"Do you think Shelly went home?" Carol asked, worry creeping into her voice.
"If she did, why would she leave all her stuff? Her wallet, keys, clutch, and jacket are still here. The only thing missing is her phone."
"Oh! I know where she is!" Carol said, visibly relieved.
"What? Where?" I asked quickly.
"She probably just went outside to get better reception. You know how bad the signal is in here."
"Oh my god, you're right! I didn't even think of that. Let's go look for her."
We pushed through the crowd and stepped outside into the cool night air, but there was still no sign of her. Now that we were out, we could actually try calling her phone.
After dialing her number, we heard the sound of her ringtone, close by.
"There it is! It's in the street!" Carol shouted.
We looked both ways, then ran out and retrieved the phone, hurrying back to the sidewalk. The screen was completely shattered. Even the protective case was broken. Honestly, it was a miracle it still rang.
"This looks like it was dropped and stepped on." I said, turning it over carefully.
"More like stomped on." Carol muttered.
"I'm really starting to get worried. First those weird guys in the club, and now Shelly's just… gone." My voice trembled slightly.
"Listen," Carol said, trying to reassure me. "Shelly was drunk. Knowing her, she probably went home with some guy and just forgot her stuff. Her phone probably got dropped, or run over by the car she left in. Honestly, this wouldn't be the first time she left a club with someone and forgot her things."
"Are you sure? I've never gone clubbing with her before, so I wouldn't know. But... I don't know, this just feels wrong."
"Don't worry," she said gently. "Let's just head home for now. We're both drunk and need to catch a cab before it gets too late. We'll take her stuff with us and bring it to her tomorrow. If she doesn't show up for work or call in, then we'll know something's up."
"All right... if you say so."
We walked to Main Street and flagged down a cab.
That night, I made two mistakes. The first was leaving Shelly. The second was finding her phone.
I didn't know it at the time, but those two mistakes would haunt me for years to come.