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I pull up into a parking spot not far from the entrance, only eight minutes too late. The bodiless announcement voice informs me that flight UA 907 is forty-five minutes delayed. I relax and walk over to one of the airport cafés. The interior is modern, but not well-cared for. Cheap red plastic chairs are arranged around white table. The walls are decorated with old movie posters starring Marilyn Monroe and James Dean.

I sit down at the bar at the very entrance to the café and order some water. I´m not very keen on coffee and water is the cheapest anyway.

At ten to six the female voice tells me that my friend´s flight has finally arrived. I pay for my glass water and make my way over to terminal three. I feel weirdly self-conscious walking in sweatpants among all those people in suits and fancy dresses. I wait amongst others, who are here to pick up relatives and friends for less than five minutes before the first people come toward us from the baggage claim. None of them are Lily or Josh. Finally I spot them at the end of the line as one of the last people emerging from the arriving area. Lily waves at me excitedly and Josh has a huge grin on his face. My own grin splits my face in half, in joy and relief. I´m happy to see them again and glad that apparently their relationship, if romantically or not, has survived the two weeks they´ve been on their own.

I give each of them a quick hug and then we make our way to the car. I take a bag from each of them.

"So, how was your trip?"

"Oh, it was great! Have you ever been to Florida? No, of course you haven´t, I´d know that. Anyway, it was like really hot all the time and there was the beach and the ocean and the animals and … well Josh of course." Lily begins to babble. Never before have I seen her so excited. Josh flushes as she mentions him. I don´t want to know any glorious details, so I quickly ask her another question.

We drop of Josh first. While Lily lives very close to me Josh lives at the other end of town. It will take us another half an hour to get home.

"So, Emma. We need to get you a boy, too. We could like, go on double dates and stuff."

"You know I´m too busy for a boyfriend. He would probably brake up with me after only one day."

"No! Of course he wouldn´t! Why would anyone want to brake up with you?"

"I don´t know. Probably for the same reason nobody´s asked me out yet."

I drop her off at home and her mom wants me to come inside and have dinner with them since she hasn´t seen me since Lily left for her trip.

"I´m sorry Misses Schroeder, but my mom is probably already waiting for me at home. Bye Lily, pick you up tomorrow at quarter to?"

"Sure. See you tomorrow, hon."

My mom and dad are sitting on the couch as I come home. She scolds me, because my dinner is cold, but it would have been hot and tasty twenty minutes ago. I explain to her that the flight was delayed, but apparently that was my fault. I put some pasta on a plate and heat it up in the microwave. I walk upstairs with my food, trying to avoid awkward conversation with my parents. My brother is not home yet. Downstairs the phone rings. One minute later my mom stands in my doorway.

"Emma! Why are you eating up here? There is a reason why there is a dining table standing in the middle of one of our rooms downstairs and it is not for decoration purposes."

"Whoa… keep your hair on." I mutter under my breath.

"Lily just called and asked why you´re not answering your phone?"

"I don´t know, I guess I left it downstairs."

I take the stairs two at a time and look for my phone everywhere. I can´t find it so I grab my keys and am halfway out the door when my mom calls me.

"Emma! It´s too late. Where are you going?"

"I must´ve left my phone at the library. I will be back soon."

"Emma, don´t –"

I pull the door closed behind me and run to my car before mom can stop me. I pull out of the driveway and am on my way only a few seconds later. Since there is hardly any traffic I arrive only fifteen minutes later. There are no parking spot available close to the library so I have to park a ten minute walk away. Mike is still there, the lights are on. I walk inside and he grins when he sees me.

"You forgot your phone. I put it in the back. You should give me the number for your home phone so I can call you there, too, in case of an emergency."

"Sure, my mom is expecting me back though, so we´ll have to do that next week or so."

"Hey, Emma, do you … do you want to go for coffee some time?" Shit. I was just walking into the room reserved for staff, but stop in my tracks. Mike is a really nice guy, but I´m really not interested in him in that way. Actually I never have been in anyone else either. I guess I´m just missing the need-a-boyfriend-gene.

"I don´t know… sure… I have my phone now, so just text me or something." I say over my shoulder as I practically run out of the library. "Gotta go now. Bye."

It´s not that I don´t like Mike, he´s a really nice guy, but as a friend, not as a boyfriend. I pull the door closed behind me and make my way through the abandoned streets of my city. I used to be scared walking around downtown alone in the dark, but that was when I was, like, ten or so. I take a shortcut through a small side alley. I´m halfway through when I notice a couple making out in the shadows. I try not to draw attention to myself as I pass them, as those guys can get really mad really quickly, but he has already noticed me. He spins around, the girls stays pinned against the wall by him. His eyes are light blue and appear to be the only source of life in this dark alley. I´m paralyzed by his stare and it takes me several minutes before my eyes take in the rest of him. The lower half of his face is hidden in shadows, he´s dressed in all black clothes, casual and chick at the same time. The girl on the other hand is dressed like a slut. Short jeans skirt, belly-shirt and cheap high-heels. My gaze wanders back up to his face and I grasp for air. His face is not, as I had presumed, hidden by shadows, but covered in blood. It drips down from his chin onto his shirt. I stagger back some paces and then start running. Not even a second later he stands in front of me. I´m about to scream as he puts his hand up to my forehead. Instantly I calm down. The scream gets stuck in my throat, all my muscles relax and my eyelids get heavy. I close my eyes and sink to the floor. The last thing I see before I give way to unconsciousness are his black boots as he crouches down and leads me carefully into the darkness.