The Night She Disappeared
We were just teens. I thought we were having a normal hangout. I didn’t know that one lie of hers — would drag me into cops, panic, missing reports, and a night I still can’t forget. Some days never leave you. No matter how much time passes, no matter how much you grow up — they cling to you, sharp and unforgettable. For me, it was in 8th grade — the year school reopened after COVID. We'd been away for nearly two years, and I was bubbling with excitement to go back, to make friends, to finally feel normal again. That’s when I saw her. Let’s call her N. She was beautiful — effortlessly so. The kind of girl who walked into a room and made the air shift. I wanted to be friends with her. Genuinely. But N already had someone — a best friend. Let’s call her S. Eventually, we all started hanging out together. A trio. But like most trios, it was actually a duo... and a spare. S and N were always tight, and I was just... there. I always felt like the third wheel, no matter how hard I tried....