Payment *On Hold*

Chapter One

We sat in our usual booth at the local diner, but it wasn't the same. We had always come here after school for the past two years, but this was the first time Chloe hadn't been with us. It was her idea to come here the first time, and now we sat here without her. I looked around at who was left of our little group. There was Hanna, with her beautiful waist length brown hair. She had a chocolately abyss look about her eyes, which matched her hair. There was Melanie, or Mels as she prefers, she had a short blonde bob, and her eyes were a pale green colour, there was Bethanie, who preferred to be called Annie (her mothers name was Beth) She usually had blonde hair but she recently dyed it purple, a gorgeous vibrant violet colour, I looked at her eyes, they were wet as she tried, and failed, to hold back tears. And, of course, there was me. Hanna and Mels didn't know what was going on, but I was prepared for the news Annie was about to give us. I brushed my long ginger fringe to the side and took a deep breath as Annie started to speak. "I suppose you are all wondering where Chloe is" I bit my lip. Annie was so strong.

Chloe and Annie were like sisters, they had been friends since they were two, when Chloe's mother moved in next door to Annie's house. Their mothers clicked instantly, and it seemed like destiny. I came along two years later when they started kindergarten, and my father started falling for Chloe's mum. A year later, I became Chloe's sister and moved in next door to Annie, but I was always the third wheel, they were inseparable. A few years after the wedding, Chloe met Hanna and Mels at the library and that was it. Our little group came together and we all started hanging out. Hanna and Mels were a year older than us, but we were just soul sisters. We sat together every day at lunch until the older two started high school and our group seemed broken for a while. One day, Chloe had the idea to have our whole group meet at the diner for milkshakes every day after school, and since her mother owned the diner, we got as many milkshakes as we wanted, so long as we did our homework. Every school day since then, we had met in this exact spot. Even if one of us had been home from school that day, be it sick or just tired, we met here anyway. It was our last year of highschool, and even though Hanna and Mels had graduated last year, they still showed up every day without fail. This was the very first time we had been here without Chloe and it would never be the same again.

"There's something you all need to know, before you hear the rumours, or see the news, I want you to hear it from me... well, us" Annie said gesturing at me. I looked up from my milkshake and tried not to cry. "do you want me to tell them or do you want to do it" I said to Annie, my voice quivering and my lip trembling slightly. "It's okay Bellie, I'll tell them as much as I can" I knew what she meant. She knew she wouldn't be able to finish. "Last night," Annie said, her voice breaking "Chloe snuck out to a party." Hanna and Mels looked terrified. None of us had seen Annie so upset before. They knew something was wrong. "she left the party early but never made it home," Annie said as she broke down in tears. It was my turn to tell them what else had happened. "she was found a few hours ago, bloody and beaten and left in the dumpster behind the Chinese shop on our street" I whispered.

Mels and Hanna had completely different reactions. Hanna threw up and started crying, Mels whispered "excuse me please" and walked to the bathroom. It was a few seconds before we heard it, but as expected, Mels had snapped. She always did have anger issues. There was screaming and crashing and banging for a few moments and then she emerged composed and calm. "who the fuck hurt my baby sister" she yelled furiously. "there's no working cameras in that alley so nobody knows anything yet." Annie said through her tears. "I promise, I will find whoever did this and make them pay." I said with a newfound confidence. "Aribella" a voice came from behind us. It was my dad. He stood with two police officers at the door of the diner. I gathered my things and said goodbye to the other girls and followed the three men out to the patrol car parked outside.