Fin

Here it was.  The first day.  The freshmen and their parents stood outside waiting anxiously to check in to the dorm.  The entire Resident Assistant team went to their tables excited to meet the girls that they would be living with on their hall.  When I got to my table my community leaders were ready and we had everything organized.  The doors open.  The girls all scramble in and quickly go to their designated table. 

There she was.  She had dark curly brown hair and bright blue eyes.  She walked gracefully towards the table in her new Northwestern College t-shirt and her khaki bermuda shorts.  I asked her for her name and she said Taylor Adkins and you could hear her thick Alabama accent come out.  I pulled her file out and started walking her to her room where she would spend her very first year in college.  As we walked down the hall I asked her all the usual questions, “Are you excited for your first year”, or “Where are you from?”  She answered excitedly and then I noticed her shoes.  They were white converse with names written on them in colored markers and they had holes all over them.  I asked her about them and she explained how she had all her friends at church camp sign them 4 years ago and now she still wears them to remember to pray for her friends.

She had won me over.  From that very first day we became very good friends.  Every Saturday morning we would go eat breakfast and do devotions.  She was always very interested in my position as an RA and always asked questions about the rules and what I did.  I told her about all the rules at the school and explained that we held high standards like no drinking and smoking. She would often play Devil’s Advocate and try to say why some rules were stupid, but in the end we would both come to the agreement that they were still to be upheld. 

One Saturday morning we were eating breakfast and she told me she had very exciting news.  She told me that she had met a boy and not just any boy, the worship leader of one of the popular worship teams on our campus.  His name was Randy and he was from Detroit, Michigan.  I was excited for her and happy to hear it was a boy that I had only heard good things of.  I was at first excited for her, but after everyday of hearing about all the awesome stuff her and Randy did together, I was getting a little annoyed. I was very confused about how if she wanted me to know so much about him why had not we met yet.  That’s the part that worried me the most.   Then one day Taylor comes running into my room screaming and happily told me that after several weeks of just “hanging out” Randy had finally asked her out.  So that whole night I had to hear about what she was going to wear to their wedding and what flowers she wanted and what type of ring she wanted Randy to get her.

Finally after weeks of bragging about her and Randy I told Taylor that maybe if she wanted to show him off some more that she could actually introduce us.

So later on that day when Randy came to pick Taylor up for a date she introduced me to him.  He was very nice and polite, but very short with his answers to questions.  I didn’t take it personally though and told them to have fun.

It was the next Saturday morning and I was sitting alone eating breakfast and two hours later I received a text.  It was Taylor telling me that she was sorry and that Randy picked her up at 5 am and they went and watched the sunrise.  I would have been more upset, but she was so happy.  The following week all she talked about was how amazing Randy was and how talented Randy was and how handsome Randy was.  I just smiled and tried not to let it bug me.  It was her very first boyfriend after all.

Three weeks later and I have seen Taylor a total of three times.  She has been MIA.  She signs out a lot saying she went to a girl on the halls house.  When I text her she will answer she’s with Randy or doing homework or sleeping.  So I became very suspicious so I decided to do a little investigation on my own. 

First I went to Hannah, the girl Taylor was supposedly always staying over night with at her house.  I just started the conversation casually asking her how school was going.  Then I asked her about her friendships and whom she was hanging out with.  She didn’t mention Taylor, so I asked her how she and Taylor were doing and she sort of gave me a confused look.  Then I knew something was wrong.  I asked her about how Taylor is staying over her house a lot and she sort of paused stunned and exclaimed “O ya she’s always over my house.”  You could tell she was lying.  Her voice got high and very loud.

Now I was sort of worried.  Hannah is lying.  So I wanted to know where she really was.  So I decided to stalk her and follow Taylor on a night she signed out.  Two days later I had my chance.  I saw she signed out and once I did I went to her room.  I could hear her behind her closed door so I went into the bathroom across from it.  I washed my hands about 5 times until she finally came out.  She smiled at me, but said nothing.  She walked away fast avoiding a conversation.  I watched as she disappeared around a corner and I grabbed my car keys. 

I ran to my car carefully trying not to run into her.  As I sat in the drivers seat, Taylor and Randy drove right past me.  I turned on my car and followed far behind them.  We drove for about 25 minutes until we reached a house in a nice neighborhood.  I parked on the street a few houses down from Randy’s car.

They got out of the car and I soon regretted that I didn’t bring anything to do.  I waited.  I didn’t really know what to expect.  I was waiting maybe for a bunch of cars to come and catch a party maybe with alcohol or drugs.  Or maybe catch them having an “overnight slumber party.”  I didn’t expect though to see Randy emerge from the house 3 hours later in a sweat carrying a large bag.  I didn’t really know what was going on.  I mean of course the big bag and no Taylor was suspicious, but I never really considered a worship leader from school doing anything like that.  I was scared, but I just hoped for the best and put it in my mind that this was Hannah’s house and Randy was just dropping Taylor off.

The next day I saw Hannah.  I asked her what she did the night before.  She said she went home.  I asked if Taylor went with her and she said yes.  I knew she was lying, but I just believed her because that’s what I wanted to be true. 

2 days later and still Taylor was not back.

1 week later and Randy was also reported missing.

2 weeks later Hannah confessed that Taylor never had been to her house.