Almost Enough

The street lights flickered above the four friends, shadows growing in the darkness, rain dropping down from the sky.

“Is it kind of weird how silent and empty the streets are right now? I mean, it is a weeknight, but there should be some people out here.” Courtney kicked the ground in front of them, arms still linked with Amanda’s.

“I guess it’s kind of a good thing, not a whole lot of people in our way.” Shayne responded, walking slightly ahead of the group.

Amanda was silent, her head filled with every scenario she has ever seen on TV, in movies, or in her true crime podcasts that she and Angela loved to consume so much. Now she was literally living in one of the episodes. What if someone kidnapped her? What if it was the man from the bar? She wished more than anything that they could have gone back and asked the bartender what the man looked like.

“The first 48 hours are crucial for survival.” The words reverberated in her ears, pounded into her head over and over from the many shows she watched. What was Angela wearing last? She tried hard to remember, but then realized Angela was wearing nothing the last time she saw her.

“Chanse, what was Angela wearing when you saw her?”

“Oh, um. She was in a black sweatshirt and black leggings. Her hair was down, and I can’t remember what shoes she was wearing, sorry.”

From beside her Courtney asked, “Why do we need to know?”

Amanda explained that they needed to know what Angela was wearing incase the worst things imaginable happened and they had to notify the police, or from the deep pits of her fearful heart, if they needed to identify a body.

She didn’t say her last thought out loud, not wanting to speak it into existence. The group approached an intersection, Courtney looked down at Angela’s stuff that she was holding a lot tighter than she realized, and they rubbed the fabric of Angela’s purse between her fingers.

Amanda had goosebumps thinking about how this loss was not only hers, that Angela was their best friend, and they were all equally as scared as Amanda. Nervous glances were exchanged often, and the only person leading them onwards was Shayne. She really wondered if he had any sense of where they were going, or if he was taking on this role to put everyone else at ease.

Each person seemed to take their emotions differently, Shayne leading the group, his brow furrowed in worry, but channeled it into action. Every step Shayne took, it was a battle between hope, full trust in his instincts to keep going, and dread. Anxious to figure out if he is leading them absolutely nowhere.

Courtney, pushing herself closer to Amanda, was rattled. She tried to stay hopeful, but as they walked on, the eerily quiet streets ahead of them, made her feel like they were walking straight into danger. She squeezed Amanda’s arm, seeking comfort as she felt exposed. Angela’s belongings swinging at their side.

Chanse, following behind Amanda, Courtney and Shayne, stayed quiet. He was observing everything, scanning each building, light, and sidewalk. Memorizing everything that went by, in case it was important for later. His silence was unnerving, but every time he saw something without Angela there, it tightened the growing knot consuming him.

Beside Courtney, Amanda was tense. She was frustrated. She felt helpless, and guilt ate her up as she watched Shayne take the lead on finding her girlfriend. She wanted to drop down to her knees, scream for Angela, or let her emotions consume her. This was torture.

The warmth of Spork on her chest barely helped, especially as the rain started to come down even heavier. The fear between the group growing, every minute going by loomed like a void. Every sound, every shadow was a potential clue, but they later found out, it was a warning.

~
From her spot on the roof, Angela faded in and out of consciousness. Wondering if the dizziness she felt was from the insane amount of alcohol she consumed earlier, or if she was slightly concussed from rolling off the ladder onto the concrete rooftop.

She tried to call out for help, but no sound came out. Fear burned like a fire throughout her body. What if the man was still around and waiting for her?

She wanted Amanda so bad. She wanted to be held by her, to never let her go. Angela wished so badly to take back her words, she felt so stupid for ever suggesting that they needed to take a break. Her eyes kept moving between the street and the door to the staircase. She wondered if the building had any cameras up here. But as she saw the cracked concrete, rusted metal, and spray paint all over the area, she knew her answer.

She let the rain soak her, and tried her best to accept that she was going to die on this roof, soaking wet in one of her favorite sweaters, and a wimpy ankle. Now bare, as she threw her shoe over the roof, hoping someone would see and rescue her. The Angela she once knew, slowly slipping away like her consciousness.
It took dying to finally make Angela realize that work, perfection and fame would never be enough, if she didn’t have Amanda by her side.

~

“Shayne, are you sure you know where you’re going?”

“Yes, I just feel it.” Shayne tried to steady his voice, but anxiety dripped from his words.

Spork shifted in his carrier and Amanda looked down, while distracted, Shayne suddenly stopped, and she ran into him.

“What the hell? Why did you stop? We need to keep going, we need to find Angela-”

“Shhh…look.”

The four of them stopped, and stared at the man walking by himself. It took her a second, but she recognized the shoe he was holding in his hand. It looked exactly like Angela’s favorite pair of ratted white converse. What sealed the deal, was the little A+A on the back of the shoe.

“Shayne..”

“You three stay here, I’m going to have a little talk.”

Amanda, Courtney and Chanse watched as Shayne took an overwhelming sense of new confidence, chest puffed out as he approached the man holding the shoe of their best friend. They watched in horror as a vicious right hook met the strange man’s face.

~
The man stumbled back, dropping the shoe from the sudden pain shooting across his face. He split blood on the ground and looked up to meet the eyes of the man who struck him. His fists clenched at his side.

“What the hell did you do to Angela?”

“Who?” The man said, a bloody smile spreading across his face.

“You fucking know who. Where is she?”

“I left that bitch for dead. And like the perfect princess she was, she left her shoe at the ball.”
Shayne didn’t let him get another word in, he mercilessly started to pummel the perpetrator, his knuckles pressing deep into the man’s face. Bruises started to form instantly on his hands.

He went to grab the man by the collar, seconds away from slamming his head into the ground, before Courtney screamed behind him.

“Shayne, stop! If you kill him, we'll never know where Angela is.”

“The bastard won’t tell me, he just grins like a stupid idiot.”

The man went limp under Shayne’s grasp. Shayne made sure to hold him up and keep eye contact. The attempted kidnapper choked on his breath, blood pouring from his crooked nose, a groan escaping his lips.

“Where. The. Fuck. Is. Angela.”

Shayne pushed forward, putting himself further from where Courtney stood, Amanda and Chanse stood frozen in shock.

“She screamed like a bitch.”

Red. Red is all Shayne saw. He drove his knee into the man’s stomach, sending him sprawling onto the sidewalk beneath them. Blood pooled around him, but he wasn’t dead. Shayne brought his fist up to his lips, before pressing his foot into the man's throat.

“I will kill you. Do you understand me?”

The man gurgled out a response. “I left her. On. A. Roof.” His eyes fluttered, before finally passing out, succumbing to his injuries.

“Shayne…”

Amanda ran up to Shayne and Courtney, her eyes wide. “What did he say? What did he do to her?” Tears started to flow endlessly from her eyes, the rain sticking her hair to the sides of her face, and she tried to wipe them away. Her hands trembled as she saw the man lying on the ground. Any doubt she had about Angela's faithfulness leaving her body. Guilt crushed her like stone, and she helplessly looked back up at Shayne.

“He said she was on a rooftop.”

“What? How do we find her on a rooftop?” Chanse bent down, finally accepting the overwhelming sadness that consumed him. Amanda put her hand on his back, rubbing her hand up and down his body. Shayne looked down at his hands, and no one noticed Courtney already taking steps forward.

Courtney walked away, but not far enough where her friends couldn't see her. Her mind raced after what they had just seen. She was happy the man was stopped, and she took pride in her husband, but it was still a sight she hoped to have never seen in their lifetime.

She took a right, and from the long stretch of buildings in front of them, a matching white shoe fell from a building not so far away.