One week, five days, fourteen hours, and thirty five, no, thirty six minutes since Jude was last seen. There was no sign of her anywhere as if she had simply vanished into thin air. Which is highly unlikely considering the two-story town of Roswell, New Mexico that they lived in. New Mexico’s finest had searched from here to Albuquerque and back. Sarah was distraught and plagued with fear and loneliness since that fateful Monday when Mrs. Duchamp rang her in a panic to ask if she had seen her 17 year old daughter. Typically, Jude would spend the night at Sarah’s on the weekends and vice versa but not the weekend in question.
The two best friends had spent Saturday afternoon at the movie theater and doing their usual giggling and chatting over the cute boys in their class who Sarah lacked the courage to talk to. Most importantly, Josh Reemer, the senior captain of the football team who Sarah had been in love with since 7th grade Physical Science when she was saw him on her first day of school in Roswell. Years later, she still got butterflies whenever he passed her in the halls. Like a swarm of bats trying to escape a dark cave, her stomach would twist in a knot whenever she saw him.
After dinner that evening, the girls went their separate ways. Something seemed suspicious about Jude. Usually, she was the goofy pretty girl with a keen sense of humor who developed long before most of her peers. She flaunted her sex appeal and wasn’t afraid to be the center of attention and actually craved the spotlight. On this night, she was calm and reserved. Sarah didn’t really think much of it at the time. Maybe subconsciously she did, but not enough to comment on it. When she dropped Sarah off at home, she gave her a long hug goodbye and almost looked as if she might cry.
“Are you ok, girl?” Sarah asked.
“Oh yeah. I just think those beans from that chimichanga might be disagreeing with me.” Both girls laughed and Sarah exited the car.
Her cell phone beeped in her purse as she entered her home. She took her shoes off and left them by the door. (Her stepmother, Lisa, was adamant about this and it was easier to oblige than to argue). Before she could check her phone, her father called her into the living room where he and her older brother, Randy, were engaged in sports news at a very high decibel.
“How was your day, honey?” Her father, Steve asked. His tone was always warm when it came to Sarah. She was his only daughter and was treated like a princess since the day she was born.
She took a seat on the sofa next to him. Reaching for the remote to lower the volume, Randy snatched it from the coffee table before she had the chance. “This is important, Scuzz!” he insulted.
“One, it’s only football. And two, It’s too loud. I can barely hear myself think,” she replied, looking at her father who then nodded at Randy. The volume came down four notches. “Thank you,” she smiled, sarcastically.
“It was a good day, dad. Thanks for asking,” she looked down at her phone. The message was from Jude. She found this odd being that she literally said goodbye to her not more than three minutes prior.
*Hey, girl! Just wanted to tell you that I love ya. *
*Thanks for being my best friend. *
Sweet but strange, she thought. She replied with the expected teenage emoji text message of hearts and smiley faces.
That was the last text message she would receive from Jude.
Sunday went by accordingly. Sarah reached out to Jude a few times throughout the day but never got a reply. She checked Facebook and Instagram and noticed that she hadn’t been online since the afternoon before. Trying to not worry too much about it, she assumed that she was probably on one of her study binges where she spends the day sharpening up on her French or Spanish or reading up on some good old fashioned U.S. History. It wasn’t until that phone call Monday morning from Mrs. Duchamp that her heart began to sink.
“Sarah, it’s Margie Duchamp,” she stammered. “Is Jude with you?”
“Uh, no,” Sarah replied, wiping the sleep from her eyes. It was 6:28AM, seventeen minutes before her alarm would ring to wake her for school.
“Are you sure? I thought she was staying at yours Saturday.”
“She dropped me off after dinner Saturday but I haven’t heard from her since…” she sat up, now wide awake and slightly worried.
“Jesus, she never came home,” Mrs. Duchamp started, her voice trembling. “She sent me a text message to let me know she would be staying with you and that was it. I assumed you two were busy yesterday so I didn’t expect to hear from her-I don’t know wha-,” Sarah could hear scuffling as if the phone had dropped. “I’ve got to call the police, Sarah. Please call me if you hear from her.” ~click~
Nearly two weeks later, Jude was still missing and the entire town was worried about her. There were posters everywhere. Schools, Grocery Stores, Churches. In their community, a missing child wasn’t common and they feared that her life was in danger. Mrs. Duchamp was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Her estranged husband had come to stay with her during this desperate and tragic time. It was unlike Jude to runaway. She was always so reliable and never wanted to worry her mother. This was more than out of the ordinary, this was scary.
Sarah had become distant toward everyone around her. She felt guilty for not knowing why Jude’s behavior had been odd that last night they saw each other. She felt somewhat responsible for her disappearance having been the last person to see her. Her days were spent upstairs in her bedroom with the door locked. The loneliness she felt without Jude made her heart feel empty. Sarah didn’t have any other close friends besides Jude and now she had become “the girl with the missing friend”. She hated it. The attention was too much. All she wanted was her friend back.
She lay on her bed and let her pillow catch her tears. What happened to you, Jude? She hugged her pillow and that’s when she heard it, a crunching sound. That wasn’t there before, she thought. When she looked inside the pillowcase, there was an envelope with her name on it-it was in Jude’s handwriting.
She ripped open the envelope with fury. There was a small piece of notebook paper inside with a letter from Jude. What the-? She unfolded the paper and almost didn’t want to read the note. She was certain that this envelope wasn’t there this morning before school. She would have noticed it. Had Jude been here? Had she been in her bedroom today? What was going on?
Sarah, it’s me, Jude. I know you’re probably worried but you need not worry. I am fine. I am healthy. I am safe. I am in no danger. Please don’t show this to anyone. I’m actually happier than I’ve ever been and you can be too. Meet me tonight at Chaves Courthouse at midnight. I’ll explain everything.
I love you.
~Jude
P.s. it has to be tonight.
“Oh, Jude. What the hell have you gotten yourself into?”
