Maybe there was a different Nico in Moon Ridge, and he was Stella’s cousin or something?
That seemed like too big of a coincidence, but it would be significantly simpler than Abby’s boyfriend being involved in Stella going missing.
“Thanks,” Cynthia said.
And hung up the phone again.
I watched closely as the receptionist went back to work. She seemed to think that single phone call would be enough to solve the problem.
Which was me.
I was the problem.
Hi.
I gave it a minute before I returned to my list, typing the number for the next Moon Ridge government official into my phone.
If Stella’s supposed cousin was going to call and get me into her supposed hospital room, great. But I wasn’t going to hold my breath until?—
My phone rang right before I could hit the button to call the number.
Abby’s contact picture covered my screen. She’d been laughing hysterically with Stella and Emmy on Emmy’s purple couch. All of us had been a little past tipsy at the girls’ night, and we’d somehow ended up taking contact pictures.
None of the pictures had turned out well, but they were all fun memories, so we all used them.
I missed those times fiercely. With Abby moving to Moon Ridge to live with Nico and Stella going missing, I’d been alone a lot.
Maya was still living near the university, but she was avoiding me, and I was pissed at her for keeping something about the disappearance from me. Besides that, she was the biggest loner in our friend group. She just didn’t seem to need much socialization to meet her quota, which was fine. We all understood.
Emmy and Zoe had always been closer to each other than to the rest of us. They’d known each other before any of us got our teaching jobs, so that wasn’t surprising. Abby, Stella, and I had been better friends with each other than them, so it had balanced out.
Now, everything was out of whack. And had been for too long.
Zoe and Emmy had been concerned about Stella’s absence at first, but their worry had faded. I hadn’t really talked to them in a month or so. It had frustrated me endlessly that no one was as involved in finding Stella as I was.
I stared down at the picture of my friends.
If Abby was calling me now, the Nico that Cynthia talked to was obviously Abby’s Nico.
Which meant Abby was involved in Stella’s disappearance somehow.
Which was just… shitty.
On so many levels.
I ignored the pit in my gut that felt like a physical punch, and answered the phone.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Jade.” Abby’s voice was more upbeat than usual. She’d been like that since she got with Nico, but this was forced. “What are you up to?”
If she wanted to dance around the subject first, I’d dance.
A little.
“Still trying to get into the hospital to see Stella. What about you?”
“Nico and I drove to a city nearby to try a new restaurant for lunch. It was gorgeous, and the food was amazing,” Abby said. “Anyway…”
