I remember it like it was just yesterday. It was so different back then. My mom and dad were still married, my sister, Ella, was still alive. Things were better back then. Even though it wasn't so long ago, it feels like it was a million years ago.

I'm Max, and this is my story.

That day was supposed to be one of the best days of my life. It was my first homecoming dance. I'd actually gotten a date, and I was pretty excited. Here it was, one of those storybook high school memories, and I was enjoying every moment of it. My date, Sam, had arrived at my house, and Ella's date, Dylan was there too. Ella was my big sister. She and I did everything together.

We got dressed together that night. Her dress was so beautiful. It was this gorgeous navy blue dress, which I might add, was strapless. It went down to just above her knees. It had these amazing layers of tool under the skirt, which made it poofy, and she and I both loved it. Mine was this coral color, and it too went to just above my knees, but it wasn't poofy. I'm not really the poofy kind of person.

When we walked down the stair case, there my mom was, snapping pictures like crazy. We smiled, and when I made eye contact with Sam, I blushed. My dad gave them the whole "if you try anything stupid, I'll kill you" speech, and then Dylan drove us there.

I always thought that Dylan was a great guy. He'd been awesome to Ella, and from what I could tell, they were happy together. That's all that really mattered to me when it came to Ella. If she was happy, I was happy for her.

So, we walked into the school gym, and I looked around. Everything was so cliché, and I loved it. It was what I'd been waiting for. There were pink and blue streamers all over the ceilings, and balloons everywhere. And right as I walked in, there was this sappy love song playing, that Sam and I just had to dance to. So, He dragged me into the middle of the dance floor, and we danced.

I remember looking at Ella for reassurance, and she smiled, gave me a thumbs up, and walked off somewhere with Dylan. I think I was so tongue-tied and light headed from dancing with Sam, that I didn't have any idea where Ella was, and I didn't mind.

But as the dance came to a close, things started to get scary. I asked a couple of friends if they'd seen her, but no one had seen her since she and Dylan had wandered off. Sam, Nick, and Iggy, along with Nudge, and Lissa helped us search the school for her. After wandering the halls for a while, we came to the conclusion that They weren't in the school.

"It's okay guys. I'll call her and see if she picks up. Maybe she and Dylan ditched to go and do something else," I remember suggesting. So, I called. It rang, and rang, and rang, but no one answered. That's when I called my mom. I remember my mom freaking out. I told her everything and she said that she was going to come pick me and Sam up, and we were going to the sheriff's office.

So, she picked us up. And on the way to the office, I called Ella at least thirty times. Something was wrong. Ella always answered the phone. That's when the tears started to flow. I was scared. I didn't cry much because I don't believe most things are worth your tears, but this was my big sister, and she was worth my tears.

I sat in the lobby while my mom yelled at the woman who stood at the front desk. Anger was building up inside of me. The Sherriff's office was refusing to do anything because she hadn't been missing 48 hours. My mom actually broke down. She stopped yelling, and started crying. That's when I started yelling. I told my mom to go and sit by Sam, and I lost it on the lady at the front desk.

"When your sister, or daughter, or child, or any loved one in general goes missing, I hope they do just what you're doing to us right now! My sister hasn't answered the phone all night and that is extremely out of character! She always has her phone on her, and if she didn't, she would've found a way to let us know! I'm not leaving here until someone does something! I want people out there searching now!" I yelled. The lady looked at me for a moment.

She picked up the phone and dialed a number. "Yes, I need to report a missing person's case. Yes. Thank you," She said, and put the phone down. " The Sherriff is on his way," She said. I smiled to myself, and went to tell my mom the news.

We waited for about thirty minutes, and then the Sherriff showed up. He asked me what had happened and when I'd last seen my sister, and he did the same for my mom and Sam. He told us that all they could do was send out a search party in the morning. So, we dropped Sam off, and we went home.

I went to bed that night with a hopeful attitude. I kept telling myself that everything would be okay and that Ella would eventually come home. What I didn't know, was that I would see her again, but it'd be six months later, and I'd be at the examiner's office, confirming that the body was indeed my sister's.