Melanie woke up to the sound of knocking on her front door, so she jerked awake, her eyes opening and looking at the clock above the television that kept on ticking time away.

It was almost 2 o'clock.

Shit! Melanie cursed herself. She slept well past her normal awakening time.

Melanie stood up and the afghan fell to her toes but she ignored it as she hurried to the front door, pushing loose strands of dark hair from her eyes. She took a deep breath, and opened the door, and there stood Beth who looked like she was about to head to yet another party.

"Is she back yet?" She asked around her snapping gum. The mint flavor washed up on Melanie, and she tried not to gag at how pungent it was. Taking a breath, Melanie shook her head no, because she knew that Isabel would have woken her if she were to come home, instead of slipping off into her bedroom.

"Humph." Beth grumbled and frowned. "Well, I have a date, so call me if she comes home later. She might be doing the walk of shame right as we speak." Beth turned her head around, as if expecting to see Isabel walking up behind her, with her stilettos in one hand and her clothes all roughed up from the night before and her cellphone in the other hand.

Something told Melanie she wasn't doing the walk of shame.

"Okay." Melanie said, then she slowly closed the door without a goodbye. Once the door was already closed and the shadow of Beth slowly sauntered away, Melanie turned around, pressing her back against the cold, glass surface.

There was only one thing that was in Melanie's mind and It was the only thing she had left to do.

Call the police.

Melanie hurried to her bedroom and snatched her cell phone from her unmade bed and she wasn't surprised to see no missed calls or messages from Isabel. Melanie dialed 911, and she pressed the phone to her ear.

The phone rang a couple times.

"911, what's your emergency?" The dispatcher answered.

Melanie paused and took a breath through her barely opened mouth.

"I would like to report a missing person." She finally said, her voice like a croak. She could feel tears pushing at the back of her eyes, like they might fall out at any moment's notice, but she choked them back with a silent sob. It was becoming too real.

"And what is your name, miss?"

"Melanie Lockhart."

"Who is the missing person?"

"Isabel Lockhart."

There was a long pause.

"You're related to this person?"

"Yes, she's my sister."

Another pause.

"Do your parents know about this?" The dispatcher's voice almost sounded robotic, like she was assigned to say all of this, ask her all these questions. She's done this a billion times, Melanie told herself.

But she still couldn't ignore the feeling that she wasn't going to be the help Melanie needed to get Isabel back. Melanie bit her lip. She never thought to tell her parents about it, but the thought scared her. They would be furious, probably even blame Melanie.

'How could you be so careless?'

'What was going through your mind?'

'Where is Isabel!?'

"No." Melanie choked.

"Where are your parents, dear?"

"T-They're on a business trip."

"And how old are you?"

"I'm e-eighteen."

Melanie felt the tears slowly navigating down her cheek, and she tried so damn hard not to let the dispatcher know that she was crying on her side of the phone line, but she knew that the robotic girl knew, because her voice was softer and more sincere the next time she talked to her.

"Okay." The operator paused. "When was the last time you saw your sister, dear?"

"Last night, we were at a club with one of our friends and she...She said she was going to go to the bathroom, but she never came b-back. We looked everywhere for her and asked the bartender if he'd seen her, and he said that he saw her leave with a guy. I-I haven't seen her ever since."

"Did you ever think that she's still with the guy? Do you know where he is?"
"Yes, I thought about that!" Melanie blurted, her voice rising to a new octave from irritation. She paused and took a deep breath, recollecting herself and she wiped at her tears with the heel of her shaking hand. "I don't know him, and we have this rule that we always know where the other person is going and who they're with."

The operator was quiet on the other end, then finally, she spoke. "Okay, Melanie, I think you need to inform your parents and then have them call us."

"But they won't be back until monday!" Melanie hissed through the phone. "She could be dead before then, hell, she could be dead now!"

"Melanie, you need to calm down. Is there any way you can contact your parents."

Melanie nodded, but realized that the operator couldn't see her. "Y-yes." She said aloud.

"Call them, tell them what happened."

"Okay." Melanie said quietly.

The line ended, and Melanie numbly removed the phone from her ear and stared at it with beady eyes. A part of her wanted to call her parents, but another part of her didn't want to and feared what would happen.

It needed to be done, for Isabel's sake.

With shaking fingers, she dialed her mom's number and held the phone to her ear. The phone rang a couple times, but then it was cut short. Melanie looked at her phone in confusion and realized that her mom denied her call. Her phone vibrated in her hands moments later and she saw that her mom sent her a text:

We can't talk right now, Mel. I love you, give your sister some love too. Xoxo

Fuck. Melanie thought as she threw her phone onto her bed.

There was only one thing left to do.

Melanie couldn't just sit there and wait patiently for her parents to get back. She wasn't going to sit around the empty house, cleaning, eating and sleeping while pulling her hair out of her scalp in stress for her missing sister. And she sure as hell wasn't going to keep calling the police operators, who seemed to be no help whatsoever, she had to do something.

Because nothing wasn't going to cut it.

Melanie pulled out a pair of jeans from her dresser and slipped them on, then she laced on her boots and grabbed her car keys that hung from the hook on her wall. On her way out of the house, Melanie pulled on her thick jacket since she could see that a layer of frost had formed on the ground and covered the world before her.

She hurried to her car and threw open the door, climbed inside, and started the engine. She felt the small engine roar beneath her, and she pushed it into gear and stomped on the pedal, throwing her car into reverse.

Her tires squealed as she peeled out of her driveway and jerked the steering wheel right so she swiftly pulled onto the road, and she slammed her foot on the gas and sped away. Melanie felt like she was driving through a dream. Her pink cheeks were stained with tears and her hair was a knotted mess on her head. She had dark shadows beneath her vibrant eyes that screamed at everyone that she was desperate and hopeless all at the same time, so she didn't have to.

Her mind was empty and full all at the same time, and she hated it. She wanted it to be empty.

But then you wouldn't care so much. A voice whispered seemingly in her ear. Melanie agreed with the voice and decided that just for now, just for Isabel, her mind could be poisoned with thoughts that will aid her in getting her sister back.

Melanie took a right, taking the yellow light to her advantage and she heard a honk of a horn from a car that was getting ready to turn, but was rudely cut off by her small red Honda. Melanie ignored them, and kept speeding on.

They would understand, if they only knew.

The police station finally crawled in view and Melanie could feel all of her fear drain from her body, and the color returned into her white knuckles as her fingers loosened their grip on the steering wheel. She even heard herself sigh in relief.

Melanie pulled up to the curb and didn't even wait for the car to stop rolling before she threw her car into park. She turned off the engine and yanked out her key, sliding the lanyard that held her key around her neck and jumping out of the car and slamming the door behind her.

The air was frosty and kissed her skin as she walked toward the entrance of the police department. Melanie walked up to the door and pushed through it and into the stale, white police station where a couple desks sat in front of her. The desks had women with glasses seated behind them, all mechanically doing their work with slicked back hair into tight knots and perfectly fitted suits. Their fingers were like robotic limbs that typed furiously on their keyboards, only taking a couple seconds of a break to take a sip of their scorching coffee.

One girl looked up at her and smiled, but Melanie could see the forcefulness behind it. She saw the muscles in her jaw strain as her lips spread across her face.

"Hello, what can I do for you?"

"I need to talk to someone about filing a missing person's report." Melanie explained as she walked up to the desk of the girl who was speaking with her, while the other two were glued to their screens.

"Okay..." She opened a desk drawer and pawed through all the papers, frantically trying to find the form to fill out. Finally, she found it and placed it on her desk. "Did you already call a dispatcher?"

"Yes."

She watched Melanie carefully. "What did they say?" She questioned skeptically.

Melanie bit the inside of her cheek, and blinked slowly. "She said to contact my parents, but my parents are out on a business trip and won't be back 'till monday, and my sister has been missing for a-"

"Woah, woah, woah." The lady held up her hand, as if she wasn't capable of digesting this much information. "So, your sister is missing, and you haven't told your parents yet?"

Melanie let out a stream of air and closed her eyes tightly, then reopened them. "I tried." She said, her voice stern, more forceful than it's been in a while. "They're all the way in New York, across the country!" Her voice slowly raised, high enough to catch the attention of the other two girls who cautiously peered out the side of their eyes.

"Okay, Miss, calm down." She grabbed a pen. "What's your name." It was more of a demand, than a question.

"Melanie Lockhart."

"What's the name of the person missing?"

"Isabel Lockhart."

This all seemed like Deja Vu to Melanie.

"Do you have a picture of her?"

"No, but she looks exactly like me." The lady looked up at Melanie with skeptical eyes. "We're twins."

"Okay, Identical?"

Melanie nodded woodenly, like someone was controlling her with strings. "Except for her eyes; they're green." She took note of that.

"When was the last time you saw your sister?"

"Last night." Melanie paused. "We were at a club and she said she had to go to the bathroom, but she never came back. My friend and I looked for her and finally asked the bartender if he'd seen her. He saw her leave with another guy. I haven't seen her since."

The girl paused, her hand freezing over the paper, as if her story wasn't worthy for writing. "Don't you think that she'd still be with-"

"Yes, I thought about that, but that's not like Isabel." Melanie hissed. "She would have told me. She tried calling me once at like six in the morning and I wasn't quick enough to answer, so I tried calling her back. Finally, the call went straight to voicemail."

"Maybe her phone died-"

"But she would have answered before it had, when I called right after she did." Melanie explained, hitting her fist against the desk. She could feel her anger slicing through her body. She could feel her irritation rising inside her chest like a fire, and with each time she had to explain the same damn story, fuel was getting doused over the burning flame.

'"Melanie, there is only so much we can do. Isabel might be on her way-"

"Why aren't you people trying to do anything!" Melanie shouted, her voice grabbing the full attention of the other girl's and some of the people in the glass offices. All of their staring eyes watched her in curiosity.

Just as she was going to continue, before a stream of obscenities were going to fly from her mouth, Melanie felt a hand on her shoulder and she quickly turned around to see a tall Officer watching her carefully.

"Come with me." Was all he said, then he placed his hand on her back and ushered her into one of the glass offices. Following his orders, she shuffled along with him, her feet moving swiftly into his office.

The office he owned was different from the rest of the station. It didn't smell stale, it didn't scream the color white, and Melanie actually felt...comfortable.

He sat her down in a chair in front of his desk and he sauntered over the glass and pulled down the blinds where Melanie could see the eyes that watched her, finally disappear. The officer walked over to his coffee machine and poured himself a steamy cup. "Coffee?" He asked, looking at her from over his shoulder. She shook her head no.

Finally, he sat behind his desk and took a lengthy sip of his drink, then set it down, and folded his hands in front of him.

"I'm Officer Maclean, but you can call me John, Melanie." He explained as he grabbed a notepad and positioned it in front of him. Melanie watched him carefully, the way his hands moved swiftly along the mahogany wood. He finally looked up at her, and his bright blue eyes studied her, as if she was some wild animal.

"Hi." Melanie said lamely, her voice shaking. She felt herself shiver under his stare, and she positioned her body in another sitting, feeling the weight of his eyes on her.

She felt watched, studied, examined. It was to the point where she wanted to reach forward and gouge out his eyes with the spoon he used to stir his coffee and plop them into his cup.

She wrinkled her nose, not liking the aroma.

"Want to talk to me about your sister, Isabel?" He asked, writing a couple things down on his notepad. "When was the last time you saw her?"

Melanie sighed, tired of telling the same thing over and over again. "The last time I saw her was at a club last night, she-"

"Which club?" He interrupted, never taking his eyes off of the notepad.

Finally. Melanie thought. They were finally getting somewhere. He was questioning her with useful questions.

Not ones that made her feel crazy.

"Uhm, Nocturnal, I think it was called." He scoffed, but waved his hand.

"Continue." He said, as if she were only to be allowed to talk by the wave of his hand.

"Well, she said she was going to go to the bathroom, but she never came back. I looked all over for her-"

"Was it only you and your sister, or did you guys have another friend?"

"Beth, her best friend, was there too."

"Her best friend? Why isn't she here with you?" He asked, finally looking up and locking eyes with her. She peeled her eyes away, looking at anything but his cold, empty eyes.

"She's out on a date." Melanie answered, looking at the pattern of the wooden desk.

There was a long silence between them. "She doesn't seem to be any more concerned than you are."

"I know." Melanie hissed, her voice leaking irritation as she spoke. Officer Maclean seemed to sense her uneasiness, so he continued with his questions.

"So, she said she was going to the bathroom, but when you last checked, she wasn't there. Go on..."

"I asked the bartender if he'd seen her, and that she looked exactly like me since she's my twin sister, and he said he did see her leaving with a guy-"

"Did he give you a description of the guy she left with?"

Melanie nodded slowly. "He claimed he was wearing all black, tall and possibly had a beard."

Officer Maclean grumbled under his breath as he jotted down her words. "You said she was your twin?"

"Yes."

"So, she looks like you." He said, more of a thought than anything. Not even a question.

"Yes." Melanie choked out, her throat closing up. He looked up at her without moving his head, as if ready for her to burst into tears.

"I heard you say something about your parents being out on a business trip?"

"Yes. They're across the country, in New York."

"Have you actually tried calling them? Maybe telling them that you think your sister, their daughter, is missing?" He said it almost sarcastically, and she couldn't help but notice the rudeness that lathered his voice.

"Yes." She hissed. "I tried calling, but my mother denied my call and sent me a text saying she was busy."

"I'm sure she would have understood if you told her it was an emergency."

Melanie knew he was right, but at that time, she didn't even want to tell her parents. She bit the inside of her lip and broke the skin, tasting the metallic liquid pool out onto her tongue. The bitter taste of pennies told her that she was bleeding inside her mouth.

Officer Maclean's demeanor suddenly transitioned from stern, to almost weak as he leaned back in his chair and gripped the desk with his hands and watched her carefully, his eyebrows drawn together tightly.

Melanie wondered if she had been too rude to him, if her words hit him too hard—but she barely said anything remotely disrespectful.

"Give me your number, Melanie. I'm going to search around our documents for Isabel. How about I call you when I think we have something on you sister."

Melanie nodded, but when Officer Maclean kept his distance and didn't do so much to hand her a card or something she could write her number on, she grabbed the pen and wrote her digits on the paper he'd been jotting notes on. She looked up at him and he gave her a stern nod, barely dipping his chin at her.

She nodded back, stood up, and escorted herself out of his office and slowly shut the door behind her. Everyone in the police station watched her carefully. She felt the weight of the stairs on her as she made her way out of the door and into the cold air, finally taking a deep breath of fresh air.

Melanie walked to her car and slid inside. She sat there for a second, staring straight in front of her with her hands gripping the steering wheel. Slowly, she let her tears that she's been holding back, slide out from her eyes.

She didn't sob, she didn't even really cry. She just let the tears slide from her throbbing eyes. For ten minutes, she sat there, crying for her sister.

No one seemed to take Melanie seriously.

She's just late.

She'll come back, once she's done having fun with her hook up.

Don't worry, Melanie, she'll return, safe and sound.

"I'm going to get you back, Isabel." Melanie swore out loud, as if making a promise to herself, but more importantly, to Isabel. "No matter what I have to do, I'm going to do it."

Then she turned on her car, and drove herself home in silence.