Chapter 8:

She's gone

Bitter-Sweet


Volume 2- Departure 

The next day, in the afternoon, Alethea came down wearing a black cardigan and a collared shirt along with black jeans. She told the girls she was going shopping. Benedict asked her if she wanted someone to go with her but she refused.


It was 10:00pm now and it was extremely dark outside. She wasn't back yet. 

"She's not back yet", Tina said, seeming very worried. 

"It's ok. There's a lot of crowd outside in this Christmas season, Tina. It's ok", Benny said. 

"But still, it's taking too long", she said, worry clearly visible on her face. 

At what was 12:00 am, Tina and the girls who were still in the lounge waiting for Alethea became very worried and started calling her. She didn't pick up any of their calls, of course. 

"Guys, what do we do?", Tina said, super worried. 

"Tina, it's ok. She'll be back soon. Don't worry," Benny said. 

"Soon, when, Benny? She's gone and she's not coming back at all. I know her too well and I know it's not like she likes to live with us!," Tina said. 

Her words were true and they knew it. 

"I'm sorry I didn't go with her," Benny said, her eyes tearing up. 

"Gosh, don't cry. It's not your fault at all," Tina said, smiling at her. 

Her smile was so comforting to Benny at this time that just by looking at her smile, she stopped her tears from escaping from her eyes and smiled back at her. 

"What do we do? The police won't help us. You know how they are." Aroma said. 

"Which mall did she go to?," Tina asked. 

"I guess that one that's really famous in this part of town, 'Connect Plaza'," Benny said. 

"Should we go find her, then?," Kayla asked. 

"Yeah. But it's ok if you don't wanna go. I know it's cold outside. You can stay home," Tina said. 

"I'll go. She lives with me, too like you guys. I should go, too," Kayla answered. 

"Let's go," Tina said. 


The night was cold outside. Christmas was in the air. The girls had their coats on. Tina went to the mall to find her, Benny went to the isolated roads, Angelina went to the museum because a lot of runaways go there, Kayla went to some stores to see if the receptionists knew some runaway girl and Aroma was waiting for them at the bus stop because she was really scared of the night and it's terrors. 

They kept on searching for her. They asked every single person they met about her. Tina was utterly devastated by what was happening right now. She thought this was her fault because she had invited Ryan over and that it was a big mistake that she had made. 

Benny couldn't find anybody who knew some runaway girl. It felt like everyone was included in this play of running away in which Alethea was the protagonist and everyone else was supporting her. 

Kayla exited the 15th store she had visited that night and sighed. She called Alethea for the 6th time that night. She felt like breaking her phone because she was furious at her. 

Angelina saw barely anyone in the museum. She asked the janitors if they knew some girl who might have visited earlier in the day but she only got negative answers which she didn't want at all. 

Aroma on the other hand, kept on calling her, too. She was crying. She didn't care if Alethea knew her tragic past and that she had made fun of it. She wanted her friend to come back. 

Tina called Aroma and the others to meet back at the bus stop. They met after some time but nobody knew about the whereabouts of Alethea Elle. Tina looked at them and smiled very brokenly. All of them knew why that was and they couldn't even reassure her or anything because it was all pointless. 

She was gone and they had to face it.

Yuuki
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