why she fell

when she fell

I was staring at the t.v. in a daze when the phone rang.

"Hello?" I asked, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, "Who is this?"

"Whit? Honey, it's Sloane's mom."

"Hey, Mrs. Hawthorne," I yawned, fishing for the remote, "What's going on?"

"Oh, I was just wondering,"

click. I turn the t.v. off.

"Have you seen Sloane today?"

I shook my head. "Not today, no."

I could hear her breath shudder on the other end. "Well, if you see her, give me a call, okay?"

Her voice was cracking up. "Is everything all right?" I asked in concern, my heart beat starting to speed up.

"No, no, just...just call me when you get in contact with her."

I said okay and she hung up, leaving me in a puddle of confusion. I got up and reached for my phone, dialing Sloane's number. The line rang a few times before going straight to voicemail.

Hey, it's Sloane. If I didn't pick up, it's probably because I lost my phone. Or I just don't like you. Leave a message after the beep.

beep.

"Hey Sloane, it's Whitney. Your mom called and she's kind of worried so when you get this message, just call her back, 'kay? I'll see you soon."

I threw my phone back on the couch and stretched my back. It was almost 8:30. The air was humid, so I got up to turn on the fan, when I noticed the sirens racing past the window. Without a moments hesitation, I grabbed my shoes and walked out the front door.

I could still hear the sirens after I closed the door behind me, which meant they couldn't have been to far. I tried calling Sloane again, to tell her about the sirens, when I noticed a message sent half an hour ago.

From: Sloane

To: Whitney

I love you.

Sent at 7:54 p.m. April 21st, 2016.

Heart thundering, I raced towards the police cars, skidding past the tape and the police officers telling me the area was restricted.

I stopped.

I screamed.

And then everything went black.