Caleb Andrews
When I woke up for school, I felt just as tired as I did before I went to sleep. My parents arrived home from work quite late, but they went straight to bed when they got in, leaving Gabby, who was also probably asleep, Jake and I, whilst Clara and Kylie were still staying at a friends.
I think I had a natural ability to wake up without an alarm but people like Gabby need an alarm so she always had her phone going off at stupid o'clock in the morning.
However, like every morning, I would usually hear Gabby's alarm an hour before mine, giving me another hour to sleep. But I didn't hear hers this morning. Instead, I woke up to mine and felt a sudden rush of concern flow through me.
I had simply guessed that she had forgotten to set it and needed waking up instead, although I knew she wouldn't be too happy with being woken up this late.
I pulled on some jeans and a t-shirt to wear to school and walked up to Gabby's door and knocked. "Hey Gabby, you ready?" I called, not hearing her voice from inside.
"Gabby?" I shouted a little louder this time, knowing that the only other person in the house was Jake, no matter how much I hated that thought.
No reply.
Feeling genuinely concerned, I knocked again and then opened the door. My heart began to race when I realised that her bed had not been slept in and I knew that she loved her bed too much to not get a good nights sleep in it.
My mind was wondering where the hell she was as I realised that she had probably just gone to school a little earlier.
However, as soon as I was ready to leave the house, the light caught something by the door as I noticed her phone sitting, switched off, on the side, as if she had left it there and walked out.
I knew she would've never left the house without her phone. For the short time that I've known Gabby, I've learnt quite a bit about her, and being without her phone was definitely something that would never happen.
Pulling her phone off of the counter, I examined it, knowing that she probably didn't have much to hide so she wouldn't set a passcode. But like always, luck was not on my side this morning, and she had one set.
I knew it was bad to be going through her phone, but I would have never done it if I wasn't genuinely concerned as to where she actually was. And I was hoping that something on her phone would reassure me.
Why did they even invent a passcode on phones when they knew that everyone would like to check other people's phones, especially in situations like this?
Then again, people like me is probably why they created them in the first place.
I sighed as I entered various random codes, trying to figure out the code, but I ended up getting a minute lock on it.
I ended up waiting a total of thirty minutes for her phone to unlock until I realised the number was her sisters birthday, which was a lot harder to find out, seeing as I wasn't actually friends with her on Facebook.
However, thankfully, her birthday was still available for me to see on my own phone, so I typed it in on Gabby's and to make matters better, it was correct.
As soon as I slid the unlock open, a text message from an unknown number was displayed across the screen, having already been read by Gabby before she had obviously put the phone down.
Finally realising what the text was, I was shocked because the address was all the way out in Florida, and I couldn't imagine her going all the way out there just to meet with whoever it was.
However, I was worried she was alone on the other side of America probably and I didn't want anything to happen to her. And I knew that she was extremely likely to go, especially if it meant protecting her family.
I don't think I would forgive myself if anything happened to her. So being the love sick puppy that I was, I booked a ticket with one of my credit cards so that my parents wouldn't find out.
It's not like they ever check my statements anyway.
Quickly texting my parents, I told them that Gabby and I wouldn't be here tonight as we're staying at friends houses then going to school the next day.
That would thankfully give us enough time to get back and it's not like I'm going to leave her alone in Florida. We were told to look after her and Kylie and that's what we're going to do.
Packing a small bag, I got into my car and drove to the airport instead of school, never did I ever think this would be the place I would be going instead of school, no matter how much I didn't like it.
• • •
"Hey, do you mind if I sit here?" A tall, blonde girl around my age was smirking at me when I looked up from my seat on the plane. She was extremely beautiful, but I knew that the only girl going through my mind at this moment, was Gabby.
I simply smiled and shook my head as she perched herself next to me. "Jess," she smiled as she outstretched her hand for me to shake. I smiled back and shook her hand. "Caleb."
Although this beautiful girl was sitting next to me, I couldn't stop thinking about Gabby, despite her probably just seeing us as a little less than friends after everything that's happened.
So why am I travelling across the country to find her, help her and bring her back? Probably because I don't see her as much as an friend as she does.
The plane soon lifted off the ground and Jess was chatting in my ear all journey. Normally I would be reluctant to even let her sit here without my lips on hers but I want feeling it at the moment.
It definitely wasn't because of Gabby, was it?
"So what brings you to Florida?" Jessica asked in a seductive manner, placing her hand on my shoulder then caressing it. I don't think I could stand six hours next to this girl anymore.
"Searching for someone." I replied bluntly, turning to look out of the window to make her voice go away.
I genuinely didn't want to talk to her and she probably thought I was the easy type that was fall at her heels right here, right now but I wasn't in the mood. Especially when I was this worried about Gabby.
"I think you've found them," She smiled in a girl version of my smirk. She must be the girl version of me. Or the guy I used to be.
Moving quickly, I found an empty chair next to an old man, so I scooted past her and sat next to him, saluting her as I placed my bag underneath the chair in front of me. She looked pissed off as she turned back to the front and huffed, crossing her arms.
I couldn't believe I was travelling across the country for a girl and suddenly I feel uncomfortable sitting next to one, what is wrong with me?
• • •
My eyes almost ripped open as the plane had come to a halt. I really must've been tired to have missed the landing of the plane. The girl that was there before, had disappeared and was probably sitting next to a guy like me, trying to seduce him.
"Thank you for travelling with us today," the air hostess said to me as she smiled with her white teeth and I walked off the plane and was suddenly greeted by the hot sun blazing into my eyes.
The hot air was nothing like California.
California was extremely warm and even hotter in the summer, but it was way cooler than Florida. Florida was like going on a vacation where the hot air immediately hits you when you step off the plane.
I stared down at my watch as I walked out of the airplane. I had less than seventeen hour to find Gabby and get her back to the airport to go home, and the only thing I had was the name of a café and a time that she was meeting someone.
But I knew that it probably couldn't be interrupted unless something got out of hand, in which I would be there in one second flat if it meant keeping Gabby safe.
Seventeen hours.
That's all the time I had left to find her.