I sat in the drivers seat of my car as I read and reread the message: “Do not go home tonight.” It was from an unknown number, and I was scared—scared to answer the text and scared to go anywhere.

Finally, I mustered the courage to type back, “Who are you?”As my heart pounded in the deafening silence, I thought of my boyfriend, Terrance. I had just moved in with him a few weeks ago. Knowing he would worry, I considered texting him.

But just before I did, I received a reply. “A friend. Go to this address: 67 Northlake St.” Since the address was not one that I recognized, I punched it into Google Maps and finally started my car. Halfway there, my phone dinged with a text. At a stop light, I grabbed my phone to see who had texted me. It was not the mystery texter; it was Terrance.

“Hey, are you on your way home?”

The light turned green, leaving me no time to open my phone to reply. I continued driving, and I didn’t stop to look at my phone for the rest of the trip. My heart felt so guilty for not telling him about this sooner.

Finally, I had reached my destination, and I pulled into the driveway. Ignoring my phone and my worried boyfriend, I walked up to the house and knocked on the door. It opened a crack, just enough for me to see a bright green eye. “Are you Kate?”

“Yes, but, who are you?” She opened the door wide, and there stood a blonde girl with her hair cut to her shoulders. She was slender and petite, coming up to my shoulder.

“My name is Mindy.” She waved me inside and shut the door behind us. We sat on the couch as she exclaimed, “I used to date Terrance, but he broke up with me when I refused to move in with him. I thought that was concerning.”

She asked, “Do you know about his second girlfriend Lexi?” When I shook my head, she continued, “After I broke up with Terrance, it took him less than a month to find a new girlfriend. I know this because we were still friends on social media, and I hadn’t blocked him. Eventually, they moved in together. But Lexi went missing exactly three weeks after she moved in with Terrance. Her body was never found.

“Then, only two months after her disappearance, he started dating you. And now, you’ve moved in with him. Was this something that he initiated?”

“Y-yes, it was,” I stammered. My heart was pounding. “Do you think he did something to her?”

“I don’t know. I just think it all seems very suspicious. I wanted to get you out of there before it was too late.”

“So, what should we do now?”

_____________________________

Mindy held me as I wept. We had both returned to Terrance’s apartment with the police in tow, and while they hid nearby, I opened the door with my key. Terrance was at my throat immediately—“Where were you?! Why didn’t you answer any of my texts?! Are you cheating on me?!” He kept screaming over me and refused to listen to anything I had to say. Finally, he grabbed a knife and lunged at me! That was when the police intervened and cuffed him. They were taking him away as my heart broke. I had loved Terrance. But he clearly didn’t love me.