Chapter Text
Sunday 6:01 PM
Misty:I just wanted to tell you I had a really great time at the reunion last night.
Sunday 7:01 PM
Misty:And I hope you had a restful day today!
Sunday 7:31 PM
Misty:Let me know if you'd like to get together this week. I have some evenings free.
Sunday 9:31 PM
Misty:Well, gotta go. I have an early shift tomorrow, so I'm turning in at a reasonable hour! No partying or tequila shots for me tonight 😊 Sleep well, Nat!
* * *
Yesterday 5:26 AM
Misty:I noticed you haven't read my messages from last night. Big hangover, huh? Let me know as soon as you read this, I have a lot of surefire cures I can pass on.
Misty:Not that I'm a heavy drinker, necessarily, but those of us in the medical field pick this stuff up.
Misty:Or I can just Google up something for you. Whichever!
Misty:The point is, I'm here and ready to help.
* * *
Yesterday 3:52 PM
Misty:I'd appreciate it if you would answer your phone.
Yesterday 4:27 PM
Misty:Listen, I was really hoping not to have to get into this over text, but I think we should meet to discuss some things.
Misty:All four of us, I mean.
Misty:Say, tomorrow evening at my place? 6 o'clock?
Misty:That should give you plenty of time to sober up.
Misty:But if it doesn't, or if something else is going on, I hope you'll let me know. Remember that communication is a two-way street!
Yesterday 5:27 PM
Misty:Not to be a broken record, but I'm STILL not seeing any read receipts.
Misty:I know I get a little irritated when you leave me on read, but just so you know, this isn't exactly better.
Misty:Just in case you needed some clarification on that!
Yesterday 6:00 PM
Misty:24 hours until our proposed meeting time! If I don't hear from you, I'll assume you're coming and plan accordingly.
Misty:And it's been 24 hours since I first texted you post-reunion, too. Just in case you haven't been keeping track.
* * *
Today 7:00 AM
Misty:See you tonight!
Today 1:00 PM
Misty:See you in a few hours!
Today 4:00 PM
Misty:I baked a surprise for you guys. I think you're going to get a real kick out of it! 😁
Today 6:07 PM
Misty:Shauna just got here. Tai hasn't arrived yet.
Today 6:10 PM
Misty:You're ten minutes late. But that's fine! I'm going to give Shauna a house tour and introduce her to Caligula, so that should eat up some time.
Today 6:15 PM
Misty:Fifteen minutes late.
Today 6:30 PM
Misty:You're half an hour late.
Today 6:45 PM
Misty:You're 45 minutes late, so we're just going to get started without you.
Today 7:19 PM
Misty:CALL ME!
* * *
Today 10:47 PM
Misty:Nat, I'm starting to get worried.
Misty:As in, seriously worried. Thinking that something might have happened to you levels of worried.
Misty:I mean, you wouldn't have taken off without talking to me first, right? You're a better friend than that.
Today 10:57 PM
Misty:Or are you?
Misty stares hard and unblinking at the phone in her hand, as if she can will a response to manifest itself onscreen. Guilt trips don’t normally work on Nat, and this is a piss-poor attempt at one; it’s sloppy and unrefined, not up to her usual caliber, and no one with even an ounce of intelligence would fall for it. But Misty is quickly running out of options in her arsenal, and as much as she hates to admit it, she’s desperate — which means she’s at the point where she’s willing to try anything, no matter how far-fetched.
Maybe, she thinks, Nat will respond just to make fun of her. She thinks she’d take that right now, after over two days of radio silence — after over three days of radio silence, actually, if she counts the period of time after they’d parted at the reunion and before Misty had texted her the following evening.
But no cutting, sarcastic reply comes in, and Misty can feel indignation, frustration, and concern roiling inside her, all fighting for primacy. It’s the lack of read receipts that’s unnerving her the most. Nat practically uses read receipts as communication, strategically employing them to make sure when Misty knows she’s being ignored, but not a single one has shown up in over forty-eight hours now. Misty never thought she’d miss them, but now she recognizes them for what they were: an integral part of their banter, an unspoken shorthand that’s utterly and uniquely them. They are, in a way, a sign of their bond, because Nat wouldn’t have bothered with them at all if she hadn’t trusted that Misty knew and understood her well enough to read between the lines. But now, that sign is gone — and at the worst possible time, too.
Misty forces out a sharp, annoyed breath, making a point of rolling her eyes, as if there were someone around to see the show she’s putting on. Taissa’s silence is noticeable too, but at least she knows that Taissa is fine: she has people around her, and a senator-elect (even if she were so inclined) can’t go on a bender or overdose on cocaine or skip town without making the kind of fuss that Misty would definitely have heard about on the evening news. But Nat? Who, exactly, is watching out for Nat? Her, that’s who, which is a fact that Nat very well knows. Going dark on her only means of support isn’t just inconsiderate, it’s dangerous. Briefly, Misty considers texting her right away to inform her of this fact, but decides to wait twenty more minutes until 11:17. There’s no sense in looking too desperate.
Besides, there’s plenty of things that she can occupy herself with — like, for example, changing Nat’s name in her contacts to something a little more thematically appropriate. And refreshing PuttingtheSickinForensics’ comment to see if it’s gotten any bites (it hasn’t, because he’s an annoying loser with stupid theories, but she logs into some alt accounts and downvotes it a few more times just to be safe). And considering the merits of trying to frame Jeff (could she get Shauna onboard? Would Shauna even need to know?). By the time she looks up from her laptop again, it’s 11:13, and her phone hasn’t made a peep.
Today 11:17 PM
Misty:Since I'm the person who's been here for you in a way that no one else has (your words, not mine!), I'm sure you're well aware that ignoring me like this is not only really rude, but also potentially a life-threatening mistake.
Misty:And leaving town without telling me could be an even bigger one. You could get into a car accident and end up hospitalized with nobody to advocate for you.
Misty:Do you even have a healthcare proxy? I'm guessing no!
Misty:(I do, by the way. That information can be found on a card in my wallet, which is knowledge that I'm trusting you with because you're my best friend and you should know these things about me.)
Misty:Anyway, if I don't hear from you by tomorrow, I think I'm going to be forced to take more drastic steps to check up on you. Which I know you don't particularly enjoy, because I pay attention to your wants as well as your needs!
Misty:But sometimes, needs are more important than wants, and it's starting to look like this might be one of those times.
Misty:So I'll be seeing you soon, Nat!
Misty:One way or another.
