Fade Away

"Thank you," I said to the girl behind the counter at Starbucks as she handed me my French Vanilla latte. I blamed Maika, Chris and Christian for my addiction to all things coffee related. Before them, I was fine with a hot chocolate.

I sat down in a chair near the window and carefully sipped my latte. I loved how they were always just the right temperature. Not too hot, not too cold. Pulling out my phone, I saw that I had a new text from Jay. "Smile :) It's good for you. Oh, and my mom made brownies so I brought some over to your house. Now smile."

I couldn't help but give a small laugh. Sometimes I felt like Maika's friends were better than my own at cheering me up. My friends had all but given up on me at this point. Not that I blamed them. I wasn't all that much fun to talk to these days.

"Taryn Maile?" I looked up at the mention of my full name. Two police officers stood above me with serious looks on their faces. I had no idea what I did to deserve the company of not one, but two officers.

"Um... yes?" I said. It came out sounding somewhat rude but I really hadn't meant it that way. I was just confused as to what was going on.

"We have a few questions for you. Will you come with us?" Somehow I didn't get the feeling that they were truly asking. More of a 'you have no choice.'

"Sure. I guess so," I said. I stood and followed them outside. They had me sit in the back of the police car and I felt like some criminal. What if someone saw me?

"When is the last time you spoke to Maika?" The police officer in the passanger seat asked. He had dark hair and looked like he was attempting to grow out a mustache but it wasn't working so well for him.

"Two weeks ago. The night before he stopped coming home." The officers exchanged looks and I had a feeling this wasn't going to go smoothly.

"And what was said in this conversation?" The same officer asked.

"I don't know. All I remember is we were arguing about something. Not that that's so unusual for us."

"So you two fight a lot, I gather?" This time the other officer spoke. He looked younger than the other officer and maybe even a little less serious.

"Well kind of. We're twins. A brother and a sister. Do you know any brothers and sisters who don't fight?" I was getting somewhat annoyed with these questions. Why did it matter if we fought? How was that going to help find my brother?

"We're just trying to gather more information, Ms. Maile. If you just work with us, this will go smoothly," Mustache Officer said.

"You were the last person we know of to talk to Maika. We need to know what happened in your conversation with him," the other officer said.

"I told you I don't remember. We were arguing about something. That's all I remember. Can I go now?" I wasn't lying. Everything about that night was lost to me. I only remember the feeling of reaching for Maika and meeting nothing but air.

After they exchanged another look, the younger officer nodded. I climbed out of the police car and got into my own instead, quickly pulling out my phone and calling Chris. With a look out my window, I noticed the officers looking at me before pulling away. I wasn't sure but I got the feeling that they thought I was somehow involved. And I'm sure I hadn't helped my case at all.