The phone buzzed from the black coffee table, prompting Mimmi to reach over to grab it. She smiled as she saw the text from her boyfriend.
Amor🫶🏾
Just ordered your favourite pizza for you. Stop forgetting to eat, my darling
Mimmi
You're the bestest in the whole wide world🥺 And no promises🤭
Amor🫶🏾
Worth a shot😒 Sorry I can't come over today, work is kicking my butt
Mimmi
Don't worry about it. Van is here keeping me company
Amor🫶🏾
Now I'm really sorry😕
Mimmi
Don't be mean 🤣
Amor🫶🏾
Fine, you're lucky my break is over. I'll talk to you later but shoot me a text when the food gets there. Love you
Ikenna had been Mimmi's boyfriend for about ten months now and everything was flowing so effortlessly. They met while she was interning at a radio station, and he was one of the newer radio hosts. He was impressed by her work ethic so he initiated a conversation and the rest was history.
Mimmi felt so appreciated and spoiled, and she hoped that he felt the same from her. They had only recently confessed that they're in love with each other, as they both agreed that they didn't want to rush anything. They were strolling along the beach and Mimmi blurted it out; it was so random and impulsive, but it felt like the perfect moment. He happily said it back, after a few seconds of pleasant shock.
He met her friends after a couple months of being together and they all seemed to really click with him. Ikenna liked them all too, until he didn't. Mimmi would casually vent to him about some things Vanessa would do that bothered her, not realizing that she was helping him like her less and less. At first, Ikenna didn't want to make it obvious that he was beginning to get bad vibes from Vanessa, but the more his girlfriend vented, the less he felt the need to hide his dislike for the influencer. The last incident Mimmi ranted about was how Vanessa behaved at the camping trip she took with her friends. From then, Ikenna concluded that Vanessa was selfish and attention-seeking, and he did not like her. He hadn't blatantly tell Mimmi this but he made it pretty obvious that he wasn't fond of her. Mimmi would brush it off as him just having her back; she didn't want to be put in an awkward position.
Mimmi
Will do, love you😘
Mimmi placed the phone on the coffee table in front of her and reached for the remote, which she used to put on a true crime program. She had recently developed a little obsession with this genre, despite the fact that it creeped her out.
The creak of the floorboards made Mimmi whip her head around. She watched as Vanessa skipped into the living room, rubbing her hands together.
"The lotion in the bathroom smells divine. I almost want to eat it off my hands."
"Go ahead and squeeze the bottle into your mouth. See what happens then." Mimmi joked.
Vanessa scoffed as she plopped herself next to her friend on the fluffy couch. "Oh you just want me dead, huh?"
"Now why would you say that while I'm watching a crime documentary?"
"I didn't ask you to become a crime fanatic." the influencer shrugged, before looking towards the kitchen. "So what's on the menu today, Mimosa?"
The new journalist glared at her friend upon hearing the nickname their group created for her. She only drank virgin mimosas whenever they would hang out together, and for some reason, they found that hilarious. They've been calling her Mimosa ever since. It also helped that part of her name was in the word.
"Ike just ordered a pizza for me. He's annoyed that I skipped breakfast again." she giggled. "It should be here soon and we'll dig in."
"That man loves you. I'm happy you're with such a sweet guy." she cooed, playfully hitting Mimmi on the shoulder.
"He makes me really happy." Mimmi admitted, with a broad smile and a giddy tone.
Vanessa returned the smile, but she narrowed her eyes a bit. She shifted in her spot and cleared her throat.
"Ikenna seems like he'd make any girl happy. He certainly showed me that a while back."
Mimmi furrowed her brows at the girl in front of her. She couldn't even picture those two interacting, given how Ikenna feels about Vanessa. Mimmi didn't miss the cocky grin on her face and the same tone she used at the campsite the last time.
"What do you mean by that?"
Vanessa giggled, twirling a braid around her finger. "Oh, nothing crazy. My car was having problems a few weeks ago and I happened to be right outside his workplace. He saw me, offered to help, and gave me his sweater because it was a bit chilly outside. It was like he really cared, you know."
Mimmi blinked slowly, not knowing what to say next. She didn't want to be upset because Ikenna didn't do anything wrong; he was doing a nice thing for his girlfriend's friend. But the tone and manner in which Vanessa recounted the details just irked Mimmi. She said it almost like she was mocking Mimmi or waiting for a specific reaction out of her.
Vanessa made an 'o' shape with her mouth when Mimmi hesitated to speak. "I'm sorry if that bothers you. I didn't think much of it."
Mimmi shook her head, forcing a small smile on her face. "No, I'm not bothered. Ike is always willing to help someone, and he knows you're my friend so of course he would want to lend a hand."
Vanessa tightened her lips, nodding in agreement. Her stare lingered on Mimmi, until the buzz of her phone caught her attention. Vanessa grabbed her phone and smiled to herself, her fingers dancing across the screen as she seemingly sent a text.
Mimmi thought this was the best time to change the subject. "Who's got you cheesing like that?"
She snuck a glance at her, holding her phone to her chest with a mischievous grin.
"Is it Jax?" Mimmi questioned.
"Maybe." Vanessa replied, drawing out the word playfully.
"You like him, don't you?"
Vanessa scoffed, shaking her head. "No, I don't. He's one of our best friends and I could never complicate things like that."
Mimmi cocked her head at her. "Then why are you smiling like that? Have you forgotten that we all watched you exchange saliva a few weeks ago?"
"That was a dare you gave us, first of all. It meant nothing, and we both agreed on that when we talked about it. Second of all, I'm smiling because he's sending me funny videos."
Mimmi watched carefully as she laughed at the phone and sent a message back. "Really, you both agreed? Because that wasn't just a simple kiss."
Vanessa hummed, "Maybe it wasn't."
Jaxon threw the fitted blue shirt over his head, swiftly sticking his arms through the sleeves. He looked in the mirror at the vanity, using his hands to fluff his bed head. As he fixed himself up in the mirror, he caught sight of a pair of almond-shaped eyes roaming his body. He cracked a smirk at the mirror, causing a slight blush to appear on the face of the young lady.
"Someone got you shy?" Jax teased, putting his wristwatch on.
"Do you have to go now? I could fix us some hot chocolate and we can watch something."
Jax sighed as he turned around and shook his head at her.
"I'm meeting some people for brunch and I'm already late, so I gotta go." he informed, before taking a step towards her queen-sized bed. "And we talked about this, Wendy. Let's not confuse things."
"A movie and beverage aren't going to confuse things, J." she responded.
Wendy Diop was an old classmate from high school that Jax happened to run into some months ago. She was quick to ask for his number in the dairy aisle of the supermarket, and being that he wasn't in a good state of mind, he just gave her the number. Since then, she would text him from time to time and he found it nice to talk to her. They arranged to hang out at a lounge one night; one thing led to another and they woke up in a bed together. From that point on, they came to an agreement that their relationship would be one of lust and nothing more. Lately, Wendy has been dropping subtle hints that she might want things to go further. But Jax did not want that and he wasn't even sure if he ever would.
"Not for me they won't. Can you say the same?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
She slipped out of the bed and walked over to him, placing her hands on his chest. He rested his hands on her waist and looked at her expectantly as she tried to formulate a response.
"Would it be so bad?" she questioned softly, batting her eyes at him.
"Please don't do this." Jax warned, grabbing onto her wrists and trying to remove her hands from his chest. He didn't want her thinking there was any possibility.
She let her hands drop and snickered at the hard look on his face. Wendy rolled her eyes as she turned around and fell back on the bed.
"Relax, officer. I know what this is and I'm satisfied with it." she winked. "Very satisfied."
Jax let out a little sigh of relief and chuckled, before picking up the pillow that ended up on the floor and gently throwing it at her.
"You're annoying." he paused as she caught the pillow and laughed. "I have to go now but I'll text you if I need to come here again."
She slightly nodded and watched as he waltzed out of the room, the smile slowly dissipating from her face.
*
Jax huffed a breath of anxiety as he pulled on the handle on the entrance to the small, quaint restaurant. It had been quite some time since seeing all his former friends together at once, and he couldn't help but feel some nerves. When he got Ama's message, his first instinct was to ignore it. But he thought about it again and figured he might miss out on something important; Ama never did anything to him, and she wouldn't have texted the dormant group chat if it wasn't an emergency. Still, there was no telling how this meeting would go and he didn't know how he would react to whatever would be said.
He stepped inside and was immediately greeted with the aroma of freshly baked butter croissants and brewed coffee. The restaurant was pretty busy now, as it was mostly a breakfast and brunch spot. He and his former friends would come here a lot when they needed to vent over breakfast.
"Jax." someone called tentatively. He whipped his head in the direction of the soft voice. He found the whole group seated at a booth in the corner of the room. It was the same booth they would always sit at whenever they went there. Seeing them there triggered some nostalgia, but he swallowed that feeling and made his way over to the table.
When he planted his feet in front of the silent table, Ama stood up and politely smiled. She held an arm out open, going in for a side hug. Jax didn't want to leave her hanging so he returned the embrace. It was quick and awkward on both ends, but it felt warm.
"Thank you for coming." Ama greeted, gesturing towards the back booth across from where she sat. "I didn't know if you would."
He looked at the free space, noticing that it was right next to Mimmi. Of all the people in the group to sit next to, he did not want it to be her. She seemed to feel the same way because she pursed her lips, the way she would whenever she was annoyed by something. Jax didn't want to cause trouble and would rather get this over with, so he took the seat and left a little space between them. His leg was pointed away from the table, as if he would only be sitting for a few seconds.
"Yeah well, I didn't either." he mumbled, folding his hands on the table. Next to Mimmi was Ato, who was sitting next to Dennis, with Charlotte next to him. Ama and Jax were at the end of each booth.
Everyone sat quietly, avoiding eye contact with each other. He didn't know what happened before he got there, but he could tell that not much was said. Still, he could see hints of sadness etched on each of their faces. For some reason, that agitated him; they all knew what they were here to discuss but they were just sitting there like they had all the time in the world.
As if she read his mind, Ama broke the silence. "Um, does anyone want to order something? They recently added a spinach frittata to the menu and I heard—"
"Ama, why are we here?" Jax interrupted, bouncing his leg impatiently.
"You don't have to interrupt her like that." Ato spoke up, not sparing him a glance.
"I have things to do and a frittata is not going to help me do them." Jax retorted, shooting him a quick glare.
"We all have things to do, you're not better than anyone else." Charlotte responded as she crossed her arms against her chest.
"I never said I was. Order a frittata if you'd like." Jax shrugged.
He felt Mimmi shift in her spot and glanced to see her shooting him a dirty look.
"You have a bad attitude. You were the last to arrive but you have the audacity to behave like this." she told him.
Before he could tell her to stop speaking to him, Dennis abruptly banged his fist on the table, loud enough to get their attention but quiet enough that other tables weren't disturbed.
"Look at this! We can't even play nice for ten seconds. I'm just going to leave—" Dennis started but Ama cut him off.
"No, please don't go. Guys, we can be civil for twenty minutes." she pleaded. "I can't believe we're behaving like this. It's okay if we don't want to be chummy anymore but please, let's be cordial. For Vanessa. Can we do that?"
There was a silent pause, but it was easy to see the colours of shame and contemplation painted on their faces. Ama has always been the one in the group to have them wrapped around her finger; her reserved and more shy nature made them feel like they had to protect her. She had a natural 'peacemaking' aura and she used it to her advantage. If anyone could get them to make up after an argument, it was her. She definitely tried after Vanessa but too much damage had been done.
"Of course we can." Ato whispered sadly.
"Yes." Dennis nodded, letting out a breath of some relief.
The former friends nodded in agreement, with Jax reaching his hand out across the table to tap Ama's hand.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have spoken like that." he told her, but also meant it towards everyone.
"It's okay, Jax." Ama smiled tightly. "Um, like I said in the text, I asked you all to come here because of Vanessa. I'm sure you've all seen the recent news about her and it's absolutely frightening. To know that someone might have...killed her is just..."
"Extremely scary and another reminder of how cruel this world is." Charlotte finished, shaking her head ruefully.
"It makes my blood boil. I honestly haven't been sleeping too well since the news." Mimmi said sadly.
"Yeah, me neither." Jax admitted, still bouncing his leg. Not like he has had any good sleep in a year anyway.
Mimmi glanced over her shoulder to see him slightly shaking. That's what he would do whenever he was trying to hold back his feelings. A feeling of pity washed over her; of course this was difficult for him. One would say he was in love with her. They all cried when she went missing, but he became dark; the light in his eyes dimmed, he was easily irritated, and he shut people out. It changed him. Now that there's a possibility she's dead, she only wondered what he'd become.
Hesitantly, she rested a hand on his knee. As she expected, he moved his leg away with a sigh, causing her hand to fall back to her side. But she didn't feel anger coming from him when he did that; in fact, he stopped shaking.
"The first thing I thought of was you guys. Only you guys would understand my feelings right now." Ama continued. "I know things haven't been... normal for a long time now, and I don't know how we got here, but that doesn't matter right now. We were like family at a point and I can't act like that was a fantasy. I just want to check in and let you guys know that I'm here if you need anything. With me, you have a safe space."
She smiled at the group, hoping that they knew how genuine she was and felt the same way. Something like this is already difficult enough to go through but to go through it alone has to be unbearable.
Ato was the first to smile back at her and he looked at the rest of them, wanting for them to just crack a smile back at the girl who had been trying so hard to get everyone on good terms again.
"Thank you for being so thoughtful, Ama. I don't think any of us should be dealing with this alone, so I hope that you know that your feelings are safe too. At least with me."
She looked up at him and smiled to herself.
"And with me." Mimmi added.
Ama hesitated before she smiled back at her. They were tense and cautious with Mimmi and it was clear that they still didn't know how to feel about her, but she either didn't notice or didn't care.
"With all of us." Charlotte spoke, glancing at the others for confirmation. They all nodded and she cracked a tiny smile, the first since being here.
Ama sighed with relief. "I didn't think that was going to go well, so I'm glad we're on the same page. But before we go further, there's something I need to tell you guys."
The atmosphere changed and everyone leaned in to listen to whatever she had to say. Whatever she needed to say was clearly important, with the way her eyebrows furrowed and her voice softened.
"Mimmi?" a voice called, breaking the tense silence. They whipped their heads over to see the slender, brown skin man standing at the front of the table. He sported a cocky smirk on his lips that drove them all mad.
Mimmi only stared at him, unable to form words. She couldn't believe he could even stand in front of her and speak to her like they were pals.
Noticing her discomfort, Jax didn't even hesitate to stand up. No matter what happened between them, there was no way he was going to let this man get near her again.
"There's no reason why you should be speaking to anyone at this table." he spat.
"I wanted to say hi to Mimmi and some of my old friends." the shameless man taunted.
"We are not your friends, and you don't need to speak to her. Not ever." Ato hissed.
"Are you guys her representatives?" the man questioned, amusement dancing in his light brown eyes.
Jax stepped forward threateningly, wanting him to get the message and leave before the situation escalated. Mimmi, aware of what Jax could do, quickly called out to him.
"No Jax, it's okay!" she rushed out before finally looking the man in his eyes. "Ikenna, please leave."
"Haven't heard you say my name in a long time." Ikenna grinned.
Charlotte scoffed exasperatedly. "Do you have water in your ears? She asked you to leave."
Ikenna spared a glance at Charlotte, who was mean-mugging him for days.
"Still disrespectful, I see." he muttered.
"If you don't want trouble, you'd just leave. What kind of person stays somewhere they're not wanted?" Dennis snapped.
"Mimmi, I thought you would've grown by now but you're still letting people speak for you. Shame." he tutted, shaking his head with mock disappointment.
"Walk away." Jax demanded, staring him down. "Now."
The two men stared each other down as if it were a competition, each one refusing to look away. At this point, onlookers were watching and anticipating their next moves. Mimmi and the group were watching in fear, especially Mimmi, who didn't want a fight to ensue.
After a moment of the staring competition, Ikenna stepped back and looked away. He held his hands up in surrender and chuckled.
"Okay, officer. I don't want to get arrested for saying 'hi' to some girl so I'm going to go." he paused to look at Mimmi again. "I'll see you later, sweetheart."
She rolled his eyes as he sauntered away, leaving the restaurant. Jax sat back down and she felt her shoulders drop in relief, and she released a breath she didn't know she was holding.
"Idiot." Dennis muttered.
"I told you to get a restraining order." Jax snapped at her as soon as he took a seat.
She shrugged. "I don't want to make a big deal out of things."
"A big deal?" Jax scoffed. "He already did that himself. I should have dealt with him as soon as he—"
"Forget him. Ama, you said you had something to tell us."
She hesitantly nodded, glancing at Jax who was still heated. She feared that what she was going to say would trigger him more.
"When I saw the news about blood being at the campsite, I remembered something Vanessa told me a few months before." she paused to scratch her head nervously. "She told me she would be meeting someone there... on a date."
Her voice faltered at the last part, fearing Jax's reaction.
Jax froze and he could feel a breath get stuck in his throat. "What?"
"She mentioned it to me during a casual conversation. She said she met some guy and he told her he wanted to have a date in those woods. But Vanessa had already told us that she'd never go back there because she hated it so much, and she never brought it up again so I thought she was just joking."
"Who was the guy?" Charlotte asked.
"Yeah, who was he?" Jax echoed, his leg bouncing again. Mimmi didn't even bother trying to calm him down this time.
Ama shrugged. "Vanessa never told me. All she told me was that she met him through social media and she just wanted to keep it a secret until it became something serious. Honestly, I thought it was just one of her talking stages again."
Jax clenched his jaw, tapping on the wooden table. "So you have absolutely no clue whatsoever? Why didn't you tell us this sooner?"
"Chill." Ato grumbled at his sharp tone.
"She never gave me a name and I didn't ask because let's be honest, she would talk about a new guy every three business days. I didn't even remember the conversation until I saw the campsite on the news and my mind immediately went back to it."
"It's not your fault. What you've told us is still important enough to be somewhat helpful. Jax?" Mimmi questioned the officer, hoping he would agree.
He didn't want to agree. He didn't want to believe that Vanessa had a date, or that the date could have been the reason behind her disappearance. Vanessa wouldn't have done that to him, especially not without saying anything.
But he hid those thoughts and sighed. "Without a name, it'll be harder but this is information that could really go a long way in the investigation."
"I think we should investigate on our own." Mimmi abruptly said, barely waiting for Jax to finish his sentence.
The rest of them shared the same knowing look, no doubt their minds flashing back to last year. If Jax wasn't angry before, he was now.
"You don't know when to quit, do you?" he spat.
She looked down in shame before speaking again. "I know what you guys think of me, I do. I could've used better judgment back then but I can't go back and change time. What's done is done, and no matter how I feel about it, I have to live with it."
"Yeah, how do you feel about it? Do you even care?" Charlotte interrogated.
"Of course I care!" Mimmi snapped. "I made a mistake and I'm sorry, but I don't want it to be held over my head. Please, wanting to investigate has nothing to do with that. I want to help."
"You can help by staying out of it and letting the police handle this." Dennis told her.
"Oh like they handled it when she disappeared?" she scoffed, before setting her gaze on Jax. "No offense Jax, but your department basically forgot about her. This is not a missing person's case anymore; it's a possible murder. All hands need to be on deck and what better hands than those of the people closest to her?"
He stayed quiet, pondering her offer. He knew that the investigation would be long and grueling, and that with some extra help, they could learn more. He has never asked his friends to help with a case before, but this was a unique situation; the victim is someone they all know and love. It's not that he was completely closed off to the idea, but more so that he didn't trust Mimmi's intentions. Not after the stunt she pulled.
"We do know more about her than anyone in your department does..." Ama trailed off, seemingly on board with the idea.
"If we put our heads together, we might remember something she might have done or said to us that could be useful. Ama just gave us a good piece of info." Dennis chipped in.
Charlotte leaned forward and threw her hands in the air. "I want justice for her. If I can help her get that, then I'm in."
Ato nodded indignantly. "This is a no brainer for me. She would do the same for any one of us."
Jax pointed at Mimmi while looking at the rest of them. "So we trust that she's doing this from the kindness of her heart? For someone that she wasn't even on speaking terms with at the time of her disappearance?"
"Sisters fight, Jax. I'm sorry you can't believe that I'm doing this because I love her too."
Jax scanned her face for any sign of pretense, but all he could find was sincerity and guilt. She could barely look him in the eye and that was unlike her. Maybe he had been a bit too harsh but a part of him felt she deserved his coldness. If he forgave her so easily, he would be disrespecting Vanessa. Nobody could make him do that.
"If I find out that you're plotting something in that head of yours..."
"I'm plotting nothing, and I'm not going to beg for you to believe me. You can think what you want but at the end of the day, I want to find the truth. I'll do it with or without you."
Jax was taken aback, but her sudden passion for this only made him want to solve this mystery even more.
He surprised himself when he found himself saying, "I guess I'm in."