woman like me - j.f✔️

XXIII

The next morning, Love's head was pounding and she'd woken up to some Tylenol on her bedside. Her mom must've found her in Kenny's room and taken her to bed. Silently blessing her mom, she took the pills and stood up. She didn't remember much from last night apart from seeing Dre and sitting outside Kenny's door. But her mind was filled with how much she missed Justin. It hurt how much she worried for him, or was that the headache, she wasn't sure anymore.

She'd thrown on some shorts and a hoodie, keeping a pair of sunglasses in front of her eyes to block out the harsh light. She'd gone downstairs and marched over to the door.

"Where are you headed?" Her mom questioned. Usually she'd be asleep all day after a night shift, but she was laid comfortably on the love seat. The last time she was in this situation was before she'd gone out with Justin, only making her miss him more.

"I left some things at the party, Rowan said she took them home." Love lied, unable to look at her mom. She knew that if her mom really found out what she was doing, she'd commit her to a psych ward. But she left anyway, getting into her car and beginning her drive to Justin's apartment.

Justin had spent the night in his car, he didn't want to waste money on a hotel. He was so guilt ridden that he hadn't eaten anything for a day, and his stomach was aching for food. He'd parked in the parking lot of an unused dealership, so cars wouldn't look so sketchy there. He'd climbed to the front seat after changing his outfit, thanking the Lord that he brought deodorant with him. He was in Evergreen. His phone was being charged as he drove, so Love's messages were still rolling in. But he paid more attention to the unknown number that had texted him once again.

Unknown: I hope you never come back to Middlegate.

He had everything he needed in his car, for the next few days. He didn't know what he was doing in Evergreen, he knew it was dangerous. Monty could be on the hunt for him, so he was wary of any Jeep that he had passed. His heart yearned to be back with Love, but it was too much for him. The guilt would kill him.

Love had arrived outside of his home, she knew his apartment number and she knew he hid a key under the mat for whenever he'd misplaced his set. She always thought it was a stupid idea, as the first place someone would look would be under the mat. She was stood outside his door, knocking to see if his mom would answer. Nobody did. And so she grabbed the key and let herself in. It was a nice apartment, small but cozy. By the looks of it, there was only one bedroom. And it looked like his.

Justin never told her that he lived alone, he never saw a reason to tell her. But she'd just now figured it out. She trekked around the apartment, looking for some sort of sign that he was around. She'd entered the kitchen, the pantry and refrigerator was full. As she shut the door of the refrigerator, she saw a number sketched onto a paper held up by a magnet. It had 'Clay' written messily above it.

Taking a big risk, she'd dialled the number and let it ring. She had no idea who this 'Clay' was, or if he had any idea of Justin's whereabouts.

"Who is this?" The boy answered. Love could tell he was a nervous person, as not a lot of people answer with 'who is this?', more than a 'hello'. She sat at the table, placing the call onto speakerphone.

"Hey, I'm Love." She introduced, nicer than his beginner. "I'm Justin's friend and I was wondering if you'd heard from him in the past few days?" She asked, twirling her hair around her finger. Even saying his name almost brought her to tears.

He seemed a lot more aware and worried now, instead of his regular, moody attitude. "No, I haven't heard from him since he left town. Is everything okay?" Clearly it wasn't, he's fucking missing.

"I last saw him on Saturday, and I haven't gotten a single message." She explained. "I've checked his home and he's not here, but his car is gone. Do you think he's back in town?" There was a silence over the phone, she heard the faint rattle of keys.

"Can you meet me somewhere? So we can discuss where he could be?" Clay questioned.

"Sure, where?" She asked. She'd left his apartment and locked the door once again, sliding the key back under the mat before going back to her car.

"Come to Evergreen. There's a cafe, called Monet's. There's a high chance he's around here." Clay instructed, ending the call. Maybe that was the guy she reminded Justin of. He seemed very caring for Justin, although she had no idea who he was to Justin.

She'd grabbed her phone, thinking of an alibi for her mom. She'd freak if she knew she was going to Evergreen, and probably get Aunt Olivia involved. If she brought Rowan into her alibi, Rowan would cause an argument. Dre seemed the next plausible choice.

Dre, can you cover for me for a while? I'm going out of town and I'm telling my mom I'm with you. You can invent something we're doing.

Dre: Of course, I'll tell her we're going to Jordan's beach house.

You are a miracle, thank you.

After texting Dre and calling her mom, she'd driven home to assemble a bag of clothes. She didn't know if she was staying the night at a hotel; but she was sure that she wasn't coming back to Middlegate without Justin.

Evergreen was about an hour away from Middlegate, and she had the day ahead of her. So, running off of coffee and Tylenol, she left on her trip out of town. She was surprised she was even driving, with the hangover she was sporting.