*RIIIIIIIIIIING* *RIIIIIIIIIING* *RIIIIIIIING*
I heard the monotonous alarm coming from my phone as I slowly open my eyes to see the empty bedroom that surrounds me. It's 8 am and I struggle to get out of bed, but I do it anyway. I remove my sheets and gingerly rise and sit at the edge of my bed, trying to wake up. I think to myself "This room wouldn't feel so empty if Laney were here."

It's been five months since I last saw Delaney. Nothing has been the same: the house is emptier, the food doesn't even taste the same, the nights are lonelier and longer. I don't feel like doing much anymore, except looking for her. I've taken a brief hiatus from my job as a guitar teacher. I enjoyed working with people, young and old, teaching them the art of this instrument. That enjoyment I once felt doesn't....doesn't even exist anymore.I feel that to search for Delaney is more important than my job right now because I can't focus on anything without her. It sounds so obsessive, but when you fall in love, you feel as if you're finding a missing piece of a puzzle that you've lost for a period of time. You would think "Wow, I've been looking for this puzzle piece forever." That's how I see it with love. I've been wanting someone like Delaney in my life for a long time. My puzzle was complete with her, and now, the puzzle is tarnished, incomplete, a mess.

I've been dating Laney since the 10th grade, but I've known her since the 8th grade. She was the new kid, moved from Boston to Baltimore. Literally no one paid any attention to her and I truly felt bad. She sat alone at lunch one day and I went up to her talked with her. She was very shy at first, but I wanted her to know that she could always talk with me if she needed someone, if she ever needed a friend. Sure enough, we became friends and eventually, as we got older, our feelings for one another blossomed. Eventually came our first date, our first kiss, and everything just fell into place. I shit you not though, everyone and their mother thought we were the couple of the century. We were voted as the cutest couple our senior year and we were even the homecoming king and queen! She has the most beautiful singing voice I've ever heard. We'd make covers of our favorite songs, it was our thing to do and it defined who we were as a couple.

Laney's brother, Zack, has been living with me since Laney's been missing. He's been helping me pay bills and look for Laney. Zack is a great guy, can't find too many like him. He and Laney have always been extremely close, especially after their mom died when Laney was 16 and Zack was 18. Their dad died 2 years later, the day after Laney and I graduated high school. Laney took both deaths hard, she loved her parents so much. She'd get these panic attacks during the night and I'd stay up with her, embracing her, run my fingers through her beautiful brown hair, and kissing her tear-stained cheeks, letting her know that I would always be there. Even know, I still prove to her in her absence that I'm here for her, wherever she may be.

I pick out a shirt and jeans and head for the shower. Every time I go to the bathroom, I pass a picture of Delaney, hanging up on the wall. It's her graduation picture, cap and gown, looking beautiful as ever.
"I'm gonna find you, Laney. I'll never stop looking for you, I promise." I touch the picture, feeling a sense of failure that I'm not trying hard enough. I need to find her and I need to find her now.

Notes