And rings.
And rings. Until eventually, I reach her voicemail.
“You’ve reached Daisy. I can’t reach the phone right now but leave a message.”
I release a shaky exhale. “Dais, it’s me.” My voice cracks. “Where are you, angel? Please, just let me know you’re okay. I’m worried.”
I let my blurry gaze roam the darkness around me. “Why did you leave? Was it something I did?”
A choked sob escapes me as I run a shaky hand through my hair, tugging lightly on the ends. “Fuck, Dais. I’m going out of my mind here. Please call me back.”
I hang up the phone and stare down at the screen, making no move to wipe the tears as they land on the device in my hand. My shoulders shake with silent sobs as the weight of her silence closes in on me, squeezing my lungs and stealing the breath right from me.
The world spins, my chest heaves and a sweat breaks out along my forehead. Blackness creeps along the edge of my vision, my limbs become heavy and my ears ring.
Fuck, I think I’m dying.
I open my mouth to scream, to call for help, to do anything, but nothing comes out. Instead, I’m stuck here, on Hunter’s porch, doing absolutely nothing to find my wife while my body betrays me.
And I’m prepared to let it. If it takes this pain away and finally puts me out of my misery, then the darkness can have me.
I welcome it.
A hand grips mine, dragging me out of the darkness and pulling me back into the light. The ringing stops. The darkness recedes and my pulse slows as I find Mrs Calloway sitting beside me, her hand clutching mine.
“Amelia?” I croak, blinking away the moisture.
Her smile is warm but full of sadness. “Oh, my sweet boy,” she whispers, cupping my cheek and catching a tear with her thumb.
“It hurts so much,” I admit, my bottom lip wobbling.
“I know, my darling. I wish there were something I could do to take the pain away.”
“What am I supposed to do? I feel like I should be doing more.”
She grips my hand tighter. “You’re doing all you can do. She’ll come to you when she’s ready to explain.”
“And what if she doesn’t?” I voice the very fear that has been eating at me all day.
Amelia takes a deep breath, looking me in the eyes. “If she doesn’t, then she never deserved you. If she can walk away from you without an explanation, then you shouldn’t spend another second questioning her reasonings. You’re one of the kindest, most loving men I know, and I’m so incredibly proud of the man you’ve become, Killian. I’m so very sorry that this is happening to you.”
She puts an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into her, and I let her. It’s been so long since I felt any kind of motherly affection, that it feels foreign at first, but after aminute, my body relaxes and I sink into her hold, allowing her to comfort me in a way my own mother isn’t capable of.
And when her hand smooths up my back, I surrender to the emotions I’ve been bottling up and sob like a baby into my best friend’s mom’s shoulder.
***
“It’s me, again. Please call me, Daisy.” I pinch the bridge of my nose as I hang up, willing the burn behind my eyes to subside.
The silence of my empty apartment is deafening. My sister left an hour ago for work after tossing my phone at me with the demand tokeep trying.
What does she think I’ve been doing for the last twenty-four hours? I’ve left countless messages, sent hundreds of texts. All of which go unanswered.
Between me, the boys and Daisy’s parent’s, we’ve exhausted most of our options.
The only option left is to call every local hospital, but I’ve been holding off on that because it’s glaringly obvious that Daisy left of her own accord. If she needed a hospital, she would have told someone. And it just doesn’t track.
I’ve tried to come up with every scenario that could have led to her leaving, but I draw a blank every time.
