Max
I’m not fucking loopy!
Okay, okay. I know it seems like a weird thing to be happy about right now, but the events of this week seriously had me questioning my own sanity. I actually considered asking if Ry would accompany me for an evaluation at one point.
The relief flooding through my soul in this moment is near indescribable. To know that I did actually see her that day. That she was right there, in front of me, looking gorgeous as all hell. If I had just been quicker, maybe I could have gotten to her, touched her, hugged her again.
We’ve all split into our rooms for the night. After Zane’s sighting, all of us were stuck in our heads trying to figure out the next steps. Kade suggested we all get a good sleep and reconvene in the morning, which is probably the only thing that made sense.
As I lay here now, looking around the bare walls and shelves of my room, it makes me…sad. I never bothered decorating as it felt like an empty gesture. I lived here, ate here, but mostly, it was just a place to lay my head. I didn’t have an emotional attachment to this place and didn’t see a point in creating one. Now, knowing that our girl is out there somewhere, breathing, sleeping, laughing, it makes me want to breathe some life into this place. She needs to feel like it’s a home, not a cage.
I think there was a paint shop by that cafe on the—
Wait a damn minute! The beach is where I saw her, and Club LIV isn’t far from there either… Maybe she’s staying in that area. I’ll have to remember to bring this up with the others in the morning—especially Kade.
For the first time in an exceedingly long time, we’re all up early enough to watch the sunrise this morning. Each one of us brimming with excitement and hope. You can tell the four of us actually got a decent sleep last night, our eyes are bright and wide, shoulders pulled back and standing tall. A spark has been lit within our hearts, and its uplifting effect has already taken hold. I slept like an infant lastnight, knocked out cold and slumbered straight through. It’s easily the best sleep I’ve had in twelve long-ass years.
Knowing your best friend is alive. That she’s in your city, so close by you can touch her…well, it does wonders for calming your brain.
The search for Addy has been revived with new vigor, and this time it doesn’t feel hopeless. We know where to focus now, and if I’m right, we can even narrow it down to a few communities.
My legs carry me to the kitchen on the aroma of coffee and food. Can’t search on an empty stomach after all, and when I get there, my brothers are all around the island. The three of them don’t even acknowledge my presence, not even a hello. Completely focused on the electronics in front of them.
Kade has his laptop out, some sort of algorithm running in the background as he types line after line of coding into a miniature window. His head is bent down and his eyes narrowed. One wrong result away from a vein popping out of his forehead. He’s biting at his cheek, a habit he’s always had when in a deep focus.
Z and Ry are both staring at their cellphones. I can only imagine they are scouring social media and reaching out to any contact they have. Walking up behind Ry, I find my suspicions confirmed as I lean over his shoulder and rest my chin against him. He’s currently in the middle of a deep dive through his Hypebook account. Looking at all the posts from around the time she disappeared to see if we missed anything.
“Morning,” I mumble out, leaving Ry and heading for the already half full coffee pot.
A beautiful chorus of grunts is all I receive, as they continue on, lost in their devices. Leaning against the counter and crossing my ankles, I watch them for a while, sipping on my coffee. Kade and Zane have a determined yet relaxed nature to them, like they know what they’re doing. Ry however… my guy here seems to be lost in thought. When I catch his eye briefly, a whirlwind of emotions flutters across his irises, but just as quick as they came—they’re gone. His jaw hardens and the mask returns. Cool, calm, and passive.
He’s trying to put up a strong front, like nothing can get to him, but I know—I see. The search—for both Addy and a new manager—has been wearing himdown. Breaking little pieces off his armor each time it doesn’t pan out the way he hoped. I wish there was something more I could do for him, some way I could alleviate a portion of the weight he’s carrying. Honestly though, I don’t think that will happen until we findher.
Each one of them seems to be lost in their own world of knowledge and information, but I don’t think any of them have come to the conclusion I did. I have no shame in admitting I’m not the smartest of our group, in fact, I’d probably come in last. But if their screens are anything to go by, none of them are looking in the right area. A small chuckle escapes my throat as I clear it, snagging all the attention.
“So, has anyone else put the pieces together and noticed that both mine and Zane’s encounters were along the same stretch of beach?”
One by one, they all stop what they’re doing and look towards each other, before looking back at me. I casually take another sip of my coffee, relishing in its warmth and enjoying the bitter taste against my tongue.
“Ahh. So, I’m guessing I was the only one that picked up on that then?” I mention with a wicked grin.
Three rounds of “Fuck” echo between the walls of our kitchen, followed by the sound of speed typing while I continue to fuel myself with caffeine.
Kade has opened his hacking software, while Ry and Z have dropped the social media accounts in favor of Google. Searching every possible place there is to stay within that area.
Bright side? Smaller search area. Dark side? Miami is fucking huge, and a tourist hotspot! Even with looking in a single quadrant, that still leaves well over seventy places to check into.
Since Kade has been running a non-stop search for Addison in the state of Florida for literal fucking years, we can only assume now she’s not using her real name. Which means the only way to narrow this down, is to physically go to every place with her description. One by one, we’ll go down the list, seeing if she’s checked in, while Kade hacks into and searches through the various camera feeds.
Yay, grunt work.
It’s been days of searching and still we’ve come up dry. We’re about half way through our list of places, doing what we can around our work schedules. Again I’m out immediately after my shift, searching the locations Kade gave me. No one that matches her description has either checked in or stayed at any of the places we’ve looked yet.
I’m starting to wonder if the trail has frozen over, if maybe we spooked her and caused her to run. Although I’m not fond of the idea she’s running from us. Hiding among shadows and pretending we don’t exist. What’s caused this change in her? To make her actively avoid us, the people who care about her more than anything else. All I’ve ever wanted is for Addy to be happy, even if it means I’m not a part of it. It’s just how I am.
The day started off normal, at least what is considered normal for us. Zane, Ry, and Kade have all taken time off allowing us to get settled into our new house here in Miami. We’ve been driving for two days, and although I’d like to think I’ve gotten my shit together in that time, I surely haven’t.
My mind has been reeling for months, let alone just this trip. Tossing over idea after idea but making very little progress in the way of finding a job. I still don’tknow what I want to do. It’s like the day Addy disappeared, my entire focus and future went with her.
