Twelve

Gracie glared at Mason when she looked up and saw him staring at her again. He was really annoying and even though she tried not to let it get to her, it still felt as if he was judging her for not caring enough for Dawn.

Gracie wondered where she had gone to. Did she go back to visit her mother, or had she been abducted by one of her many obsessive admirers?

"What am I thinking, that shit doesn't happen in this town," she told herself then sighed. "But times are changing and we can't rule that out can we?".

"Hey!" Mason's voice cut into her thought making her jump. Mason backed up looking apologetic. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you".

Gracie exhaled. "What did you mean to do then? Something worse than scaring the crap out of me"

Mason chose to ignore her words, the action plain as day on his face. "I just wanted to tell you not to worry too much. We all know it's not your fault that Dawn's missing, that is, if she even is" he said shrugging.