Chapter 3
The sapphire-and-diamond necklace I had lent Reed earlier lay on the floor, glistening in the moonlight, by the railings. It was so perfectly placed, like it was left there as a gift for someone to find. I ran over, and picked it up, glancing over the railings to check if she was there. She wasn't. I turned round, to face Kiran, Taylor and Upton, the disappointment and worry in my eyes must have said it all, because they nodded and sent out search parties and called the police. I will find you Reed, if it's the last thing I do.
5 hours. We had been searching for 5 hours, and there was still no sign of Reed. My hope was dimming, and fast. I had grabbed a boat with Kiran, Taylor and Dash earlier, and we had searched about every inch of water there was. We had called the police, and sent out groups of people out to check the shores, in case the waves had washed her ashore. No one had called, and I was becoming more and more worried. Where are you Reed?
"It's getting late Noelle. I think we should head back and see if anyone's found her. There's nothing more we can do anyway." Dash said, putting his hand on my shoulder.
I shrugged him off. No, I was not going to give up. I am going to find Reed. "Dash, I'm staying. You can't stop me."
"Noelle-" I cut him off. He obviously didn't get it. I promised myself that I was going to look after her on this vacation, after the way I treated her before- it was unforgiveable. I had humiliated her. I had destroyed her. And it wasn't even her fault, she had been drugged. Dammit Noelle, this was all my fault. If I had only listened to her, if I hadn't kicked her out, if I hadn't invited her and let her be with her family. Every crucial decision was down to me, and each time I had made the wrong decision. I only wished I had spent more time with her. I really was regretting letting Amberly into Billings, she does my head in. She's nothing like Reed, which is why I'm not going to stop looking until I've found her. Until I know she's safe.
"I'll drop you off the shore." I said. He opened his mouth, but closed it again.
We arrived at the shore in minutes. A crowd rushed towards us, looking hopeful, which dimmed mine. It meant that they hadn't found Reed either. They looked in our boat, and when they saw she wasn't there, they retreated as quickly as the waves retreated from the beach. The disappointment clear in their eyes. Dash hopped off the boat, looking far from happy. I knew he wasn't comfortable with me going, even if I would be with Kiran and Taylor.
"If I see or hear anything, I'll phone you." He said. I nodded. He leaned in for a kiss, but I looked away. He looked down. "I'll look over the shores again." He mumbled, walking away. I wasn't trying to be mean or anything, but I didn't have time to deal with a guy, especially one that wasn't prepared to stay and help me look for Reed. Or maybe I was just being selfish, I mean he did help look for her for 5 hours. But either way, when we find Reed, if we find Reed, I would be too busy keeping an eye on the girl, that I won't be able to handle a guy moaning all the time about spending all my time with her.
I turned back to Kir and Tay. They both looked so scared and worried. I was inside as well, but I needed to keep on a brave face, for all of us. I couldn't force them to come with me, even though I told Dash that they would be with me. In any other situation, I wouldn't have taken no for an answer, I would've forced them to come with me, but it was cold and dark, their eyes were lacking sleep and they looked like they were about to collapse.
"Guys," I turned to them. "I won't force you to come with me. You can go back with Dash if you want, but I'm going to keep looking for Reed, even if it takes me all night."
I saw shock cross their faces, as I told them. "No way!" Kiran exclaimed.
"We're coming with you." Taylor said. Kiran nodded in agreement. The shock on their faces was replaced with determination. And I knew that they wouldn't let me leave without them.
"You know, I would look all night, right?" I asked them, making sure that they understood me.
"And so would we." Taylor said firmly.
"It would be cold, and you would be tired, if we left, I wouldn't go back, and you would have to sleep on the boat." I really did want them to come with me. Searching on my own through the dead of night was as daunting as sharing a room with Amberly and Missy, in a triple, listening to them sing along to some sappy pop song, and talk about, I don't know, homeless puppies? I don't really pay attention to what they say.
"We know what we're doing, Noelle. Besides, I'm used to cold. I had to go model outside when it was about -5°c, with 5 inches of snow, wearing only a pair of Marc Jacobs' 6 inch stilettos, and a bikini. Have you ever tried that?" Kiran said, thinking thoughtfully.
"Ok, ok. If you two are sure…"I said, amazed at how determined they were, although I didn't show it.
"We are Noelle. We care about Reed as much as you do. Kiran even told me that she loved that girl even more than partying. And you know her well enough, that that's saying something." Taylor smiled.
I returned the smile. That really was saying something. "Okay, well daddy would never let us go out, especially at night. So here's the plan…" We huddled together, and I explained what we were going to do. They nodded in agreement, never interrupting. And so it was planned…
