Officer Martin stands and turns to me, taking off his sunglasses. “Do you know this Kai?”
“It’s not him,” I hear myself say. “He didn’t do this. It’s not possible.” Finally, a sliver of clarity breaks through the panicked fog filling my head. “He was with me! He’s been with me the whole time!”
But, fuck, as I say it?—
“Oh, he has?” Abigail snaps. “Because he’s sure as hell not with you now!”
My mouth opens but nothing comes out because?—
Fuck.
Wehavebeen together this week, but not a hundred percent of the time. He had classes. I had classes. Then there was the fight, and he disappeared right after…
“This is insane,” I manage, clearing my throat when I hear how thick my voice is. “Melissa, I don’t know what you thinkhappened, but Kai would never have done this. It couldn’t have been?—“
“You think I don’t know who had me tied up?” She shoves to her feet, grabbing onto Officer Martin’s arm when her legs wobble.
Tied up?
“I’m not saying that. I just?—“
My phone vibrates in my tote bag.
I ignore it.
Officer Martin turns to me, glancing at my tote bag before focusing on me. “What’s your name, Miss?”
“Haven Lee,” Abigail says, at Melissa’s side in a second. “Her boyfriend’s Kai Jordan.”
Martin glances at Abigail. “Do you know where Kai is, Miss Lee?”
“N-No,” I admit reluctantly. My phone buzzes again. That’s when I realize it’s a phone call, not just a notification. “We had a fight and?—”
“You’re covering for him!” Melissa yells. “You’re fuckingcoveringfor him!”
Martin stares at my tote. “You gonna get that?”
I wasn’t going to, but I pull it out anyway and check the screen.
It’s Kai. He’s trying to call me.
“I…uh…I have to take this,” I say weakly.
Martin looks like he wants to object, but then his radio crackles and he frowns as he shifts his attention away from me. In the distance, a siren warbles, growing louder every second.
I pivot, about to answer Kai’s call when the ringing stops.
A truncated message notification pops up as I’m still trying to figure out what the hell to do.
@jordan.kai
Where are you? Checked the library…
The rest is cut off.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
I quickly open the app, quickly glancing at the rest of his message before typing my own. Adrenaline has my fingers shaking so much that I can barely text.
