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“Carmen…!!! Carmen!! Mercedes!! Carmen…. Roddy!!!”

Shane pounded hard on the door. When she didn’t get an answer, she jumped off the front porch and ran to the living room window, straining her neck to look inside. The insides looked curiously quiet. Shane ran around the house, peeking into every window available; the back door was latched shut. Shane was panicking now, did the Morales family take Carmen away and left, or did something happen to Carmen? Shane shook her head hard, ‘no no… Mercedes wouldn’t do that.’ Shane bolted back to the front door, unsure of what to do now. She set herself down on the front of the porch and laid her head in between her arms, trying to calm down and string together a set of coherent thoughts for her next course of action.

Suddenly, a vibration at the back of her pocket startled her and she jolted up from her place on the porch. She pulled out her cell phone from the back pocket and immediately flipped it open and yelled, almost desperately, “Hello! Carmen?”

“Calm down, weirdo… what happened?” The voice replied.

“… Alice… I…” Shane choked, she couldn’t continue…

“Shane… hey…. Did something happen to Carmen? Tell me what’s wrong?”

“Carmen… I left her at her family’s home yesterday…” She managed to get out, “and she got really mad… and started saying weird things. I… I am at the house now… and there is no one here…”

“Shane… calm down…” Alice was really worried now, she had never heard Shane sounding so panicky before. “Shane… have you called Mercedes? You were keeping in contact with her right?”

“Mercedes! Yes… I’ll call her now… Yes yes… that’s what I’ll do.” Shane mumbled, sounding as if she was going to hang up.

“Hold it Shane! Tell me where you are now. I’m coming right over to get you. I’m not letting you go through this on your own.” Alice commanded.

Shane was feeling much better, calmer in the fact that Alice was coming to give her the support she needed. She gave her best friend the address of the Morales house and promised to stay there till Alice comes.