Page 6 of Bliss: Part 2
Istilldo.
So when I reached the forest’s edge, I killed the engine and looked around for a moment. The trees were thick here. I parked on the side of the road and walked in with my heart pounding in my ears.
I didn’t know if anyone had looked here yet. I hadn’t seen Owen or the family out this far. But they’d been searching nonstop. That kind of love, that kind of desperation, you don’t fake it. You don’t sleep. You don’t eat. You don’t stop until you find them. And they hadn’t stopped. Not once.
That’s the kind of loyalty I respected. That’s the kind of fight I recognized. I wasn’t gonna let them do it alone.
I stepped into the woods and started walking.
Every rustle made my heart beat harder. Every fallen branch felt like it was hiding something. The air was heavy, and the ground was covered in more leaves than should’ve been there for summer. Something about it felt off. Like nature had dropped a blanket too thick, like it was trying to cover something up.
I kicked through it slowly, scanning the ground with every step, eyes darting between shadows. I didn’t call her name. Didn’t want to scare her if she was out here. If she was conscious.
I stopped when I reached a small stream and held my breath with my fists tight at my sides.
“There you are,” I whispered.
She was lying on her side in a fetal position. Hair like snow. Pale skin. A bruise high on her cheekbone. My chest stopped moving.
I didn’t breathe for a moment, then, finally, I let my knees hit the dirt as I crouched next to her. I brushed the hair from her face, and her skin was ice cold. Her lips parted, her cheeks flushed in a way that didn’t look right.
I reached for her neck and pressed two fingers against her pulse point.
It was there. Weak, but there.
“Good girl,” I breathed. “You’re gonna be okay. We’ll get you home.”
I didn’t waste time. I texted my president, told him to call off the search. Called the cops next, then the ambulance and gave them my location.
And then I picked her up.
Carefully. So damn carefully. Like she was made of glass and one wrong move would shatter her. I didn’t know what had been done to her, but I wasn’t gonna let her stay out here one second longer. She was light in my arms. Her head dropped against my chest like she’d given up.
But she was still breathing.
And that meant something.
I carried her back through the trees, step by careful step, until I reached the road again. The ambulance wasn’t far. I could already hear the sirens.
I looked down at her and whispered, “You’re safe now, Bliss Langley. The nightmare’s over.”
***
The cops and ambulance showed up fast.
The paramedics moved fast. Oxygen. Blankets. Monitors. I didn’t interfere. I just stood back and gave them the space to work. When the cops turned to me for answers, I gave them everything. Names, suspicions, history, even the old case. I didn’t hold anything back.
“Thank you for your help,” one of the officers said once they were done questioning me.
But I wasn’t done here yet. I nodded toward the ambulance. “I’ll follow. Someone’s got to be there when her family shows up.”
***
The waiting room at the hospital was quiet at first, then the doors flew open and voices filled the space. Worried, frantic, choked with emotion. I watched Owen, his face a mask of terror and hope. He didn’t even see me at first until the officer gestured toward me. When he realized who I was, he walked straight over, hand out.
“Thank you,” he said, breathless. “Thank you.”
I ignored his hand and pulled him into a hug, thinking that was more appropriate in this moment. “No need. I’m just glad she’s safe.”
