"Oh, Matt. Where are you?" she exclaimed to no one in particular. "If only I could solve his code."
She looked at what she had written once again.
BLACK CAT-BAD LUCK ROAD LESS TRAVELED-FROST 8-FOLD PATH 2 TIMES F WHOEVER COMES IN YOUR WAY UFO'S MIA-MISSING IN ACTION
None of it made sense to her, so she decided to call in a few reinforcements.
Miranda sat in her mother's rocking chair, rocking little Lizzie back and forth. Her eyes were glued to the TV, watching the scene that had unfolded at the Mcguire's house.
A bomb located inside the house exploded, killing all of its inhabitants, and destroying everything, including the remnants of a crime scene.
The reporter stood in front of the house that Miranda used to spend so much time at, describing the deadly effects of the bomb. The rescue efforts had identified at least ten that were known to be dead, and two that are missing.
One of the missing peoples was Matt Mcguire, whose whereabouts were still unknown.
Tears were flowing in a free stream down Miranda's cheeks, as she mourned the potential loss of Matt, when he finally was getting his life together. Who could it be? she wondered to herself. Who would do that?
Her cell phone buzzed from inside her pocket, and Miranda glanced at the caller ID.
VICTORIA SMITH
This only caused Miranda to cry even more. She hadn't even thought of Victoria, Matt's girlfriend.
"Hello?" Victoria's voice said.
"I am so sorry," Miranda sobbed. "How are you holding up?"
"What happened?"
"Matt. He's missing. There was an explosion at his house, and he's believed to be..."
There was silence on the other line.
"What time was the explosion?" Victoria asked, her voice cracking and trembling with sadness.
"4:07," Miranda replied, repeating what the newscasters had been saying all afternoon.
Victoria began to quietly sob to herself, thinking of all their plans that were now going to end. It was just a couple of hours ago that they were thinking about marriage.
"I just was with them...I just talked to him," Victoria said, still in shock. But, slowly, her rationale began to regain its strength. "Wait, what time was the explosion?"
"4:07."
Victoria scrolled through the past calls list on her cell phone, until she found the list of incoming calls from that day. Finally, she found Matt's two calls, and with a vibrant sense of hope, she clicked to see what time he called.
The first call took place at 4:05. Victoria's heart began to beat faster and faster, until she saw the time of the second call. 4:30.
He was safe.
"Miranda?" Victoria said. "Matt's not dead, but something happened to him. I need your help."
"Good, Gordo can help us too."
"I already tried calling him, but he hasn't answered his phone"
Little did they know, that at that very instant, Gordo was slumped against the wall in some stranger's bathroom. He ignored his cell phone ring, confusing it with background music. The whole scene was tad bit fuzzy to him anyhow.
The bottom line was that he was drunk. Very unlike Gordo, but there he was, and he was holding back Erica's hair as she puked into the toilet. She was even more wasted than he was.
How did I get here, he kept wondering to himself. The events of that day were still a blur.
After returning to his home from the hospital, he gave Erica a call.
"Hello?"
"It's me, Gordo," he greeted her. "Don't hang up, I talked to your brother."
"Oh," she said quietly, and the other end of the line remained silent for some time.
"I know what happened, and there is nothing to be ashamed of."
"I guess we both have a lot of explaining to do," she finally answered. "I guess we can meet at Starbucks or something to talk."
"How about right now, at the Digital Bean?"
"Great," she said dryly, and hung up the phone.
Erica was already there when Gordo, sitting alone at a table, with a manilla folder laid in front of her.
"Hi," she said, leaning forward, and Gordo could not help but think about what her mother did. "I brought these to show you."
Gordo carefully opened the folder, and saw a multitude of medical reports.
"These are only a few of my records," she said, wiping a tear away from her eye. "I was just really sick as a child."
Gordo looked her in the eyes and saw that she truly believed that, however right or wrong it was.
"I have so many questions about everything," he began. "What-"
She put her finger on her lips as if to signal to be quiet.
"What is needed to be known will become known with fate. Your turn."
"Ummm...My best friend Lizzie died in a car accident about nine months ago," he explained. "I kind of went into an emotional tailspin after that, but I'm better now. I've had help."
"That's good."
They both sat across the table from each other, eyeing each other.
"What about your mom?" Gordo asked, breaking the silence. "Where is she now?"
"Living with a guy that she wants to marry. She cheated on my dad, with a guy who was cheating on his wife. The whole marriage would be a scam."
They then retreated back into their silent mode, this time being broken by the ring of Erica's cell phone.
"Hello? Hi! Oh, I so want to tonight. Where are you drinking? Okay, can I bring someone? Bye," Erica said to the person who called. Her mood had completely changed with the call. "Do you want to come to a party with me tonight?"
"I don't know," Gordo replied.
"Come on. Have an adventure, and come with me," she urged him. "Let's forget this crap."
"I guess I could..."
"You will. I have to change first."
Gordo followed Erica to her house, where she then beckoned him up to her room.
"I look terrible," she said. "I just have to fix my makeup and my hair...and my clothes too."
She retreated into the bathroom, leaving Gordo to take in his surroundings. The room looked like that of a typical teenage girl, littered with clothes, CDs, and books. However, there was a unique collection that caught Gordo's eye.
It was a huge collection of trophies. As Gordo neared closer, he saw that they were track trophies.
"Do you run?" Gordo yelled into the bathroom.
There was a slight pause.
"Not anymore."
Gordo decided to leave the subject alone, and instead quietly sat on her bed.
After about fifteen more minutes, Erica emerged from the bathroom. Gone were the messy bun, the makeup-less face, and the "comfort-driven" clothing. This new Erica was dressed in a glittery tank top and a denim skirt, high heels, and her hair was tousled down her back.
Her eyes were rimmed with dark eyeliner, a stark contrast to the natural look that she exhibited earlier. Gordo was almost speechless: she almost didn't even look like Lizzie anymore. Erica was definitely her own person, and she was breathtakingly gorgeous.
"You look...fantastic," Gordo finally said, at the risk of sounding stupid. "You really do."
Erica smiled, and laughed.
"Thanks, Gordo," she replied. "You look absolutely ravishing as well."
"No need to be sarcastic," he retorted. "You know I look hot."
It was clear to the both of them that the tension that they had earlier was quickly dissipating as they were growing together.
Impulsively, Gordo put his arm around her waist, and pulled her in closer. She immediately acted on his action, and pulled him closer into a kiss.
"I was wondering when you would do that," she said, continuing to passionately kiss him. "Let's go to that party"
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