Missing Moon.

Their hands held each other’s tightly as she drug him down the moon lit street. He couldn’t take his eyes away from the black hair that was flying in the wind as they ran, every now and then he’d get a glimpse of her face as she turned to smile at him. She had one of those smiles that was addicting and infectious. He smiled back.

“We’re almost there.” She whispered back at him, loud enough for only him to hear.

“Where are we going?” He asked, finally taking the time to glance at their surroundings. It was an abandoned road with boarded up houses on either side. They watched, with their empty windows as eyes, as the two ran. They seemed to be groaning in protest, either from the wind or from the two’s likely foolish behavior. They’d never know. They’d never stop to ask.

“You’ll see.” He captured her bright blue gaze, trying to show her wordlessly that ‘you’ll see’ was no answer. “It’s a surprise!” It was the first thing she’d said above a whisper all night and excitement seemed to radiate from the tone.

He sighed and just went along. He’d learned to trust her long ago.

“See those trees?” She asked, pointing ahead into the unmistakable forest. He nodded silently. “It’s on the other side of them.” He could feel her heart racing through the grip he had on her hand and his heart rate sped up, just from knowing how excited she was.

When the both of them burst through the foliage on the other side, he was amazed. He stared out into the openness with a dropped jaw and wide eyes. There was no way this place could possibly be real. He had to be dreaming.

“Do you like it?” She asked, almost jumping up and down. “I found it the other day when I was walking around and I thought it would be the most beauti-” He cut her off by pulling her towards him and placing his lips upon hers.

“I love you.” He whispered.

Her bright blue, luminescent, eyes stared up into his brown ones and he was filled with an unexplainable emotion. It was like happiness and relief and...

The alarm clock was ringing. He groaned and opened his eyes before slamming his hand angrily down onto it, promptly shutting it off. He sat there in his bed for a few seconds, just thinking. Remembering.

“Blake!” Someone yelled from downstairs. “Phone!”

“Coming.” He muttered, knowing full well that no one could hear him.

He pulled on the pair of ripped jeans he’d worn the night before and made his way down the stairs and to the phone. “Hello?” He asked, rubbing sleep from his eyes and holding back a yawn.

“Did I wake you up?” The questioning voice seeped through the phone.

“No.” Blake muttered then added, “the alarm clock did.”

“Dude, why was your alarm clock on?” The guy on the other end of the line was laughing and could hardly speak.

Blake let out a harsh, sarcastic laugh. “How would I know. You probably set it.”

“Swear to God, man, didn’t touch your clock.” He was laughing even harder now.

“Why’d you call, anyway?” Blake asked, annoyed. The guy on the other side of the line instantly sobered up.

“Oh, yeah, sorry.” He murmured, barely making it through the phone. Blake’s heart dropped, this couldn’t be good. “Look, man, it’s Phoebe...” Blake’s knees almost gave out and his heart stopped.

He quickly recovered though, “What are you talking about?”

“She’s gone, man, she’s just... gone.” The other guy said sadly.

“What do you mean, ‘she’s gone’?” Blake didn’t give enough time for an answer. “Are you stoned or something, Jared? ‘Cause this isn’t fucking funny.” Blake half-yelled into the phone.

“I’m not fucking stoned!” Jared yelled back, people in Blake’s attic probably could have heard that. “And I mean that she’s gone! She ran away or something. Nothing’s in her room, her cars gone, she just disappeared.”

Blake didn’t say anything for a long time. He didn’t feel anything. He just stood there, barely, and stared. He stared at the while wall of the kitchen until off-white spots started forming. “I’ll be right there.” He whispered before numbly hanging up the phone, but he couldn’t bring himself to move.

“What’s wrong?” Someone asked coming around the corner from the living room.

“I’ll be back.” Blake murmured before pushing past the person and racing for the door. He hardly remembered to slip on shoes before he was pushing open the door to the garage and starting his car.

He sped all the way to Jared’s house. All he could think about was Phoebe. Her black, shiny hair that always seemed so messy. Her bright blue, hope-filled eyes that never failed to send his heart racing. Her obsession with the stars and the moon. Her voice singing softly in his ear. Her breath tingling on his skin. The way she never said too much, nor too little. The way her fingernails were different colors every other week. The way she’d bite her lip when she was thinking hard. The way she was always writing little notes and leaving them in the most absurd places. Under the milk in the fridge, in the cupboard under the bathroom sink, the ceiling. Her slight accent. The way she always made him want more. Her small pink lips, her pianist’s fingers, her pale skin, her everything.

Everything Phoebe clogged his mind.

Especially how she was missing.

He parked his small car before running right into Jared’s house. He went up the stairs and then to the second door on the right. At the end of the hall.

The posters that normally cluttered the door were gone, leaving it a bare and naked looking white. Blake took a shaky breath before pushing the door open.

“I told you she was gone.” Jared muttered sadly from where he sat against the wall. He look upset beyond belief.

Blake could barely look. From the blank, bare walls to the made bed and the empty drawers, it was obvious she didn’t plan on coming back. Tears welled in his eyes and he hardly noticed Jared placing a hand on his shoulder before leaving.

Slowly Blake backed up into the wall and slid down it. He felt lost and broken and hurt.

She hadn’t even told him she was leaving.

His head fell into his hands and his body shook slightly as he completely lost it. He felt as if he had lost everything and the eerie feeling of a black hole forming inside his chest made him cry harder. She had left.

He had lost Phoebe. He had lost his girl, his moon.

He stood up and dug through everything, only to find more vacant space. More things gone. The closet, the dresser, the little drawer in the bedside table. He checked under the bed and even threw all of the covers off of it. The windowsills were empty and the small computer desk was too.

Finally he decided there was no point in tearing the place up, trying to find something that wasn’t there. He somberly threw the blankets back onto the bed and made it the best he could.

He went to walk out of the room, but stopped upon seeing a small piece of notebook paper on the floor. He leaned over to pick it up and was only half surprised when it had his name on it in Phoebe’s messy scrawl.

Blake,
I’m so sorry. Will you forgive me someday?
I needed to go. I had to and I don’t expect for you to ever really understand.
Yes, I did hide this in between the covers. I knew you’d tear the place apart looking for me, or this note, I guess.
This was my last shot at being witty.

Blake smiled at the little smiley face she’d drawn there, tongue sticking out and all.

I feel like a bitch leaving like this, though.
Just don’t hate me? Please? It’d give me a little piece of mind.
Don’t let Jared see this either. He may hunt me down and kill me.
I love you.

Your moon,
Phoebe.

He stared at it for a long time before shoving it into his pocket and swearing to himself that he’d find her someday. No matter what it would take.

He wouldn’t lose his moon forever.

Not if he could help it.