If I had some direction, I could go from there. But there was nothing. I sucked in my breath and closed my eyes. I needed to get ahold of myself, and fucking think.
I called Belle and asked her and the others to come over.
I needed to know what her last words were. What she was thinking before she just disappeared off the face of the fucking earth.
At home, I tried to find her scent on my pillows and my sheets. I’d had her there only a few hours ago, how could she be gone?
By the time her girls showed up, I’d pulled myself together. I had a board set up with all that we’d learned so far.
Dad had called and given me an update and her mother had finally called to talk to me. No one knew anything.
“Thanks for coming, I know you talked to the cops but I need you guys to tell me what you remember about the last time you saw her.”
They were understandably upset, but they put their heads together. The bell rang off and on all night as the news spread.
I went out on another search with the guys while the girls stayed back at the house, until there was no light left and we returned.
Mr. Claiborne had called a press conference for the next day to ask for the public’s help, and I had gone into my trust to double his reward amount.
I didn’t have any words for anyone, so most people just left me alone with my own thoughts
“Did anyone see Mandy after the game?”
That brought a hush over the room, but I could see that they weren’t really that surprised.
I had more reason than most to suspect her though, and if it turned out that she had anything to do with this, I’m really going to kill her.
My eyes fell on Cassandra and she too looked like her mind was heading in the same direction.
“Actually, I did see her with Liz and some of the others getting on the bus. They were kind of loud so you couldn’t have missed it.”
“Thanks Tammy.” I still wasn’t sure though. It was the only thing that made sense. Sian hadn’t just disappeared and the only known enemy she had here was Mandy.
I knew a little of what she was, had learned almost too late what I had let slither into my fucking life, but I didn’t think her evil ran to this.
I can’t and won’t accept that Sian was somewhere that I couldn’t reach her. Until my heart told me different I would not believe that she was really gone.
We were actually going to be spending the night together for the first time; I’d squared it with her dad.
Even though he wasn’t too pleased, in the end he’d agreed that he’d much rather know where she was, than to be left wondering and worrying. Now this.
The phone never stopped ringing, or the doorbell going. I almost lost my shit when I heard one of my guys arguing with someone at the door.
I went to see what was going on only to find Mandy standing there, trying her best to look solemn.
She forgets I know her. One look in her eyes told the story. She was fucking gloating and it took everything in me not to punch her in the face.
“What are you doing here?” I had to play it easy. I couldn’t afford to alienate her farther, but neither could I appear to be giving into her shit too easily, she might grow suspicious.
“I heard about your...friend, I thought I’d come by and offer my condolences.”
“My fiancée went missing do you know anything about it?”
“Of course not why would I?” It’s a good thing she’d never set her sights on being an actress, because she wouldn’t have been any good at it; talentless bitch.
“I’m asking everyone who was at the game the same thing. Anyway, you can’t be here.”
“Oh, come on. We’ve always been friends, even before we started dating. I don’t see why we can’t be friends again.”
I gagged when she ran her finger down my chest and only her hiss of pain stopped me from breaking it off.
“Keep your fucking hands off me.” That’s it; I can’t play nice with this one no matter what. I’m going to find Sian one-way or the other and I won’t use this bitch’s help to do it.
I slammed the door and went back to the others. They were organizing flyers to hand out from the stuff I’d placed on the table.
It was humbling to see how many of our friends had shown up here, and how many more were still coming. Some I hardly knew, though we’d gone to the same school, even shared the same classes in some instances.
I knew it wasn’t for me that they were here. They weren’t looking for handouts or favors from the Hollywood golden son, they were all here to help a friend.
Chapter 8
The next morning, I was still up sitting in my window looking out at the cottage where we’d spent so many happy hours.
Mom and dad had come home a few hours ago after the others had already left.
There was a press conference planned for today and the news was already running the story.
I took a quick shower and headed downstairs. It was Saturday, no school and anything else that I might’ve had on the agenda, was squashed for now.
The bell started ringing before I could even reach the kitchen.
“Hey bro.” It was Shane and his girl Tammy, followed five minutes later by Jared and the ever-fussing Belle.
If this shit wasn’t happening, those two would have me in stitches just from the looks on their faces; but I was pretty sure that I was never gonna laugh again unless I found her.
“Okay bro, I know you’ve got a plan so let’s hear it.” The bell rang again and pretty soon almost everyone from the night before was back, it wasn’t long before they were all here with a few extras.
Mom and dad joined us as poor Marisa fed the horde. I handed out the flyers and posters with her face on them while they chowed down on pancakes and eggs.
I couldn’t eat if my life depended on it. I knew the thing was to stay strong for her, but fuck that. If anyone in my position could swallow their own saliva they were a better man or woman than me.
“Son come with me a minute.” I followed dad into his study, realizing that I was just going through the motions. It was as if I was outside of myself, watching all of this going on.
I’m pretty sure that was because my heart had not yet accepted that she was gone.
“What is it dad?” His stalling made my guts hurt even more and I held onto the wall as I braced for what he was about to say.
“Don’t say anything about her being dead I don’t want to hear that shit.”
“No son it’s not that it’s just...no one has anything son. I’ve had the men combing the area outside both schools.
They’ve checked the cameras between here and there and there’s no sight of her on any of them.
That’s not to say that she or whoever took her didn’t use the back roads to get wherever they were going.”
“Thanks dad.” Yeah, I really didn’t want to hear that shit right now, but I couldn’t take it out on him.
Mom came over and hugged me when I walked back into the kitchen. “I’m going to find her mom don’t worry. Can you do me a favor, can you feed Jasper for me I wanna get going with these flyers and stuff.”
“Sure no problem.”
We got organized and headed out to the streets to hand out flyers and put them in shop and restaurant windows where they were allowed.
I was pissed enough to note down every asshole that said no to putting up a flyer. Later, I’ll deal with their asses.
By late evening, we still had nothing and I was fighting hard to hold onto hope.
How did people deal with this shit? How do you not go fucking mad with this shit?”
I kept calling her phone with the same results. Of course the cops had tried to find her phone but no luck there. Wherever it was, it was off, and her last call had been the night before she’d gone missing.
I felt like a caged animal in my room later that evening, and then my dog came scratching at the door.
That’s another t
hing, I’ve seen those news documentaries where people talk about the shit they did in crisis and I have to say, none of that shit rang true for me now.
My mind couldn’t seem to hold a thought and I was one big ball of pain and anger. In other words, I was barely functioning.
I let Jasper in and he looked at me like I was the worse parent in the world. Fuck.
He went to the bed and sniffed around and I realized he was looking for our girl. Then he started acting the fuck up, which meant he wanted out.
I had to get out of the house anyway; standing around here wasn’t doing anything but making me lose my shit faster.
“Come on boy let’s go for a ride.” I ran downstairs with Jasper at my heels and called out to my parents that I’d be back in a while.
The three of us had talked and they were just as concerned as I was, but none of us were giving up.
I figured I’d take a little ride and then head on over to her parents. The cops weren’t telling me anything, because I didn’t have any rights where she was concerned, but her dad was being very good about keeping me in the loop.
Jared wasn’t doing too well with it either. I think we were both dealing with the same kind of guilt.
We were the last of her loved ones to see her. Was there something that we could’ve done differently to avoid what was going on now?
I decided to head back over to the school we’d played at the night before. The last place I’d seen her.
I went in the opposite direction this time, looking down alleys and dark spots as I drove by. Jasper was still sniffing the air as if seeking her.
“I know boy I miss her too.” He stuck his head out the window and howled. I slowed for another vehicle and he jumped. "What the fuck Jasper?"
I pulled off to the side of the little dead end street that he ran down, bounded out of the car behind him, and tried to catch up.
Where the fuck was he going? We'd never been on this side of town before, but the way he acted it was as if he was coming home.
I didn't have time for this shit. I needed to find my girl, not be running down my dog in a deserted lot in the middle of fucking nowhere.
“Come on boy let’s go.” The damn dog wasn’t paying me any mind. I wanted to scream, what the fuck kind of shit was this anyway?
How could you be going on about your life one minute and be totally blindsided the next? Who decides this shit?
Up ahead, I saw my dog stop and sniff around what looked like a bunch of rags hidden in the bushes.
"Jasper, come on." He’s got to be the best fed dog in the damn state but he jumps out the car to come sniff rags,
As I got closer the hair on my arms tingled and stood on edge. I know that pose, it’s his guard and protect, but why...
Jasper looked at me with his tongue hanging out and a look of satisfaction on his face. I looked from him to the rags that he was now straddling in his protective stance and my knees felt weak, just when I wanted to run forward.
I saw her hair first, matted, a little with red, then her shoulder, then...I didn't realize that the partial blindness I felt was because of my tears until I was standing over her.
"Sian, baby, no." I dropped to my knees and pulled her up. My heart had frozen in my chest and I couldn't think, couldn't feel. I was numb from the inside out.
I opened my mouth and roared, that's the only word for it; the pain the anguish the venom all spewed out in that one sound.
I pulled her tighter into my chest and tried to will life back into her. “Don’t do this to me baby, please. SIAN.” I shook her a little and then felt guilty for doing that so I stopped.
I couldn’t see any wounds on her face but the blood in her hair...
I felt movement, was that her, or...? I held still, waiting and watching, my eyes glued to her face for any sign of movement, even a twinge.
There! I was up and running with her clutched tightly against my chest, Jasper at my heels.
"It's okay baby I'm gonna get you to the hospital." I didn't want to let her go but I had to.
At least now I could think again, could function, because I held her again. I laid her gently in the backseat even though I never wanted to let her go again, before hopping in the front.
I speed dialed her dad first, "Jackson I found her, I found her, meet us at Memorial General.
"Is she...?”
“I don't know yet, she's barely breathing, but she's alive get there.” I hung up and called my dad next.
“Dad I need you and mom to meet me at Memorial General.
"Fuck, are you hurt?"
"No, Sian...”It was all I could get out.
"We're on our way."
I talked to her as I raced through the streets. "You're gonna be fine baby, we'll get you all the help you need just hang in there." There was so much blood in her hair.
Chapter 9
Both of our families beat me to the hospital, not to mention the cops. Everyone was talking at once. But I ignored all of them as I made my way through the emergency room. Looking for a bed or a stretcher or just anything to lay her on.
She hadn’t awakened yet and her breathing seemed even shallower than when I’d found her.
A doctor and his team soon came running and she was snatched from my arms.
I had to give the cops an account of what happened and knew from their looks of suspicion that they found the story preposterous at best.
I can’t say that I blame them. The damn dog had done what none of us could.
I wasn’t too worried about their suspicions. If there’s one thing I was sure of it was that everybody knew my whereabouts that night.
When they were through with their questions and her parents had given me their thanks, I was left alone with my thoughts.
I asked dad to do me a favor, which he was only happy to. And then I went back to pacing back and forth, as our friends trickled into the waiting room.
The doctors hadn’t come out and said anything as yet and it had been more than an hour. I wasn’t sure if that was good or not.
There’s nothing worse for a man than the state of ‘wait’. The situation is dire; you need to keep moving, to do something.
You know it’s the only way to get results, but you’re stuck. You have no moves because you haven’t the first clue where to begin.
You don’t know what to feel, think...in fact you can’t feel... at least I can’t. My body is numb from head to toe. There’s a buzzing in my ear and I know I’m holding onto my sanity by a thread.
“Son calm down.” I felt dad’s arms come around me and had no idea what was going on until mom rushed over and took my hands in hers.
They were bleeding, and the wall was smashed in. Shit, now I could feel, but the pain wasn’t in my hand, it was in my chest, centered on my heart.
The rage remained trapped inside as I assured my parents that I was okay. Mom went to get me something to drink while dad stayed back with me after waving off the Claibornes.
“Somebody’s going to fucking bleed dad, I don’t care what happens to me, whoever did this is going down hard.”
“That kind of talk isn’t going to help her son. You gotta keep a cool head, the cops are all over this thing, let them do their job. I’ve got my guys on it too. Somebody’s gonna find something, then we’ll see what we see.”
I nodded my head to get him to stop worrying, but I’m pretty sure that dad knew that that shit was dead.
“You should have that hand looked at.”
“I’ve had worse dad, don’t sweat it.” Like I gave a shit.
The doctor came back out then and headed for her parents, who waited until I got there.
“It’s very touch and go, but we’re doing all we can. She’s lost a lot of blood, but her vitals are looking a little better. If she makes it through the next few hours, she should be in the clear.”
“Can you tell us what was done to her?” Her father hugged her mother closer after asking the question, and I realized h
is mind had gone somewhere that I hadn’t even contemplated.
“NO.” This time it was Mr. Claiborne who held me back.
“She was stabbed twice in the back and once in the head. The head wound isn’t that worrying. It’s the two in the back. They came pretty close to her spine, but she lucked out there, there doesn’t seem to be any nerve damage.”
“Was she...?” her mom couldn’t say the words but the doctor knew what she was asking all the same.
“No, from the condition of her clothes it appears there might’ve been an attempt made, but there’s no evidence that the perpetrator was successful. We already did a test and it appears that she hasn’t been raped.”
“When can we see her?” That was my only concern right now. I needed to see for myself that she was really okay.
“She’s still in a coma but you can see her now, one at a time please.”
It took all my willpower to wait for her parents to decide and when her father nodded at me to go first, I felt relief as well as a strong urge to fix that shit as soon as possible.
Inside the room, she was hooked up to a whole lot of shit. She looked small and pale and so fucking hurt.
The alley had been dark, so I’d missed the bruising around her neck and the cuts to her hands.
There was a bandage around her head and her hair had been shaved where some asshole had cut her in the back of her fucking head.
I tampered down the rage and made my way over to the bed. Being as careful as possible, I sat on the edge of the bed and just looked down at her.
She was going to live; a little beat up, but alive. “I know you can hear me baby. I want you to take as much time as you need to heal but no more.
I can’t do this shit without you and I don’t like not being able to see your eyes.
I don’t want you to worry about anything, between your dad, mine and me we’ve got everything covered. I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”
I had to stop because my throat started closing up on me again.
“I promise you that you’re safe, you’ll always be safe from now on.”
Eden High Series One: The Eden High Series Boxed Set, Books 1-6 Page 25
