Chapter Eleven
Stay with me, don’t let me go
Because there’s nothing left at all
Stay with me, don’t let me go
Until the ashes of Eden fall
Sully
I make my way downstairs to get coffee after checking the clock. Just passed seven a.m. and I have no idea when I crashed last night. I can hear the news faintly as I enter the empty kitchen
“…human remains found in a shallow grave near Alki Island,”the news anchor says. I faintly hear the gasping from my crew, but I refuse to believe I heard it right. My sweet baby was not found in a shallow fucking grave.
“Turn it up,” I croak, and reach for my phone which I left upstairs. They are all looking at me, frozen in place. “I need my phone.”
Asa jumps up and rushes to get it as I find the fucking remote myself, and blast the TV.
“There is no word yet who the remains might belong to as police continue to investigate this tragic find. KCNT will be following this story throughout the investigation. In other news…”
I hit mute and feel the bile rise in my throat as Asa returns with my phone. I have no missed calls from my Pop, or Agent Sorell, or Frye.
I call my pop, but the call goes straight to his voicemail, right as my fucking doorbell rings.
“I got it,” Asa says, and walks to my front door, letting my dad and the two agents in. My initial reaction is furry that the fucking news knows before me.
I am not insane or even partially stupid. I know why they are fucking here.
“Samuel…” My pop says, and I fall to my knees.
“We believe it is her, Sam,” Mark says, and shows me two items that wreck my entire world as Deja screams.
“There’s no way it is her. It’s been almost ten years, Mark. There is no way you could know…” I close my eyes seeing her panda bear costume and her little ballerina bear that she had with her that night.
“We don’t have definitive results back yet, but based on the evidence recovered from inside the site, we believe it is Kaces’ remains,” He steps forward, placing his hand on my shoulder. “Sam, I am so sorry.”
My pop is holding Deja, who is screaming at the top of her lungs.
“No. Fuck you. No!” I yell, as Noah kneels beside me. The exertion of my voice took what strength had held me up and it was in that one precious moment that I realized I did have hope. In all the time I told myself I knew she was gone and never coming home, deep down I still had hope she was alive and happy.
Words garbled and filled with sorrow left my throat, but there was no understanding of them. I couldn’t make sense of what I felt in that moment. I wanted her, my sweet baby. I wanted her in my arms, squishing my cheeks, and asking me to say my favorite color…
A wave of pain so profound forced me to scream her name, my painful roars bouncing off the walls. “I had hope. God, dammit, Noah!” I cry, and look to my closest friend.Hold me up, don’t let me fall apart now….My eyes spoke volumes on my pain because tears swam in his eyes as he nodded.
“I know you did, bro… I know you did. I’m so sorry, Sam,” he said, but his words were beyond me hearing them as I roar.
Mya
I step from the shower to screams from Sam and most likely Deja, and I know. I grab a robe and twist my hair in a towel before I rush down the stairs stopping at the sight. Sam is on his knees on the floor screaming, tears in his eyes, as he tries to hold onto Noah and Cal.
“Sam…” I cry, knowing he cannot hear me. I am frozen in place unable to move as my brother comes to my side. His eyes are red from tears and he is visibly shaken as he places his arms on my shoulders.
“Look, I need you to get your shit together, Mya,” he says, and looks over his shoulder to Jen. She places Sully’s arm in the care of Asa, who is now helping hold him up as he continues to roar and fight them.
“Go. I got this,” Jen says to Cal, who leaves me on the stairs with her.
“What the hell?” I ask, tears in my eyes as I watch the man I love fall to pieces over some unknown force.
