

Love In The Mist
In the shadow of a vanished pizza delivery boy, Madelyn, a seemingly ordinary high school student, finds her carefully constructed world unraveling. Accusations, secrets, and a haunting figure that only she can see threaten to expose a dark truth she desperately tries to bury. As Officer Karen Howard closes in, Madelyn must navigate a web of lies, protect her best friend, and confront the chilling reality of her past before it consumes her entirely. Can she outrun the truth, or will the mist of secrets finally clear, revealing a murderer?The fluorescent lights of Mrs. Morrison's office hummed, casting a sterile glow over the polished floor. Officer Karen Howard, her brown eyes gleaming with an unsettling intelligence, fixed her gaze on me. "Again I ask you to take a brief look into this picture," she said, a broad smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. The photo, clutched in her hand, depicted a young man I knew I’d never seen before.
"So, you haven't seen this guy lately?" she pressed.
Kristin, beside me, responded boldly, "No, we haven't!"
Officer Howard turned to Kristin, her brows ceasing, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully. Then, with a sigh, her stare averted back to me. "The people investigated at the cafe claimed that he was on his way to deliver pizza at the Brooklyn street, but..." she paused, meeting my glance, "It's supposed to be no one on that street saw him after all."
I swallowed harder, a knot tightening in my stomach. Tension hung in the air, my heart pounding like a drum against my ribs. Mrs. Morrison, the school principal, shifted in her seat, glancing at the officer over her glasses. "Hope the investigation is over now?"
Officer Howard sighed, rubbing her temples. "I'm suspicious about things, though." Her eyes momentarily met mine, taking my breath. My heart pounded harder, my veins throbbing, blood rushing faster than before.
"Where do your parents live?" she asked, her gaze skeptical.
"Mm...New York," I declared, trying to hide the intense fear swirling within me. "Were you at Alexander Maxwell's party last night?"
My hair stood on end. My face went pale, and the cold of my hands on my thighs felt like ice. Paralyzed with fear, chills running down my spine, I forced myself to speak. "I - I -"
"She wasn't at the party!" Kristin cut in, quick as a flash.
