The Missing Half

At work the next day, Nic does her best to avoid Brad. She can’t handle the idea of being alone with him in a room, but she knows that she’s going to have to eventually.

At the end of the day, Brad is in the parking lot waiting for Nic. He gives her a ride home and tries to make casual conversation, but Nic is short with him. He directly asks how the investigation into Kasey’s disappearance is going and whether she got a chance to speak to Lauren again. Nic lies, telling him that she hasn’t talked to Lauren and that she’s been too busy for the investigation.

When they get to Nic’s apartment complex, she asks Brad if he remembers which building she’s in. He says that he does, then points directly at Nic’s apartment door. Nic wonders whether he was genuinely assuring her that he is concerned about her or warning her that he knows where she lives.

Nic decides to check Kasey’s car, which they have kept in storage all these years. She notes the bumper sticker still on the car that reads “We are not two, we are one” (125)—a line from her favorite song. She collects everything from the car, including some random papers and receipts off the floor and their old collection of CDs.