as all the horrible things start filling me on where Cara might be.
“Cara!” I shout. Without even thinking, I lift myself to a stand, willing myself to walk.
“What the fuck are you doing! Sit the fuck down!” Easton barks out at me.
As expected, my legs don’t fuck work. I fall to the ground in a heap of anger and misery.
“Fucking shit. Come on!” I watch as Easton sets Wesley back in his stroller, making his wails pick up all over again as he walks over to me. He helps me back into the chair, and I feel helpless as I look around our property.
Maybe she got sick and had to run inside.
Maybe she dropped something in the woods and ran back for it.
But, no. There’s no reason why Cara would leave Wesley like that, all by himself, outside and alone. There’s no explanation.
That, and the sinking feeling in my gut is making me feel like puking.
“Cara!” I roar again. Easton runs over and picks up Wesley, practically tossing him into my lap before he sprints inside. I lift Wesley up and give him a hug. “Where’s Mom, huh? What happened to Mom, Wesley?” My voice shakes as I hear Easton yelling Cara’s name from inside the house.
She’s not in there. I can feel it in my bones.
When he comes rushing out, he’s already got his phone to his ear. I’m not sure who he’s talking to, either Hugo or Rich, but he explains what we showed up to.
He pockets his phone a minute later, and when he stares at me, his pale face mirrors mine. My skin turns cold as I think of all the possibilities of what might have happened to her.
“I’m going to go check the woods.” He takes off in a full sprint before he even finishes his sentence, his dark clothes taking off like a dart into the night.
“Cara!” I shout, lifting up onto my side to grab my phone out of my pocket. Dialing Cara, I press the phone into my ear and plead for her to pick up. “Come on. Come the fuck on.” When I hear a familiar noise behind me, I slowly turn around with dread. It’s like a sticky tar as it fills my stomach with thickness and fear.
The small rectangle lighting up in the distance makes my arms shake. I slowly move forward, begging it not to be true even though it is. I bend down, nearly falling out of my chair again as I pick up Cara’s phone. I unlock it, checking her call history and seeing she called Rose thirty minutes ago.
Thirty minutes ago, I was at Easton’s.
I dial her before I can think better of it. Easton might murder me, but I’ll murder everyone if I can’t find Cara.
“What’s up?” Rose says as a way of greeting. Her cheerful tone makes me realize she has no idea what’s going on. She doesn’t know where Cara is.
“Rose.” I utter, my throat barely working as I utter the one syllable.
“Jackson? What’re you doing? Why’re you calling from Cara’s phone?” Her instant panic makes me grind my teeth together, the bones nearly giving away with the pressure.
“You talk to Cara?” My voice rasps, barely audible as emotions take over.
“Uh, yeah. Not even an hour ago? Why? What’s wrong?”
“Did she say anything? Was she acting weird? Anything out of the ordinary happen?”
“N-no. No, not at all. She was walking Wesley. Why? Where are they?! Are they missing?”
“She’s missing. Wesley was here, by himself.” I look out in the distance and see Easton coming back with a distraught look on his face. In the distance, I can see headlights get closer. Whoever Easton must have called are just arriving. They must have sped like hell.
“What!? Where is she?” She screams, and I almost regret the decision to call her in the first place.
“I don’t know. Let me know if you hear from her.” I hang up, ignoring her last-minute words she tries to get through as the line disconnects.
“Nothing.” Easton says with winded breath. “Who were you talking to?” When his phone starts ringing, he looks down and sighs.
“Sorry, man. I had to see if she knew anything.”
“Shit, Jackson.” She shakes his head at me as he turns around and tries to calm down Rose. I can’t hear what he says, his mumbling and growly barely audible until he shouts into the phone, “Let me do my job, Rose!”