Chatoyant College Book 5: Parents' Weekend

Chapter 38: Really Missing

Corrie didn't even hear her own phone make the ringing sound. The first thing she heard was Edie's cell phone, sitting on the top of the trunk at the foot of her bed. She snapped her phone shut and Edie's went silent. Corrie stood up, walked across the room, and picked up Edie's cell phone, though she didn't know what she'd do now that she was holding it. Was there some clue as to why Edie had left without her phone? There was no note or anything.

Frowning, she looked through Edie's recent calls. They were all to her, Dawn, or Leila. But her mother's cell phone number was listed in the address book. Corrie selected it and pressed call.

It rang twice, then was answered. "Edie? Is something wrong?"

Corrie's hopes, low as they had been, sank even further. "This is Corrie. Edie's not with you, then?"

"No, we left a few hours ago. We're at home. Why, did she lose her phone?"

"She left it behind in the room and I was wondering where she is. She's probably just off with her girlfriend." Corrie tried to keep her voice calm, though she could almost have sworn that her pounding heart would be heard through the phone lines.

"Yes, I'm sure she's fine. If she's really missing, you'll call me, won't you?"

"I doubt she is, but I will," Corrie lied. They exchanged pleasantries and hung up. Corrie's mouth was dry. Edie probably was off with Leila. But that might mean she was in danger.

Thankfully, she didn't have to wait long for Dawn and Naomi to return with their dry clothes. They knocked and she let them in. One look at her face told them that she couldn't locate Edie. "What should we do?" asked Naomi.

"I think she must be somewhere with Leila. I don't know where Leila lives. I've asked Byron, and he doesn't either. But I think the most likely place to start looking is the woods."

Dawn bit her lip. "That's a big area to start looking."

"Well, we should start with the old incinerator area, where the theater majors go to hang out. Unless you have a better idea..."

"I do, actually," Dawn said. "We should at least check with Annie and Roe to see if they know where Edie is. She might just be hanging out with them."

Corrie nodded reluctantly. "That's true. But what do we tell them? I don't want to drag everyone else out with us looking for Edie. Especially in this rain."

"I don't like the idea of keeping information from people," said Naomi. "Especially your friends. I think you should tell them the truth, and if they want to come, let them come. Can it really hurt to have extra people looking for her?"

"With all of us blundering through the woods, Leila will hear or see us coming a lot sooner," Corrie said.

"I think Naomi is right," said Dawn. "We're always trying to keep information from people to protect them and because they won't believe us, but neither of those apply anymore to Annie or Roe. They're in the sights of the faeries no matter what happens. And Roe could be really helpful. She might have had a vision about what happens today and just not realize it because she didn't see any of us."

"Okay," said Corrie. She still didn't like it, but she had to agree that what Naomi and Dawn had said was logical. She stood up. "Let's not waste any time. Maybe it will turn out that Edie is with one of them after all and we can all go back to our normal lives. Well, as normal as our lives get." But she didn't really believe what she was saying.

They headed down to the hall and knocked on Annie's door. Annie opened it, smiling. "Hi, guys! What's up? Want to get dinner?"

Corrie shook her head. "Edie's not here, is she?"

Annie frowned. "I haven't seen her all day. Why, is she missing?"

Dawn motioned her out into the hall, then explained the situation briefly. By the time she finished, Annie's eyes were wide and her arms were crossed. "I'll help you look for her."

"It's pouring out," Corrie said. "You really don't have to come."

"I have a raincoat," said Annie, and she wouldn't take any more arguments. Really, Corrie should have expected it.

They tried Roe next, but Edie wasn't there either. And, like Annie, Roe insisted on coming along. "What if I get a vision just in the nick of time while we're out looking?" she asked, and no one could argue with that.

Having established that going out to look for Edie was probably the only thing to do, they all quickly put on their rain gear and headed outside.