The Missing Friend

Milly had been missing for one whole day. While the others thought that this was normal, I knew Milly. She was responsible. A hard worker. She wasn't like the others who loved to party constantly. She was in college, and she was determined to graduate this year. 

When I came over the next day to greet Stephanie, I caught her with a wine glass in her hand when she opened the door. She narrowed her eyes at me, her blonde hair in a messy bun. 

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

I scoffed. "Wow. Aren't you in a chipper mood."

Stephanie rolled her eyes, and walked away from the door. I took that as an invitation to let myself in. Stephanie took another drink from her glass. She waved her arm lazily toward the lavish living room. 

"Go sit down. Or whatever."

She stomped away, while swaying back and forth. Typical for her to be drunk at this time of the evening. 

I walked to the living room, where my best friend, Mike, was sitting down on the expensive white couch. He was playing a video game on the TV, some kind of action game that I forgot the name of. I sat down next to him. 

"Hey man. Can I ask you something?"

Mike didn't turn to look at me. "Sure. What?"

"Have you seen Milly? I'm worried about her."

"Nah. Haven't seen her."

"Not even a text?"

"No."

"It's just…this was the last place that she was at. She sent me a text to let me know that she would be leaving from the party soon. I have constantly called her and texted her, but nothing."

"Why are you so worried about her, man?"

"Today is Monday. She is supposed to be in college."

"Maybe she's sick?"

"She would have told me."

Mike paused his game, finally turning to look at me. 

"Why the hell are you so protective of Milly, man? She's an adult. She probably doesn't want to respond to you. Maybe she's tired of you treating her like a little kid."

"I don't treat her like that, Mike. Why the hell would you even accuse me of something like that? You know me."

Mike dropped his head. He brushed a hand through his blonde hair. 

"I'm sorry. I'm…exhausted. Stephanie has been…difficult," he whispered. 

"Of course she is," I muttered. 

Stephanie is by far the biggest asshole I have ever met. Once Mike started dating her, I knew that she was bad news. Milly and I would cringe every time she would brag about how she bought her mansion and expensive car. Ever since she got popular on TikTok from doing her stupid dances, she has been raking in money like crazy. 

Milly and I lost track how many times we saw Stephanie hitting on another guy in front of Mike during one of her drunken tantrums. Milly once whispered to me at a bar while Stephanie was slurring her words: 

"It's a shame that money goes to people that don't deserve it, huh?"

I shrugged, and Milly shook her head sadly. We both felt so bad for Mike, but he wouldn't listen to what we had to say. He truly believed she was the one for him, and was willing to put up with her bullshit to keep her. 

Whether he was afraid of losing his brand-new bank account, or that he truly loved her, me and Milly knew she was a total mess that did not deserve him. 

"Look man, I know you don't…like her, but come on, man. Give her a break. She is going through some stuff."

"What stuff? She is just a spoiled brat, Mike. Want to know what she told me when I called her the other day, asking about Milly? She just me to fuck off, and said to not worry about that bitch. Why the hell would she say something like that?," I whispered. 

"She is…going through some stuff."

"You're both impossible," I muttered. 

I stood up. "Since you're not going to help me, I'm going to continue searching for her. I told her family, and they are currently filing a missing person's report for her. My boyfriend is the one they are speaking with right now."

"What? Why would you tell her family? And what do you mean they are speaking with your boyfriend?"

I stared at Mike, trying to process why he sounded worried instead of relieved. "Bro, it's her family. And I think you were too drunk that night to remember that I told you about my new boyfriend. I have been seeing him for awhile. He's a police officer."

Mike shot off the couch, and grabbed my arms. 

"Dude! What the fuck! Let go!"

"Timothy, your boyfriend is a cop? A fucking cop? Do you have any idea -''

"What the fuck are you doing?"

Mike dropped his arms when Stephanie was standing in the hallway, her wine glass now refilled. Mike ran over to Stephanie, not looking in my direction. I was rubbing my arms as he pulled Stephanie aside. I could hear them talking softly in the kitchen. Their whispers rose higher, and I thought Stephanie suddenly sounded way too pissed off for a moment. 

I pulled out my phone, wondering if I should call Jake. 

Stephanie and Mike both popped back into the living room. 

"Hey Tim! Do you want to stay over for tonight?," Stephanie said with fake cheeriness. 

"I can't. Sorry. I need to get going - ''

Stephanie ran up to me, taking hold of my hand that wasn't holding the phone. "It's just…when do we ever spend time together? Just you and me?"

"We have. You just don't remember."

Stephanie pasted on a fake smile. "You're funny, Tim. Come on. Have a sleepover with us. It's getting late, anyway. You don't want to drive back home in the dark, do you?"

I looked back and forth between Mike and Stephanie. Mike would not look at me.

"Milly is coming over later," Stephanie chimed in. 

"What? Why didn't you say so? And why did she tell you and not me?"

"We wanted it to be a surprise," Stephanie rolled her eyes. 

"Come a think of it, I don't think I should have mentioned that part. Gosh, I'm like, terrible at surprises."

Stephanie let go of my hands. "I'll go get your room ready."

She scurried down the hallway, the wine flowing out of her glass. I looked at where Mike was standing, but he was gone. About thirty minutes later, I was led to one of the many rooms inside of the mansion. Stephanie sent Mike as her personal butler to take me to a bedroom. He patted my shoulder awkwardly, before leaving me with my room. 

I walked inside of the bedroom, shut the door, and locked it. I took out my phone, about to call Jake. I didn't want to, but the behavior of both of them was strange, and I knew something did not feel right here. I dialed his number, and I looked around the room, waiting for him to pick up. 

Then I saw a huge stain on the carpet in the middle of the room. I bent down to take a peek at it. It looked way too dark. I jumped when I heard the doorknob jiggle. It was followed by a pounding. 

"Tim? Why did you lock the door?," Stephanie called out. 

"I was making a phone call, and I didn't want to be disturbed," I replied. 

"Who were you calling? You're not calling your cop boyfriend, are you?"

"Why is that so important? Are you hiding something, Stephanie?"

"Why would you think that? Open the fucking door, Tim."

"No."

I flinched when the pounding started to escalate. 

"OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR, TIM! I'M NOT FUCKING PLAYING HERE!"

"Drop the knife! Drop the knife!," Mike screeched. 

"GET THE BASEBALL BAT! WE CAN'T LET HIM LEAVE! HE'LL TELL! HE'LL TELL!"

I took a couple of steps back, until I touched the wall. I looked back and saw the window. I dialed 911, while attempting to open up the window.

"911, what is your emergency?"

"I'm at 1918 New Crane Road. My friend is going crazy. Please. She has a knife!"

Stephanie shrieked, and I could hear something being knocked against the door. It sounded like the scrape of a knife touching the wood. I got the window open, and picked up the phone on the way out. I slammed the window closed, and I searched for any way to get out of my situation. 

I walked along the mansion roof, until I reached a random window that was a bit lower than the rest of the windows, and was closer to the ground. I made a prayer inside of my head, hoping I wouldn't fall at a bad angle and break anything. I bent down, took hold of the roof with both hands, and let myself fall. I landed right in the bushes. 

But I dropped my phone. I quickly scooped it up. I heard Stephanie scream for my name from the roof. I took off running toward my car. I took out my car keys, and clicked the unlock button. I jumped into the passenger seat, and I tried to put the key in the ignition. My hands were shaking too badly. 

I screamed when something crashed against my window side. It was Mike. He was holding a baseball bat. He reached over to open the door, but I quickly pressed the lock button. Mike let out a roar, and slammed the baseball bat against the window again. The glass broke, shattering everywhere. 

Mike shoved his arm through the window, grabbing at my neck. Without thinking, I threw my phone at his face. He howled when the phone connected with his nose, turning his face away. I shoved the key in the ignition, and I put my foot on the gas. Mike screamed and screamed when I left the house. My eyes were focused on the road, my heart beating so fast. 

Red and blue lights blinded me for a second. I came to a stop, when I realized it was a cop car. The vehicle passed me by, and I stared straight ahead for a long time, before I let the tears fall. 

---

I sustained minor injuries from the struggle. My arm had been cut multiple times from the glass window, and I had a small bruise on my neck when Mike grabbed me. That scream that I heard coming from Mike was me running over his foot with my tires. He had attempted to throw himself in front of the car, but it didn't end well. 

That was how the cops found him. Stephanie was found inside of the house, claiming that Mike tried to kill her. They didn't believe her, especially when they saw the rolled-up carpet underneath the bed. She was trying to hide the evidence of the dark stain from them. 

Mike and Stephanie were taken to the police station. Mike confessed to everything, including something that left me broken for a long time. That dark stain on the carpet belonged to Milly. When she was trying to calm down Stephanie during one of her drunken moments during the night of the party, Stephanie jumped her, and started beating her to death. 

Mike said she had been yelling over and over:

"You're jealous. You're jealous of my success, you stupid bitch!"

The assault lasted for a long time. Mike never stopped Stephanie from killing her. When the cops asked him why, he said that he was so afraid, that he couldn't move. It broke me that Milly suffered. 

When I heard the full details during her trial one year later, I broke down. Jake held me during the trial, and I could feel Milly's mom take hold of my hand. Stephanie and Mike had turned against each other, blaming one another for killing her, but in the end, they were each given life in prison. 

I can't say that I moved on right away. It would take a long time for me to receive the closure I needed. Jake and I stayed together. We got our own apartment later, near the location of Milly's grave. I wanted to be as close to her as I possibly could. 

One day, Jake and I walked to the cemetery. I looked down at her name engraved on the tombstone. 

"I feel like I should have been there. I never should have left that party so early."

Jake pulled me closer. "You didn't know. You never could have known what was going to happen that night."

We remained in silence for a while. Until I spoke.

"You know what pisses me off the most?"

"What?"

"It's the fact that she was killed by a spoiled girl who was obsessed with getting views on TikTok."

Jake didn't say anything. Nor did I. It was the truth, after all. And that was going to haunt me for a long time. 

---

This story was based on a dream I had. Not playing, this was an actual nightmare I had during the weekend. I think I have been reading way too many thriller books. And I have been posting on TikTok too, so maybe that is why the crime was involved with social media. And wow, this dream scared me. It's crazy when people you know get involved in crazy shit like this!

Thank you for reading! 

Emy Quinn