Evie had tried calling Mae several times throughout the day but unsurprisingly never got an answer. She hadn't left any messages but she was making her last call of the day so she waited for the beep and left a message. "Look Mae, I know you're still mad at me, though I still don't understand why. I didn't do anything, I didn't do anything to make Julianne feel the way she does and I don't return the feelings. I mean, I have Alex and I'm happy, why would be after anyone else? I wouldn't do that to you anyway. Okay, anyway, back on topic I'm really worried about you and mom and dad are worried. So please just call me back and let me know if you're okay, you don't have to really talk to me or anything. You can just say "hey, I'm okay...leave me alone now" and hang up. I don't care, just call me or mom or somebody. Please?"
She hung up the phone and plopped back down on the sofa beside Alex with a sigh.
"Do you want me to stay until you find her?" He asked as he wrapped an arm around her and let her lean onto his shoulder.
"No. I mean, of course I want you here, but you should be in school. I don't want you to miss anything important when you're so close to graduating."
"I won't miss anything that important, my grades can take a hit or two anyway. But that doesn't really matter, some things are more important."
"My sister being in one of her moods is not one of those things. I'm sure she's fine."
"You're more important, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I am a bit worried but I know she's fine, I just really want her to confirm it. It'll be okay though."
"Okay, but just remember I'm only a phone call away if you need me. Call any time, I don't care if it's 3am and I'm sleeping or 3pm and I'm in class... I'll be there for you."
"Thanks. I do need you tomorrow, you might need a later flight back depending how things go."
"That's fine, anything you need."
---
Evie banged on the door of the house that Mae and Julianne were going to move into. She didn't know who, if either of them, had ended up moving in but she dreaded talking to either of them and was nervous to see who would open the door. Of course, she figured Mae probably wouldn't answer the door once she looked through the peephole and saw who was there. She also didn't know if anybody was home if they were living there even, so she was prepared to just wait around.
Alex kept an arm wrapped around Evie's shoulders as they waited, both to comfort her and make it clear that she was taken if Julianne was there. She heard footsteps coming and took a deep breath as the door swung open. "Oh," she frowned when she saw Julianne.
"It's always so nice when I have surprise visitors who are so happy to see me." Julianne rolled her eyes.
"Sorry. I just... didn't know who moved in. I was hoping it was my sister just so I'd know where she is. I'm sure I already know the answer but you haven't heard from her in the last few days have you? She just left my parents house and hasn't spoken to anybody in days, me in a couple weeks."
"No, I'm sorry. But I'll let you know if I hear from her, you do the same please. I do still care about her, so just keep me updated or I'll worry. Do you think she's okay?"
"Probably, she's just been in a mood and that's probably all it is. I just need to know for sure though, so... okay, well, thanks. I'll keep you updated too."
"I can try calling her, she probably won't answer but why don't you come in and see?"
Evie nodded and her and Alex followed Julianne inside to the living room. They made themselves comfortable on the sofa while Julianne went to get her phone. She came back a minute later with it on speaker and already ringing through. It went to voicemail. "Hey, it's Julianne. I just was unpacking and found some of your stuff, I need to know what you want done with it. I tried to take it to you at your parents but they said you were there and they had no idea where you'd gone off to. So just call me back at let me know where to send it all. Okay, thanks, bye."
Julianne shrugged, "Well, I tried. Sorry. I'll let you know if she calls back but I doubt she will."
"Thanks for trying anyway, I appreciate it." Evie got up to leave and Alex followed her lead.
"Yeah, sure, no problem." Julianne shifted side to side and looked down at her feet. "Uh... can we talk... sometime... not right now. I just really hate how things are now, I miss my best friend. So you know... when it's a better time, can we try to work it out?"
"Yeah, sure, I guess." Evie wasn't if it was a good idea trying to be friends with Julianne again. It seemed so awkward knowing Julianne was holding on to feelings for her, and she was worried about how Mae would take it and making up with her was more important. And she didn't really know if she could forgive the hurt Julianne had caused her near the end of their friendship. She'd never really gotten over it, she only put it aside and pretended for Mae's sake. But she did miss her best friend too, and how they used to be.