Page 41 of Dead Man's Wish
“Bexley.” My voice strained through the tears. Hot and salty, they flooded my tastebuds. No response came, and I pushed the door open. She wasn’t in bed. She wasn’t in the bath. She was gone, missing with a ghost.
I dropped to my knees.
“BEX!” I screamed into our empty room. The colors looked duller. She was the vibrancy in my life and without her it was lackluster. “BEXLEY!” I screamed her name over and over until my throat was raw.
My hands hit the floor, barely able to hold me up. A puddled form beneath me as I cried all that I had in me.
Where fatigue had settled, a fire started. I pressed my fingers into the hardwood, my muscles tensing and flexing as rage took sorrow’s place.
“WHERE THE FUCK IS MY WIFE!”
* * *
I sat at the counter,numb. Messages and calls went out and my phone hadn’t stopped ringing in some form or fashion, but I could only watch it light up and dim again. It’d been years since I felt so helpless, and once again, I was the center of chaos. I gave her my drink and Brent took her. I left her alone and he took her. Again. Resting my head against in my hand, I touched the puddle. Crying came easy with Bex, emotions were second nature where she was concerned, but I’d never felt so lost in them. Anger? Heartbreak? Love? I couldn’t pin down the source, but it felt like they mixed into one.
Anguish.
The familiar creak of the front door drifted to me, followed by multiple footsteps. Frantic voices filled the air and at one point, I heard my name. Someone was looking for me, but I only cared to look for her. Cold and delicate hands touched my face, pulling my gaze from the countertop.Mari.She looked frightened but in control, and I wondered what she saw.
“Jaiden, it’s okay. Do you hear me?” I nodded, tears blurring her image. She pulled me in, my eyes closed as I lost it and cried on her shoulder. We’d been through so much before and someone decided to press rewind on our lives. “Kel,” she shouted over my shoulder. “Call Bishop and see how much longer until he gets here.”
“Already dialing, baby.” His voice wasn’t distant, but I couldn’t see where he was in the kitchen with us.
“Jaiden, I need you to listen to me.” Her hand patted my shoulder. “We’re going to get her back, but you can’t help her like this. I need you to tell me everything you saw or found. Can you do that?” I nodded, bunching her shirt and smearing tears across her shoulder. She pushed me back and watched me, wiping the rapidly falling tears from my face.
“I don’t know,” I whispered. My heart accelerated and hammered against my ribcage. “The police car was still out front a-and I walked up to the porch. There was an officer and so much blood, Mari.” I took a deep, shuddering breath. The previous moments unfolded like a horror movie in my mind. “The front door was closed but it wasn’t locked. I dead-bolted it. I know I did.”
“I know. This isn’t your fault.” Her fingers dug into my shoulders as she squeezed, grounding me to the present.
“That means she opened the door. Why would she do that?” The feeling of hyperventilation and panic surged through me.
“A million reasons why, but it’s okay. She’s a fighter. You know she’s not gonna give up.” She rocked my shoulders, driving her point home.
“I don’t know how long she’s been gone.” I voiced my fears. “There’s nothing about where she could’ve been taken to. I shouldn’t have left her here.”
“This isn’t your fault; don’t you understand that? You have family, friends—a life. You can’t be restricted to this property indefinitely.” Everything she said was true but despite that, it still felt heavy on my shoulders.
“I need to call her dad.”
“I did that on the way here.” She smiled and for a moment, I believed it all would be okay.
“What am I going to do?” I whispered, needing direction.
“He said he’s ten minutes out.” Kel appeared beside me, pocketing his phone. He grabbed me, pulling me into a hug and squeezing me hard. “Whatever it takes,” he promised, punctuating it with a hand to my back. Mari’s arms wrapped around us.
I stayed like that, embraced by the family I chose. My heart rate slowed to normal, and I allowed everything to move through me however it wanted. Another creak came from the front followed by the door slamming into the wall.
“Jaiden?” Bishop bellowed, running through the living room.
“Kitchen!” Mari responded, loosening her grip as he walked through the entryway.
“I have everyone available on this. I’m getting surveillance footage and having the techs look for any signs of her.” Kel backed up as Bishop approached, taking his wife’s hand and pulling her close. I looked at the man who had fought so hard to keep us all safe years ago and wanted to break into pieces again.
“Why would she answer the door?” He wouldn’t have the answer to my question either.
“Was anyone coming over?”
“No, I was with Kel all night and then headed home after. No one else would need to come over.” Bishop took his investigative stance I became too familiar with over the years. He’d compartmentalized. I was another useless witness to offer him nothing.
