VANISHED (#1 in the VANISHED series) #NaNoWriMo2019 ✔

s e v e n t e e n ✔

Penny is a big part of why I'm leaving.

The words funneled in one ear and out the other as Arielle drove south. She downloaded an app to track Stella's flight—her gut was uneasy after hearing how afraid Stella was—and took her time cruising down the coast, driving as close as possible to the sea. She loved the ocean. Its breezes, its crashing waves, the way its scent lingered in your nose for days even after leaving. The seagulls screeching overhead as you tried to nap on the soft sand. The sounds of kids throwing volleyballs and the sizzling of barbecues near the parking lots.

She'd taken many vacations to California with her family, before it was broken. Before her mom died and her brother perished soon after. Before her father lost his mind and moved them across the country to escape. She'd seen San Francisco and its Golden Gate Bridge, its hilly streets, its vibrant shops, and eclectic restaurants. And Los Angeles, muggy and gloomy yet bustling with life, not well-suited for a young girl her age, but fascinating nonetheless. She preferred San Diego, she had to admit, and had been there a few times.

But deep down, she always knew; she didn't belong on the west coast. The instant she moved to Ohio—considered part of the Midwest—she sensed her lungs expanding at last. Her heart came to life, bruised and battered as it was after all she'd been through. Her body seemed to mold into the city, to thrive and awaken, to live. And she found Jade and Stella; or more like they found her.

Her angels. Her sweet-natured, a bit on the exotic and crazy side, best friends. So warm, so welcoming, so accepting of her secretive nature and difficulty opening up. They loved her at first sight, complimented her fiery hair, asked her what her favorite colors were, invited her to slumber parties and weekend outings and study-sessions.

Soon enough they were so inseparable, they became the talk of their High School.

The terrible trio, they called us.

Arielle suppressed a laugh at the thought. At how she and Jade and Stella were far from terrible, and most of the time not even a real trio. They split off all the time; Jade had special obligations with her family and its riches, and Stella drifted off to her mother's occult events. In the meantime, Arielle... burrowed a hole in her bedroom and watched reruns of Gilmore Girls and stuffed her face with popcorn. They had different lives, different personalities... but they always clicked, and Arielle missed that so much.

During college, they lost touch. Jade fell into destructive habits of drinking and partying. Stella argued with her mom so often she had to move out. And Arielle struggled to make ends meet and afford an education, too. They tried to hang out, to keep in touch, to maintain their friendship—but it was hard, harder than any of them could have imagined. But next thing they knew, Jade calmed her ways, Stella returned home, and Arielle obtained her Associate's degree and dropped out. That's when they understood their friendship was precious and needed maintenance. That it should take precedence over everything else.

Before Jade died, they'd created a rhythm; an adult rhythm, she liked to call it. One where they worked, dealt with the responsibilities of being grown-ups, then got together over coffee once a week to complain about it. Like housewives, but none of them were near that level. More like college graduates needing a breather after drowning in the depths of real life.

The closer her car took her to Florida, the more the crisp, salty smell of the sea wafted in through her open windows. It brushed through her unkempt crimson tresses, filtered into her nose, and cleaned her lungs, her stomach, her heart, her soul.

She wasn't born near the ocean, nor were either of her parents particularly fond of it. But Arielle considered herself a child of the water, nonetheless. Jade had taken her to the Sunshine State once, on a Spring Break what felt like eons ago. She'd wanted to bring Stella, too, but of course her parents threw a monumental fit to halt that from happening. They barely tolerated Arielle's less-than-worthy presence; they downright refused silly Stella, descendant of a renowned occultist and medium.