Page 2 of Bliss: Part 2
“Christ,” Wilkinson muttered, jaw flexing as he cut him off. “There is no mandatory waiting period to report a missing person. You should know that.”
“But—” the guy started, then stopped. He raised his hands slightly, like surrendering the argument, but there was no apology in his tone.
Wilkinson didn’t respond to him again. He looked over at a female officer nearby. A woman around my age, maybe a little younger, with her dark hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. She’d been standing off to the side, quietly watching everything unfold.
“Holloway,” Wilkinson said. “Get on this case.”
She nodded without hesitation. “Yes, sir.”
He turned back to me. “You’re in good hands. I apologize for the way this was handled.”
I didn’t thank him. I couldn’t. I just stared at the guy behind the desk one last time as he deliberately avoided my eyes. My chest was still heaving, my heart pounding so loud I could barely hear. But I followed Holloway when she gestured us down the hallway.
None of us sat when we got into her office. The tension was too thick to sit. We just stood there and waited.
“I heard everything,” Holloway said, her voice steady but not cold. “And I understand how urgent this is. I’m treating this as a missing person case effective immediately.”
Behind me, Dash made a strangled sound. I turned, just in time to see him break. He covered his face with both hands, his whole body trembling, a sound catching in his throat that broke my fucking heart.
Ashby and Rhys were there to give him strength, but it didn’t really help when they were both breaking the same.
I knew what was happening inside Dash. He blamed himself, even if he didn’t say it out loud. Even if wetoldhim it wasn’t his fault. It was nobody’s fault.
I was barely holding on myself. My mind kept circling the same terrifying thoughts. She wouldn’t do this. She wouldn’t disappear. Bliss wasn’t like that. Something was wrong.Something happened.
“I’ll do everything I can to find her,” Holloway said, and for the first time today, I felt hopeful.
***
It’s been 24 hours now.
No one had slept.
No one had eaten. We were running on coffee, adrenaline, fear, and stubbornness.
We were looking for her, not thinking about resting.
The boys had split up, searching the other side of town, while Odin and I looked for her around our area. We knocked on every door, stopped strangers, flagged down cars. We asked everyone if they’d seen her. A few said they might’ve spotted her near the supermarket. That was our last lead.
I searched places no father should ever have to search. Behind buildings. Inside dumpsters. Ditches. Along the lake.
There was nothing.
People showed up to help. Tia and her friends. The guys’ old classmates. No hesitation. They just showed up. And I was grateful, but gratitude didn’t ease the panic that had taken root in my gut. It didn’t stop the screaming inside my skull.
Holloway gave up trying to keep me home. She knew better by now. She saw it in my face. I couldn’t sit still. Couldn’t wait by the phone. I needed to move. Even if all I did was walk in circles calling her name, I needed to feel like I wasdoingsomething.
And I prayed desperate prayers to a God I didn’t even believe in. But in this situation, it just felt right.
***
48 hours later.
Still nothing.
The house was quiet, it felt like it was holding its breath. We sat around the dining table, with mugs of cold coffee and uneaten food on it. We sat there like ghosts. No one spoke much. There wasn’t anything left to say.
“It’s been two days,” Ashby finally said.
