two of them that nobody wanted to get inside.”

                Ashton was another junior, and she also ran cross country. “I didn’t know you knew Ashton.”

                “Yeah,” he sighed. “We’re in Spanish together.” He paused, a conspiratorial look coming over his features. “She likes me,” she said slowly.

                I stared at him, trying not to show how much I was sinking. “You like her too?”

                “God, no!” Derrick laughed.

                Relieved, I laughed too, before I considered what he had told me about Lizzie. “So, if they had a fight, then, they probably wouldn’t have gone running together,” I reasoned.

                “Good thing you’re still in the parking lot,” Derrick said.

                I looked at the clock on the dash. It was 3:12. School had let out over 20 minutes ago. “Well, what’s she doing if she’s not running?” I asked. A cold prick of fear hit me, like ice in my belly.

                Derrick must have noticed. His look grew concerned. “You wanna go back inside and look for her?”

                I chewed my lip nervously. “Yeah, I do,” I said. I rolled up the windows, shut off the engine. Derrick exited the car, and I followed him. He must have sensed my unease, because he grew bold enough to put his arm around my shoulders as we walked.

                “I’m sure she’s fine, Beth,” he said, as he gave me a little squeeze.

---

                I saw the fight happening before I heard it. It was at the end of the day, and I could not wait to get out of the school. I had my laptop bag over one shoulder, my purse slung over the other. I carried my heels in my left hand, having switched them out for tennis shoes for the drive home. I was clutching my water bottle and my keys in my right hand. As I approached the side door of the school, the one that led to the staff parking lot, I saw them. Lizzie’s whole body seemed to be shaking. I couldn’t tell if it was with anger, anxiety or joy. I slowed my approach. Andrew threw his arms out wide, in a gesture of impatience. That’s when I realized that Lizzie was crying.

                I opened the door and was greeted with the sounds of the arguing. It was the kind of low arguing that you do when you don’t want to draw too much attention to yourself. Andrew’s hands were on his hips and Lizzie had hers crossed against her chest. I heard the furious words slinking out of Andrew as I moved towards my car. They were standing right next to it.

                “I told you already, Andrew. Give me some space. You’re smothering me.”

                “You didn’t care before,” he hissed. “You liked it up until a month ago.”

                She didn’t say anything, and wiped a hand over her forehead. Andrew turned his gaze away from her, and met my eyes. “Oh, hey, Ms. Perkins.”

                “Andrew. Lizzie,” I greeted, weighing if I should pry into what was going on between them. “Everything okay?”

                Lizzie wiped away fresh tears. “Everything’s fine, Ms. Perkins.”

                Andrew took this as his opportunity to exit. “I’ll see you later,” he muttered. He strode away, across the parking lot towards the baseball field and the track. Lizzie didn’t watch him go. She stayed still as stone, silently leaking tears.

                “Lizzie,” I said as tenderly as I could.

                She looked up at the sound of her name. “Yeah?” she squeaked.

                I debated on what to say to her now that I had her attention. I had a vague sense of the troubled romance between her and Andrew, but I had no details. Still, she reminded me of myself at a certain age, and I wanted her to know that it would get better. “You can get through this, Lizzie. I’ve been there.”

                She wiped away more tears. “What do you mean?”

                “I mean, I had a boyfriend I was off and on with for most of my high school years,” I admitted. “I know it hurts, right now. But it won’t always hurt.”

                “What happened to you and your boyfriend? Did you break up?” she asked.

                I didn’t want to lie to her, but I didn’t think it would help her to tell the truth. We had dated through all of college too, but not consistently, and we had gotten married, but divorced after two years. I never spoke to him now. “We did. And it was hard, but I survived it. So can you.”

                She nodded, casting her eyes downward. She didn’t say anything.

                She was standing next to my car’s driver door, and she didn’t look like she had any intention of moving. “Do you need a ride somewhere?” I asked.

                “Oh, no. Beth is probably waiting for me,” she said.

                “Okay,” I said. “Go find your sister.” I paused. “And if you want to talk about anything, you know you can always come to me, okay?”

                “Thanks Ms. Perkins,” she said. She offered me a weak smile. Lizzie’s expression was hollow. She looked like she had been run ragged. The fatigue in her features was unnerving. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” But it looked like a lie was in her eyes. That smile didn’t change the sadness in her expression.

                I wish I would have stopped her, told her to get into my car. Told her I’d take her home. I might have saved her family some pain if I had offered to walk with her to Beth’s car. But I can’t take it back now. I can only learn from this, so I can do better in the future.

---

                There’s a rumor going around that Lizzie’s pregnant, but it’s not true. She told Angie that she never had sex with Andrew, even though he was asking her to. And Angie told Jessica—because you tell your sister stuff like that, I guess—and then of course Jessica told me. You definitely tell your best friend stuff like that. But it’s not like I care what my brother and his girlfriend do! I don’t want to think about that. Gross!

                He was normal this morning, but after we got home from school, he was real mean. Like, real mean. I was sitting at the counter in the kitchen when he came in the back door. He just had this cloud hanging over him. So, I asked, “What are you mad about?”

“I’m not mad,” he said. Classic deflection. I swear, boys need to learn how to talk about their feelings. There is no way he was not mad. His whole body was carrying the anger.

                “Really?” I crossed my arms and stared at him, waiting.

                “It’s none of your business Amy! Shut up!” he yelled at me.

                “Just trying to help,” I said, before I went back to looking at my math homework.

                “I don’t need your help,” he muttered.

                I was curious, so I admit, I poked the bear a bit. “Did something happen with Lizzie?”

                Oh, that got his blood boiling. He looked like he was steaming from the ears. His face went all red and his lips got tight. “Don’t talk to me about Lizzie.”

                “She finally dump you for good?”

                He took three quick steps across the kitchen, got up right in my face and growled, “I said don’t talk to me about Lizzie! Get out of my face!”

“You’re the one who came in here with a crap attitude, dude! Get out of my face!”

He moved away from me, and he was muttering, but I just ignored him. He is hellbent on that girl, but they just aren’t right for each other. They’re gonna destroy one another before either one of them can be happy. It’s like watching a car crash. You know what I mean?

                Anyway, he opened the pantry, and rummaged around in there for a minute, then poured himself some fruit loops and left the kitchen without saying another word to me. He slammed his bedroom door. I don’t know what was wrong with him, but he only ever gets that way if he doesn’t perform well in sports, or if something is going on between him and Lizzie. I think Lizzie might have another guy that’s after her, and Andrew doesn’t like that because he knows that this other guy will treat Lizzie better than he can. Andrew is just not a mature guy, you know? I mean, who blows up about not getting a PR during a cross country meet? He needs a therapist.  I don’t know what Lizzie sees in him. If she lived with him, she’d know he’s not worth all the drama.

---

                Lizzie wasn’t home by 7 that night, and I knew something was very wrong. They say a mother can sense these things. Beth was biting her nails as she mindlessly surfed through the channels. I was waiting for Jay to get home before I started to worry, but watching Beth’s anxious fidgeting was making that hard. I chewed a piece of gum to keep my mind from racing, scrolling through news from the New York Times as I waited.

                A car pulled into the driveway. I froze. Beth met my eyes. She looked like she might bolt from the couch to see who was outside. I waited, chewing slowly, watching her calmly. The engine shut off, and a moment later, the car door shut. I heard keys clinking in the lock.

                “It’s Dad,” Beth said. I didn’t know if she was relieved or disappointed.

                I stood, half expecting Lizzie to follow Jay in the door. But he was alone. He smiled at me, but then his face fell. He sensed the mood in the room. “You okay, Mags?”

                “Dad, we don’t know where Lizzie is,” Beth said before I could answer.

                His eyes slid from her to me and back again. “What do you mean?”

                “She was supposed to go running with Andrew after school today. I tried to text and call her and she hasn’t answered.”

                Jay frowned, setting his bag down by the door, before moving fully into the living room. “Did you try Andrew?”

                “Yeah, I texted him too, but he didn’t answer.”

                Jay looked at me. He must have seen my helplessness. “This isn’t like her,” I said, my voice cracking.

                “Do you have a way to get ahold of Andrew’s parents? Maybe they know where they are?”

                I nodded my head. “I could call Coach Blevins. He’d know how to get ahold of one of them.”

                “Okay,” Jay said. “Do that.” He turned his attention to Beth. “Do you know any of her friends? Maybe they know where she is?”

                Beth slumped further into the couch. “I already tried that. Nobody saw her after school.” She paused. “Derrick and I went back inside to look for her, just in case. I just had a really bad feeling about everything. I couldn’t find her.”

                “You don’t think Andrew would have…I mean…they didn’t…” Jay looked to me for help, and though I didn’t know the exact question he was trying to ask, I picked up on the spirit of it.

                “I can’t imagine he’d hurt her,” I whispered. But I knew they had had a fight, and there was a nagging voice in my head telling me things I didn’t want to believe.

                “Call Coach Blevins. See if you can get ahold of Andrew’s parents,” Jay instructed before I could voice my thoughts.

                I took my phone outside, sat on the patio. The call rung three times before Coach picked up. “Hello?”

                “Mark?” I asked.

                “Hey, Maggie,” he said brightly.

                “Mark, I really need to get in touch with Andrew Davison’s parents.”

                There was a short pause and an inhale. “Okay. I have his mom’s number. Everything okay?”

                “Well, I’m not sure. Lizzie isn’t home from school yet. Beth said she was going to go for a run with Andrew today.”

                “We weren’t scheduled for practice today. Didn’t see them on the track as I was leaving school either.” Mark offered. “I’ll text you Kate’s number when we hang up.”

                “Okay, thanks Mark,” I said. “I’m sure everything is fine, this is just a out of the ordinary.”

                “Oh, I understand. Hey, let me know if you find them, okay?” He sounded sincere. I could hear his smile.

                “Okay, sure,” I replied. “Bye.”

                He hung up and a few minutes later I get a contact card from him for Kate Davison. I call the number, but it goes to voicemail. I text instead. Kate, this is Maggie, Lizzie’s mom. Lizzie isn’t home from school. Beth said she might be with Andrew. Can you let me know?

                I tap the arrow to send the message and silently pray that Lizzie is at Andrew’s house, or that Kate is presently driving her home. Maybe she lost her phone, or put it on silent. There are a lot of reasons why a teenager wouldn’t come home right away, or let her mom know where she was. I try to stay rational as I move back into the house.

                The phone buzzes in my hand. Andrew has been home all afternoon. He says he didn’t see Lizzie after school.

                My heart is now pounding. Jay is sitting on the couch, staring at his phone. “Jay,” I say weakly.

                He looks up. “Did you find her?”

                I shake my head. “Kate said she wasn’t with Andrew. He didn’t see her after school.”

                Beth is on the verge of tears. “Mom, I’m really worried about her. She wasn’t right this morning.”

                “And nobody has seen her?” Jay asked.

                Beth shook her head aggressively. “Nobody! Nobody has seen her since school let out!”

                “Call the police, Jay,” I said, cold fear sliding through me.

                Jay nodded to me and without a second thought, started to dial.

---

When I got Beth’s text, that’s when I knew I was in trouble. I texted Wade right away. Did you know Lizzie is missing? Wade is Angie’s boyfriend. I thought he might know something.

                Why would I know that?

                I thought too long about a response before I sent: Did Angie say anything about it?

                Wade didn’t write back right away. Maybe he was texting his girlfriend about it. Maybe she didn’t know. I don’t know where she went after our fight. I was nervous though. I had been the last person to see her, as far as anyone knew. I was thinking hard about that when I got his reply. Angie says she didn’t see her after fifth period.

So, I was the last person to see her. Maybe. I went Beth’s number, and texted her back. Your sister is missing?

                Yeah. Do you know where she is?

                I don’t know why, but that made me really mad. She is always assuming things about me. No. That’s why I’m asking you.

                She told me that she was going to go on a run with you this afternoon. Did you go?

                That’s how Beth is all the time. Straight to the point. No dancing. No. Now I was confused. Lizzie lied to Beth? She didn’t say anything about going for a run.

                Did you fight?

                Beth’s ability to know everything even before you say it is so annoying. Seriously gets on my nerves. It’s like she’s telepathic or something. How does she do it? She got mad at me.

                Where did she go after that?

                I don’t know! Ms. Perkins found us arguing and then I walked home after she started talking to us.

                So you didn’t see Lizzie leave the school?

                No.

                Thanks.

                I stared at the single word thanks. There were a lot of curse words wrapped up in it, I was positive.

                I laid my phone next to me on the bed and picked up the xbox controller. I was just about to resume my game play when I heard Mom calling for me.

                Trying not to roll my eyes, I put the controller down and opened the bedroom door. “What?” I called down the stairs.

                “Come here!” she called.

I trudged down the stairs, feeling in my chest that she was going to ask me about Lizzie. Mom is always asking me things two or three times before she believes me.

                “What?” I asked, as I neared the bottom of the staircase. I could feel my eyes rolling back into my head and she hadn’t even asked her question yet.

                Mom came around the corner from the living room into the foyer. “Coach Blevins wants to talk to you.”

                Not what I expected. “Okay,” I said slowly, not understanding. She handed me the phone. “Hello?”

                “Andrew! I’m sure you know by now. We’re all looking for Lizzie.”

                “Yeah, I heard.”

                “I’m just calling to see if you could go out to the spots you know she likes to go, check for her? I’ve got a couple other kids from the team doing the same thing.”

                “Oh, ummm… I mean, I’d have to borrow mom’s car. You know I don’t have one.”

                “I already talked to your mom about it,” Coach said.

                “Okay.” I really didn’t have an excuse. I mean, I couldn’t really tell Coach I didn’t want to go out and look for my missing girlfriend because she wasn’t my girlfriend anymore. And I did care that she was missing, I was also just really mad at her still. “Where did you want me to look?”

                “Well, I don’t know. I thought maybe you’d know of some places.”

                I did. If she had lied to Beth about going on a run with me, then there was something she was trying to be free of. I knew exactly where she would be, but I really didn’t want to go there. I was afraid of how I might find her—if I found her at all. “Yeah, I think I know, Coach.”

                “Where?”

I hesitated. “Lizzie’s at the water.”