Ending the call, I sped up, shooting through a set of traffic lights as they changed to red, and threw my truck into a sharp turn, spinning the wheel and sending me skidding onto Raine’s road. I screeched to a halt outside her house and threw open my door, barely allowing the engine to stop before I jumped out, keys in hand.
I ran up to the front gates, wrenching them open, and up to the front door. The house was dark and silent, and no one answered my increasingly frantic pounding. Fuck. What was I supposed to do? Ducking around the side of the house, I made my way to the tree I used to climb up to her room and scaled it as quickly as possible.
As soon as I drew level with her window, I sucked in a harsh breath. Her curtains were wide open, and the moonlight allowed me to see clearly into her darkened room. The bedcovers were undisturbed, and there was no sign of her. No sign of life anywhere in the house that I could see.
She wasn’t home.
Where the fuck was she?
“Mate. She’s not at home.” As I called Xavier back, I realised that my hands were shaking. “I need help. Please.”
“On my way,” he said, and then he was gone.
Think. What else could I do?
Scrolling through my contacts, I hit the button of someone I hadn’t spoken to in a long time.
“Weston? It’s Carter Blackthorne.”
Weston Cavendish’s voice came over the line, sounding confused. “Alright, mate? What’s up? I heard about your win earlier. Good job.”
“Yeah, yeah, never mind that,” I rushed to interrupt him, not wanting to waste any more time. “Not wanting to seem rude, mate, but I really need to get hold of Lena. Have you got her number?” I crossed my fingers, hoping he’d come through for me. He was Cassius Drummond’s best mate, so he was my best bet at getting hold of Lena since I didn’t have Cassius’ number.
“Lena?”
“Yeah. Look, I know you probably don’t want to give her number out, but my girlfriend’s missing, and Lena’s her closest friend at school. Please, West. This is really fucking important.”
I heard him mutter “shit,” and then he was speaking again. “Forwarding it now. If there’s anything I can help with, call me, alright?”
Thanking him, I ended the call and immediately dialled Lena. She answered after a couple of rings. “Carter. Please don’t tell me you fucked up already.” Her tone was accusing.
“How did you know it was me? Never mind, I don’t care. Have you seen or spoken to Raine?”
I heard her sharp intake of breath. “No. I haven’t spoken to her since before the football match. Hours ago. Why?”
“She’s missing.” Panic was starting to set in now. “She’s missing and all I have is one fucking text that said she was going home because she was ill, but she’s not here.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m at Raine’s house.”
I heard footsteps running and the sound of a door slamming. “I’m coming now. Be there in ten.”
Fifteen minutes later, after I’d paced up and down Raine’s driveway so many times that I was starting to wear a groove in the gravel, my friends arrived. Xavier and Imogen, followed closely by Kian and Preston, and finally, Lena. I gave them a rundown of the situation, showing them Raine’s ambiguous text.
Raine: Went home. Feeling sick. Sorry. No drama, I promise. I’ll feel better after a good sleep. See u Monday. BTW don’t forget your business studies homework!
“There’s something not right about this, and I can’t put my finger on it.” I kept pacing, unable to stand still.
“Yeah. I know Raine, and she wouldn’t say ‘no drama,’ or use a ‘u’ instead of writing out ‘you’ as a proper word,” Lena muttered.
“And what’s the Business Studies bit all about? She isn’t in our class,” Kian added. He pulled his lip ring between his teeth, thinking hard. “Is there something in our homework that could be relevant?”
I shook my head. “I already thought of that. We didn’t even have any homework.”
“What if it’s like a coded message?” Preston’s voice sounded loud in the night air. “What if she’s trying to tell you something without saying it, if that makes sense? Maybe she’s with someone and doesn’t want to alert them?”
Fuck.