Missing

Chapter 1

Carmen
"Two minutes," my mom says while standing by the door.
"I know. I'm almost done," I reply.
She nods.
"I'll be downstairs."
"Okay."
I finish applying my mascara and setting spray. I wave my hands in front of my face frantically to dry it and grab my neon green crossbody before leaving the room. As promised, my mom is waiting for me downstairs by the front door. I lead the way out so she can lock up.
When we make it to the car, my younger brother Isaac is sitting in the passenger seat. He tries to argue that he shouldn't move because he called shotgun but my mom wins the argument. She just had to remind him that she's in charge and a ten year old isn't allowed to ride shotgun anyway. He groans and gets in the backseat. I take his seat and we finally leave.
Isaac asks if we can listen to rap but my mom refuses. She would probably let us get a tattoo before she let us listen to anything that isn't in Spanish. If we bring it up, she goes off about how important it is to embrace our Hispanic culture. I always want to be like I get it, we're Mexican. That doesn't mean that we have to act like it all the time.
Thankfully, I don't have to put up with the music for too long; we arrive at my friend Tony's house about fifteen minutes later. My mom pulls up to the curb.
"I'll come get you at eleven," she says.
"Okay."
"Have fun, mija."
I smile.
"Adiós, mamá. Adiós, Isaac."
"Adiós," Mom says.
"See ya," Isaac says.
"Isaac," Mom scolds.
"Adiós."
I get out of the car and walk up to the door. I knock on the door to be polite. Tony, or Antonio for short, always insists that I don't need to knock. It would feel rude to just walk in like I own the place. He answers the door and smiles when he sees me.
"Hey, Carmen."
"Hey."
He give me a hug. I hug him back and walk inside. We go into the kitchen.
"Can I get you a drink?" He asks.
"Sure."
He grabs a can of beer, pours it into a red solo cup, and hands it over. I drink a little bit and we join the party. My best friend Andrea arrives after quite some time has passed. She joins me in the living room when I'm talking to some mutual friends.
"Hey, bitch," I say casually.
"Hey," she says flatly.
She takes off her jacket and sets it on the arm of the couch.
"What's up?"
"Josh is up to his usual shit. That's why I was late."
I rolls my eyes. For the past three months, I had to hear about everything that Josh did to piss her off. I don't know why she puts up with him.
"What did he do this time?"
"Okay. So, he was watching TV while I was getting ready for the party, right? I was about to leave and he says that he's going to have lunch with his ex tomorrow. I didn't even know that he talked to her in the first place. We argued for a bit and he walked out as usual. Then I came here."
"That's really shitty. He should've told you."
"Yeah, no shit."
"What are you going to do?"
"Pfft. He can fuck her for all I care. I'm done with him."
"Good. You don't deserve that."
"Thanks, bitch," she says sweetly.
"Of course."
"Enough about him. I'm here to have fun with all of you."
"Hell yeah."
We enjoy the party until I have to leave. I hug my friends goodbye and walk out to my mom's car. Thankfully, the next day is Saturday, so I can deal with my hangover at home. My mom left aspirin and a glass of water on my nightstand as if she already knew that I had been drinking. The most obvious clue was the smell but I didn't want to think about it.
While we're having lunch, there's a knock at the door. My mom gets up to answer it.
"Hi, Maria," I hear someone say.
"Hi, Beatrice."
Andrea's mom? What's she doing here?
"Sorry to bother you but I was wondering if Andrea was with you."
"No. It's just us."
"I was afraid of that," Beatrice says frantically.
"Why?"
"She isn't home. I'm asking all of her friends if they saw her before I really freak out."
"Ay, Dios mio. Carmen is here if you want to ask her."
"Yes, please."
"Carmen," Mom calls.
I rush over to join them. I heard everything and am also freaking out.
"Hi, Carmen."
"Hi, Beatrice."
"Have you seen Andrea at all today?"
"No. I haven't seen her since the party last night."
"Did she say if she was going out afterwards? She does that sometimes."
"No. She made it seem like she was going straight home."
"Oh, God. I asked a few of her other friends and they haven't seen her either."
"It'll be okay. If she doesn't come home later, I'll help you look for her," I say.
Although I force myself to stay calm, I'm screaming on the inside like her.
"Thank you, Carmen. Let me know if you hear from her."
"Of course."
She thanks us and walks away so quickly that it was almost a run. I wait until she's gone to cry in my mom's arms. She pets my hair and comforts me, saying that Andrea will come home. I force myself to believe it. It will be hell on earth if Andrea isn't found.