Our Love Isn't Perfect, But It's True

"What the hell is that?" Ethan said quietly, more shocked because he knew what it was, but he just wanted confirmation. I shook my hand and moved forward to take a closer look. Maybe it was animal blood, or something like that. Maybe I was becoming too paranoid nowadays because of all the drama that surrounded my life.

I began walking through the bushes to look for Smokey when something on the branches of the bushes caught my eye. I turned to take a closer look and found a few strands of turquoise blue hair and a ripped piece of cloth from a turquoise hoodie. I gasped and fell to my knees. No. Oh god, please no.

"Ethan," I whispered, my voice hoarse. I knew he hadn't heard me, so I tried again. This time, my tone was loud and full of dismay: "Ethan!" He came through the bushes to where I was, staring at my position in concern. "He took her, Ethan. That stupid ass son-of-a-bitch stalker fucking took her!" I shouted like I was so sure of it.

Ethan came over and placed his hands on my shoulders. "Calm down, Mick. Maybe she just tripped and fell in the bush and the blood is animal blood. We don't know for sure and we shouldn't jump to conclusions."

I nodded and took deep breaths, calming my rising temper and heartbeat. "You're right. We don't know for sure. Let's go home and see if she's there. You've got a lot of explaining to do, anyway."

We turned and headed towards the parking lots where his car was. We hopped into the black Expedition and sped off towards the farmhouse we called home. As soon as the car was off, I jumped out, leaving the door open, and sprinted into the house, nearly running into Anne on the way.

"Oh, I'm sorry Anne. Did Smokey come home?" I asked, frantically looking around.

"Not that I've seen, hun. Aren't you supposed to be in school?" Anne asked, but I ignored her and raced up the stairs towards my room. I faintly heard Ethan come in and talk to Anne before coming up the staircase after me.

I burst into my room and looked around, my eyes search for the familiar blonde-and-turquoise hair. She wasn't here, she wasn't there. She wasn't anywhere. Wow, I sound like some sort of morbid Dr. Seuss.

Ethan followed me in a short time after, looking at me for any sort of confirmation. But I simply shook my head. "Where else would she go?" Ethan asked, leaning against the door frame.

"I don't know. The stables, the skatepark, maybe the old record store down on the main strip..." I trailed off, thinking of all the places Smokey might go. Ethan looked up at me with a tilt of his head.

"You mean the one that the smelly hippy with the amazing beard and who's always high owns?" he asked. I nodded my head, narrowing my eyes at his stupid smirk. This was not the time to be cheeky.

I let it go and shook my head. "Yeah. We should start at the stables." And so we jogged down to the giant red barn straight out of a movie about horses. I walked inside and looked around. Dalila and Prince were there, next to each other in there pens, perfectly fine. I turned my head to look across the aisle. There was Smokey's horse, Danger. "She's not here, Ethan."

I walked to the front of the barn and shut the door, then to the back, opening the gate. I returned to the stables and open all three of the horses. They immediately raced out the back gate into the pasture. I followed them and shut it behind them.

"Where in the world could she be?" Ethan said, beginning to get agitated. I sighed and we turned together, heading towards the cars once again. Ethan drove us down to the skatepark about 4 miles from the school. I climbed from the car and walked to the grind rails where a group of guys about my age sat. I recognized them as some of Smokey's normal skating buddies.

"Skipping school, huh guys?" I joked, plopping down on the bar beside them. They laughed like it was some old joke, a few newer kids to the group shrugged sheepishly. I looked up and noticed Ethan standing awkwardly off to one side. A few of the guys looked at him questioningly.

I decided to make it less awkward to him and began speaking again. "Me and Ethan here were just wondering if Smokey happened to come passed here at some point in the last hour or so." The guys all glanced around, looking at one another and shaking their heads.

"No, none of us have. Why, is something wrong?" Tim, considered the leader of the group, said with a half shrug. Ethan stiffened at the sound of concern for his girlfriend by another guy. Haha, so he is the jealous type.

I turned back to Tim and shook my head. "No, not that we know of. Just wondering where she was. She left school early is all. Nice seeing you all again, but we better get going," I said in a fast blur of words before hopping up and grabbing Ethan's hand, pulling him back to the car. "Ok, last place. The record store. Hurry up," I stated.

Ethan took off, tires peeling out as he did so. I looked at him, a little shocked. Ethan was gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles had turned completely white. I sighed and rested my head on my hand, while my elbow rested on the car door.

"Ok, now I'm worried about Smoke. She hasn't showed up, she hasn't texted or called, which I have done both about a million times. I just... I messed up. I know it, but I deserve a chance to explain and apologize," Ethan said, whispering the last part. I nodded, knowing exactly how he was feeling.

I hate this town, it's so washed up
And all my friends don't give a fuck
they'll tell me that it's just bad luck
when will I find where I fit in

I looked down at my phone. I had a text message. I slid open my phone and checked it eagerly, hoping it was from Smokey. I saw that it was a picture text from an unknown number. The text simply read: Are you missing something? -P

I was confused, so I downloaded the picture. The sight made me gasp and drop my phone. It was a picture of Smokey, bruised, bloody and unconscious. I turned to Ethan and muttered quietly, "Psycho has Smokey."