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"Alright guys, I'll call you tomorrow to see if we're going to do a work out with Stace," Nick said walking up to his car.

"Good luck tonight," Brian gave his best friend a brief hug.

"Thanks man, later," Nick got into his car and looked at the clock. It read four-forty-five and Nick decided to go surprise Stacie at the high school where she would be training at the lacrosse game. He patted his top pocket in his button down and felt the box and smiled. He took it out and put into the glove box of his car until later that night.

Nick pulled into the parking lot and went down some steps that lead out to the large field. Parent's were cheering for their kids and kids were yelling. Nick wondered if he had gone to high school what sports he may have played. As he got closer to the field he scanned it looking for Stacie. He stood still for a moment and after not being able to spot her, he wondered if he had the wrong field or school. But there were no other games going on at this school and could he really have gotten a different school that was playing a game at the same time? He went out to the field and went up a man holding a clip board.

"Excuse me sir, I'm looking for Anastasia Stevens, Stacie."

"So are we, she was supposed to be over almost two hours ago. We're just lucky we've had no real big injuries."

"She never showed up?"

"No," the man then walked briskly walked down the field yelling something at a player. Nick then took his phone out and called Stacie as he walked back to his car. It went right to voice mail and without leaving a message he got into his car. He then called Payton remembering that she was going to stop over there. It rang four times and then the voicemail picked up.

"Hey it's Payton, leave a message," then it beeped.

"Payton, it's Nick. I was just wondering if Stacie was over there or if you knew where she was. Give me a call, thanks." Nick hung up and with confusion drove back to his place.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Drink it, all of it," Payton shoved a liquid into Stacie's mouth.

"What is it?" She asked. They were now at the beach, not too far away from Nick's. In fact, Payton had stopped to get Stacie's surf board and then drove down the beach a little ways. She barely remembered getting into a car or getting to the beach. She had gone in and out of consiousness. Had Payton been planning this? She couldn't have been, because how would she know Stacie would find the shrine of Nick?

"DRINK!" She shoved the cup into Stacie's mouth and she drank the contents, emptying the fluid into her mouth. It was water with something bitter mixed into it.

"Good, now put your suit on," she threw Stacie's swim suit at her face.

"It's broad day light," she told her looking around.

"No one comes over here, its a private beach. Put it on or this knife here is going in you and you can join Ryan sooner than planned." Stacie saw the knife glisten in the sun as it went up to her throat. Her head was pounding and she felt drowsy from hitting it. She took the suit and took her clothes off and slipped it on quickly.

"Payton why don't you just talk to me."

"Talk to you? I have to set up an appointment to talk to you. You're with Nick or working."

"That's not true, I'm always here for you. You kept shutting me out!"

"Enough, strap the board on." She jutted the knife towards the board and back at Stacie. Stacie put the strap on the ankle and Payton told her to stand up.

"I can't go out in the water, I can hardly keep my balance sitting up and I'm starting to feel sick to my stomach."

"Oh that, that's just all fifty of your medication pills you didn't take for a month because someone mixed them up with vitamins."

"That was you?"

"Yeah and those pills aren't supposed to be crushed. But oops how else would I get fifty of them into your system? Now stand up," Payton pulled Stacie's long hair to get her to her feet. Stacie yelped in pain and struggled to get to her feet. Her head spun and she felt as though we were going to throw up. She almost prayed she would throw up soon to get the medicine out of her system, she had no idea what might happen.

"Payton, you're supposed to be my best friend."

"I was for years, I listened to you cry and whine and bitch about how your poor heart hurt so much over Ryan and then you weren't sure about Nick. Ugh, I'm sick of you and your sob story, now take your board and walk your ass into that water." Just then Payton's phone rang and she took it out of her pocket, still pointing the knife towards Stacie. She saw it was Nick and laid it in the sand. She knew she was running out of time. "MOVE!" Payton grew impatient and the knife sliced the side of Stacie's stomach. She grabbed her side and with her board slowly walked into the ocean.

The salt water stung her cut and she fell into the water walking in. Her head pounded, her heart ached and she wanted Nick. Besides for the cut, her stomach grew sharp pains in her abdominal. She knew it was her medicine starting to digest and she thought about trying to stick her finger down her throat to make herself sick. Payton however, was a step behind her in the water.

"Tell Ryan I said hello and that I will always love him. But for now, I'll have to go get ready to comfort Nick, my soon to be husband." She smiled. "And if you think about trying to swim back into shore, Nick himself will be joining you in the ground at some point. Oh, by the way read the back of your board." Stacie doing her best to tread water, turned her board around and read what was writing in paint.

I'M SORRY. I CAN'T BE ONE MORE DAY APART FROM RYAN. STACIE

"Suicide? Nick will never by it!"

"You've attempted once before." Payton grinned and swam back into shore. She threw the knife into the rocks, picked up her phone and made her way back to her car.
~*~*~*~
Nick reached his house and was surprised when he found Stacie's car in the driveway. He had wondered if something had happened with her and Payton or if she wasn't feeling well. He unlocked the door and went inside.
"Stace, baby you here?" He asked walking in. He checked the bedroom, the bathroom and living room. When he didn't find her he went out the sliding glass door to see if she had gone outside. Her surfboard was gone and he looked out onto the beach trying to spot her.
~*~*~*~
Stacie tried to paddle back into shore but the current was strong and she was spinning uncontrollable. The shore looked so far away and she lay her head down on the board to rest for a moment. She wouldn't quit, as long as she stayed on the board she would be okay and maybe eventually drift into shore.
~*~*~*~
Nick was now walking down the beach trying to find Stacie. If her car was there and her surfboard was gone, she had to be out Although this wasn't a good time to catch waves. He took his phone out and checked to see if he had missed any calls.
~*~*~*~
Stacie now lay on her board, her arms hung into the cool waters, her eyes closed. The water was rough and Stacie had now drifted a few miles away from Nick's house. A wave came up and knocked her into the water and her body began to sink into the water. She tried to swim to the surface but her arms felt as though she had weights on them. 'I can't die like this,' she thought and struggled to kick. Her head finally appeared above the surface and she coughed trying to get air into her tight lungs. Her heart was going a million miles an hour and she blamed it on the medicine that was forced down her throat. She reached her hands up to get her board but couldn't seem to grab it. Slowly she began to sink back under. The only thing that kept her form going into the deep waters was the fact she was still strapped to her board.
'This is it' she thought sadly and thought of Nick. Water filled her nose, mouth and then lungs and then all was black.
~*~*~*~
After walking up and down the beach for almost an hour Nick went back to the house thinking she might have gone back and he some how missed her. As he reached the patio, he saw that her board was not back in place and he went inside to make a few more phone calls.

"Brian, I'm starting to worry."

"I'm sure she's out with Payton, you said she wasn't picking up either."

"It's not like her, it's already seven and this was when she was supposed to be home."

"Relax man I'm sure she's alright. I think you're just anxious because you want to propose to her so badly."

"Maybe, alright I'm going to go try and call Payton one more time."

"Okay, I'll keep my phone on in case I hear anything."

"Thanks," Nick hung up and then dialed Payton's number one more time. It rang twice and she answered.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Payton it's Nick."

"I saw the caller ID, I was going to call you in a minute actually. I got your message."

"Is Stacie with you?"

"No, I haven't seen or heard her all day," she said cleaning her room.

"She was going to stop by to see you today, she didn't?"

"No, I haven't talked to her in a couple of days actually. You don't know where she is?"

"She didn't show up at work and her surf board is gone and her car is here but I haven't been able to get a hold. She's not answering her phone."

"That's weird Nick. I'll try giving her a call if you'd like."

"Sure, just have her call me if she shows up."

"Of course. Call if you need anything." Nick hung up the phone and was now worried. The sun had almost fully set and Nick kept his eyes out to the beach. His phone was clenched in his hand and when nine o'clock rolled around he called Brian.

"She's not home," Nick told Brian before Brian could even get in the word,'hello.' "Payton called and she hasn't talked nor seen her all day. Brian if she went surfing and something happened, oh, God, what should I do?"

"I'm on my way over," he told his friend and hung up the phone. It took Brian about forty-five minutes to get to Nick's from where he was living and when he got there, Nick was pacing back and forth in front of the patio entrance.

"I called the police," Nick spoke still pacing. "They won't do anything until she's missing for twenty-four hours. That's ridiculous."

"Nick, why don't you sit," Brian put a hand on Nick's shoulder. "I'll give someone a call and maybe get some strings pulled for us."

"I already tried and just because I'm a pop start doesn't mean @#%$."

"How many hours until we can call again? I told them she had been missing since about nine this morning, that's when she was supposed to go see Payton. So, tomorrow morning at nine."

"That's another eleven hours. Look go up to bed, get some sleep and I'm sure she'll call or show up in the morning."

"You don't understand, I feel it in my gut that something is terribly wrong."
~*~*~*~
The next morning Brian woke up from sleeping on Nick's couch to Nick yelling to someone. He looked over to where Nick was still pacing and saw he had his phone up to his ear.

"Missing twenty-two hours is how long she's been missing, what is two more hours, besides the fact she could be in more trouble than she may already be in. Now if you don't send someone over here within the next ten minutes I am going to be sure someone there at your police department will be sued!" Nick's voice then calmed a little and he gave directions. Brian had gotten up and began making coffee in the kitchen, it was seven in the morning and it was obvious Nick hadn't slept at all.

"Someone coming?"

"Yeah," Nick walked in, took a seat at the counter and put his head into his hands. He was tired but couldn't manage to get any sleep knowing that Stacie wouldn't be in his arms that night. The two friends sat in silence drinking their coffee when a door bell rang. "Finally," Nick said and stood up.

Nick went to the door, his coffee still in his hands and opened it. Two officers were standing there and Nick told them to come in and offered them coffee. They accepted it graciously and Nick began telling them how he first began to worry about Stacie's disappearance.

"And you say she had notes that were threats, her house broken into and her car vandalized. The same care that's in your driveway?" The female office asked.

"Yeah, but i got it fixed. They have the evidence of the picture that had the note and other stuff down at the station."

"Evens, want to find the two that were on that case and get the evidence," the female officer told the male officer. He nodded and pushed his radio and sent out a call. "Have you tried to contact her parents?"

"No, they live in San Diago, I don't have their numbers. Payton might, I'll have her call them."

"And you say she is a surfer and her board is missing. Would you say she's a good surfer or just does it once in a while for fun."

"She's pretty extreme, she goes every day at least once a day. The best time to go is around six am or five at night. We had both slept in yesterday until seven thirty because we both had to work long hours. She was supposed to be at a lacrosse game at three that would go until about six or so. I went down to the school and she had never showed up. Stacie is a sports trainer."

"Do you have the address for that school?" The officer asked writing everything down. Nick then gave the name of the school and address along with the description of the coach he had talked to.

"How do you plan on finding her?" Nick asked intently.

"We need to get a coast card, search and rescue out on the water and see if maybe she has turned up." The officer told Nick she would be right back and went outside.

Nick had called Payton and asked her to contact Stacie's parents and let them know everything that was happening. Payton told Nick that she would be right over as soon as she did. Within two hours, the house became more packed with police officers and the guys had come over to check on Nick but were asked to leave shortly. Brian was allowed to stay however and watched as Nick continued to make calls to Stacie's phone.

Eleven am rolled around when the female officer came up to Nick. He hadn't seen or talked to her in about an hour and half. "Mr. Carter, I need you to come with me please."

"Did you find her?" Nick asked standing up from the couch.

"Please just follow me," she said and Nick gave Brian a glance begging with his eyes for him to follow. Brian got up also and followed Nick and the officer into a police car. She turned on the siren and drove down a windy road a ways, following other police cars. When the car came to a halt, they were parked on the beach where there were at least a dozen different emergency cars and a crowd.

"What's going on?" Nick asked as he got out of the car.

"A body was found on the shore this morning by another surfer. A female surfer, fitting the description of Miss Stevens. We have reason to believe it's her but we need you to identify. I'm sorry Mr. Carter," she told him and began walking down the beach. Nick had tuned out the last part of what she said, all he heard was that a body had been found on shore. It couldn't be Stacie. She's too good of a surfer to drown.

He and Brian were escorted down the beach by three policemen. Another policeman lifted a yellow tape line that had been placed around a small area and they went under it. Nick first saw the hand with homemade bracelet's on it and knew immediately who it was. One more glance at the body that lay in front of him and Nick had turned around, fell to his knees and began getting sick.