Best Friend's Ex Box Set

“Hey, Viv,” the message said. “Could you go back on Skype really quick? I've got something important to tell you.”

“Alright,” I typed out in a reply. “Give me two minutes.”

I went back into my study and booted up my laptop, wondering what it was that so important that she had to tell me now.

“Hey, girl,” Kerry said as she answered the call. From the expression on her face, I could tell that something was wrong.

“What's going on, Ker?” I asked. “What's so urgent that we need to talk about it right now?”

“Carl just came back from work,” she said. “And he needs to talk to you. Is that alright?”

Now I had an idea of what this was going to be about, and dread stirred its awful brew in the pit of my stomach.

“Uh, yeah, sure. Put him on,” I agreed.

She stood up from her computer, and I heard the sound of shuffling in the background as she and her husband switched places at the desk. He sat down and put the headset on and then looked into the webcam.

“Hi, Viv, how's everything?” Carl asked me.

“It's all good here, Carl. How are you?”

“I'm fine, I'm fine. Work is a bit crazy right now at the firm, but it's challenging in a good way. Look, let me cut straight to the chase.”

“Alright, go on.”

“It's about Simon,” he started.

My heart instantly started to pound inside my chest, and I could feel cold fear moving through my veins.

“No no no,” I murmured.

“He's gone,” Carl stated.

My head tilted.

“What do you mean he's gone?” I asked, my tone saturated with anxiety and worry. “Like dead? Or like he skipped the country?” I was trying my best not to appear as freaked out as I felt and as much as I hated to admit it, part of me was kind of hoping for the dead part.

“He's left San Francisco. I got my police buddies to check up on him earlier today, as I do a couple of times a month, and they can't find him. His house is empty; seems like he moved out. The landlord said he had only told her about moving out a few days ago, and she had warned him that he would lose his deposit because of the short notice and his lease not being up, but she said he didn't seem to care. My cop buddies questioned a few of his friends, and none of them seem to know anything about his whereabouts. In fact, they said it had been a while since they'd seen him. One friend of his mentioned that Simon had been making a lot of long out-of-town trips. He'd disappear for days without saying where he was going.”

“And nobody knows where he went, Carl?”

“Nobody seems to know, no.”

“Do you think he's... He can't have found out where I am, right?” my voice was laced with panic.

“With the changing of your name, the erasing of your former social media accounts, and all the other precautions we took? I think it's very unlikely he's found out where you are. I mean, we set things up so you'd be practically impossible to find, short of a court order demanding knowledge of your whereabouts. So, look, I don't want you to worry, but I did feel that it was my duty to tell you about Simon's disappearance. Like I said, it's very, very unlikely that he's found you, but just be vigilant, alright?” Carl encouraged.

I breathed in deeply, trying to do my best to stay calm. “Alright, Carl. Thank you for keeping me informed.”

“As soon as my guys find any information on his current whereabouts, I'll let you know,” he assured me.

“Thanks, Carl. I appreciate that. Can I speak to Kerry again before you guys hang up?”

“Sure. Have a good night, Viv.”

“You too, Carl.”

He handed the headset back to Kerry, and she sat back down.