When we drank, we made silly decisions. We’ve all been there, right?
One too many beers and all of a sudden you’re doing a nudie run around the block.
If only it was that simple. I’d gladly get my kit off it if made this whole mess dissappear. Wishful thinking.
It was Annette’s idea, the game of truth or dare.
We had been sitting around her loungeroom, bored of talk about our shitty relationships and mediocre jobs, when she came up with the idea.
Cue a bunch of eye rolls, and mutters of us not being 12 years old anymore, I found myself starting to get excited at the concept. It had been a while since we played, and I was already having fun thinking of the mischief I could get my friends into if they were game enough to choose a dare from me.
Debbie went first, and typical, reserved Miley choose truth, and set off on a spiel about how she had kissed a girl, but swore black and blue was just the once, in collage.
My turn came around soon, Annette eyeing me with a sly grin. She purred out truth or dare, and I smiled back, triumphant to be the first, and perhaps only, person to choose dare.
My dare was simple - tomorrow, when I was sober, I was to go into the police station and report someone missing.
I blinked a few times at the strange dare, unsure what to say. I’d thought I’d be making a prank call, maybe sending a risky text to the bartender I’d been flirting with, but this dare didn’t even make sense, it was bizarre.
“Well? You aren’t, like, chicken or something, are you Hannah? Maybe you should’ve just choose truth, like everyone else.”
The rest of the group was staring at us, their nervous smiles not breaking the tension that was thick in the air.
“Of course not. Consider it done.” I smiled tightly back, and ignored the feeling in the pit of my stomach.
The police station was small.
I’d never actually been inside one before, so i was surprised to see the basic set up, the plastic chairs that filled the waiting room, 20 year old magazines sat, unread, on a small plastic table.
I spoke to the receptionist, giving a brief explanation of why I wanted to talk to an officer. I needed to report a missing person.
The young girl gave me the up and down look, her eyes brows raised. With pursed lips, she handed me a form and told me to fill it out, take a seat.
Someone would be with me shortly.
The officer was Dally, Devina Dally, but she told me to call her Dev.
She took me into an even smaller room, although this one was private, and had it’s own set of plastic chairs and table, which we sat at without speaking.
Officer Dev ruffled some papers, fumbled for a pen. She asked me to give her the details, and I started lying through my teeth.
I opened my mouth and weaved a story, I told her about Abbey Kennedy, a 28 year old woman who had long auburn hair.
Her blue eyes were the same Colour as the sky on a clear, sunny morning.
She was 5’5, she had a bluebird tattoo on her left ankle.
She was my roommate, my friend, and she had been missing for the last week.
At the end of my report, I felt dirty with guilt. Not only had I wasted the police’s time, I actually, weirdly, felt sad about this person id made up. Maybe it was the hangover, but for a few seconds I felt a pang of sadness, as if this created abbey character was infact a real person, instead of a figment of my imagination.
Officer Dev misread my guilt and sadness, interpreting it for something other than it was. She touched my arm lightly on the way out, a small small and a sincere look in her eyes. She promised me she would find Abbey, and she would bring her home.
Life goes on, as it does, work got busy, I started dating the bartender.
Life was settling down, or so it seemed, until I woke up to a knock on my door.
Thinking it was Karl, who had forgotten the key I’d given him only a few weeks before.
I yelled at him to hold his pants on, as I pulled a dressing gown around myself and made my way to the front door.
But it wasn’t Karls sheepish expression greeting me, rather Officer Dev. She held a wide smile and pointed to the car.
I watched with a confused smile as a woman stepped out, a young woman, with long aburn hair.
My heart began to race, and my stomach lurched, as the woman got closer, I could see the pale blue eyes, the small tattoo on her ankle.
The woman embraced me, her hair smelling like strawberries, while I remained stiff as a board, being hugged, but not hugging back.
“I found her, Hannah. I found Abbey.”
It was one of those situations where I was lost for words. I felt my heart hammering in my chest, my legs unsteady. I stared at the girl, at this Abbey, waiting for a smile to break, the Penny to drop, a joke I could be apart of. But it didn’t happen.
Awkwardly, not sure what else to do, I invited them in. Abbey set off for the spare room, as if she knew the layout of a house she had never been in before. She spent a brief moment in the room, before returning to the kitchen with a smile on her face.
“It feels so good to be home.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat as I stirred coffee into mugs, my confusion palpable as I overhead this Abbey character and Officer Dev discussing options for when life becomes too overwhelming. Abbey was agreeing that it was okay to take a break, but it was the right thing to do letting people know where you’d be.
“I’m so sorry I’ve worried you, Han. I was so stressed about collage, about exams.. I just needed a break and to clear my head, you know?” Abbeys eyes were filled with unshed tears, her voice sad and expression somber.
Officer Dev watched us like a parent and we were the children. Under her watchful gaze, and against all instinct, I reached over and lightly patted Abbeys hand, and told her it was all okay.
We waved Officer Dev off, and as soon as her car disappeared down the road, I turned to Abbey, and congratulated her on such a good acting job.
She stared at me blankly, her brow creasing with confusion.
I told her that Annette was good, better than I thought, they had certainly took the game too far, but I supposed no harm was done, apart from totally wasting police recourses that is.
Abbey shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks freely now, and asked what I was talking about. She asked who Annette was, and what game I was referring to?
I got angry then, told her enough was enough, this was beyond a joke now. I wanted her to leave, and if she didn’t, I’d be calling the police to have her removed.
Abbey was visibly shaking, I assumed with worry about the police, but when she reached into her purse, she pulled out a card and handed it to me. A license, showing her smiling face. The address was here, my own house.
She smiled a little at me as the horror dawned on my face, she murmured that I’d had a big day, and needed to rest.
My legs felt heavy, and everything went black.
When I woke, it was morning. The sun streaming in through the partially closed curtains. I smelled coffee, and something else, fatty, savory and sizzling.
My head ached and my body felt like lead, but I stumbled up and out towards the kitchen.
Abbey stood at the stove, flipping something in the pan. She smiled when she noticed I walked in, and ushered me to a seat at my own kitchen table where she poured me a coffee and piled a plate full of bacon and tomato.
“I’m sorry about yesterday. It must have been such a shock, seeing me in that car. I know I’ve caused you so much stress, and I’m so sorry. Can we make up? Please?”
I was starving, my lips dry, my mouth parched. I pushed the coffee away, as well as the plate of food.
Abbey opened her mouth to speak, but the the doorbell chimed, interrupting.
She bounced off the seat to the front door, where I heard the familiar voice of my boyfriend, the bartender.
I lept up, feeling relieved that finally some normality was going on, he could help me get to the bottom of this whole strange situation.
But when I went to greet him, the tilt that my world had been hanging on by, fell.
I saw him and Abbey in a tight embrace, both of them crying as they held each other.
“I was so bloody worried.” he sobbed, and abbey stroked his hair, nodding and crying that she was sorry for just running off without a word.
After a moment they noticed me, my shocked and hurt expression.
I was expecting embarrassment, apologies even, but Karl just stared at me with unknowing eyes, as if he was only just now seeing me for the very first time.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t even see you there. Karl, this is my roommate, Hannah. Hannah, this is Karl, my boyfriend.”
This time I didn’t even wait around for the sick joke to come, I bit back my tears and headed straight past them, out of the house and into my car. I needed to see Annette, and I needed to find out what the hell was going on.
When I got to Mileys, she was up to her waist in paperwork.
“God, I needed a break. I’m drowning here.” her eyes were red, and she looked as if she hadn’t slept in days.
“Law school isn’t for the weak.” I tried to make a joke, but my voice came out sounding broken.
Miley stared at me for a minute, and told me I looked like shit. She asked what was going on.
“It’s a long story, Miles I mean I don’t even know myself. I just want to talk to Annette, that’s all. Do you know her address?”
“Who?” Miley rubbed the bridge of her nose, “I don’t know any Annettes.”
My heart began racing again, but I ignored it. Miley was exhausted. Of course she could be forgiven for forgetting.
“Yeah, you know Annette. She was at your party a few weeks back? Curly black hair? We were playing truth or dare.”
Mileys frown grew deeper, and she shook her head slowly. “I remember that party, sure. But there was only the 3 of us, and no one called Annette. And besides, we all crashed out early. No one played truth or dare. Must’ve been a vivid dream.”
I left without saying anything else, Mileys words bouncing around my brain. No Annette?
Nothing was making sense.
I drove home, my head pounding. I needed to sleep. I needed to sleep and wake up tomorrow, where everything would be back to normal.
But when I pulled into the drive, I was met with a police car.
I felt a sense of relief, maybe Officer Dev had realised her mistake, and had come back to collect this fake Abbey.
I ran into the house to thank her, tell her I was sorry for wasting police time, it was a stupid dare and I was stupid to do it. I just wanted everything to go back to normal.
Officer Dev didn’t smile when she saw me. It all happened so fast, she told me to wait back. Fake abbey and her (my) boyfriend were huddled together in the kitchen, staring at me in horror as if I was some wild animal that had broken in.
“That’s, that’s her.” fake Abbeys cried, “that’s the one whose stalking me.”
So yeah, I wish it was a simple dare of a nudie run.
That would’ve been simpler. Now, I’ve got a court case coming up. I’m not allowed near my own home, and when I went to prove it was my house, I couldn’t.
I had no ID. The title, the insurances were not in my name.
I’ve been sleeping rough on the streets, no money, no where to go. Right now, I’m at the library, writing this, and hoping that maybe someone can help me.
I’ve lost everything to a character I made up. And I don’t know how to get it back.