I look back at him and of course he’s watching me go. I smile before moving past my dad and down the stairs of the deck towards our place. I can hear my dad’s footsteps behind me as we walk. It’s completely silent the whole way back and I assume he’s done with what he wanted to say. I’m the first to reach the front door and when I walk inside I freeze in shock.
Everything in our home is gone and the place is empty. I’m so confused by what I’m looking at, my brain can’t process it.
“Dad?” I turn to look at him, wondering what the hell is going on.
“I’ve found the way,” he tells me as he raises his chin. He actually looks proud of himself.
“What are you talking about?”
“Sometimes in life you must sacrifice to prove yourself. Today I prove myself,” he says before he takes a slow step towards me. I back up as he comes closer until I’m against the wall. “You’re the sacrifice I’m willing to make.”
“Dad?” is all I can manage to choke out as his dead eyes look down at me.
I open my mouth to scream, but the whole world goes black.
Chapter 6
Reed
Five years later…
It’s a cloudy day and the park is mostly empty. I’m going to grab a coffee on the way so I can sit down in the silence and be alone for a little while. My parents think the amount of time I spend in the quiet isn’t healthy, but I like it. When no one else is around there’s nothing to remind me of her. There are no sounds or smells that make me wish for the millionth time that I hadn’t listened to her that night. That I didn’t let her go.
I graduated from college at the top of my class with a double masters in under four years. My university gave me every accolade under the sun for my research and development, but it was the only thing I had to keep me going after I lost her.
I can’t even think of her name without a hole growing in my chest and threatening to swallow me, so I avoid it. One time at the grocery store I noticed an employee’s name tag with her name on it and I never went back there again. I just dropped my basket on the floor and walked out. It was too painful to know that she could be right there under my nose and I’d never find her.
Everything in my life changed the day I woke up and she wasn’t there. I became obsessed and after I’d exhausted every legal resource I could, I went to the illegal ones. It was as if she fell off the face of the earth, and that’s when I knew that finding her was up to me.
When I graduated I went to the top digital engineering college in the country. From there I developed a software that was unlike anything on the market. It was so good that the military wanted to take it from me, but instead I agreed to let them use it in exchange for a favor. I have her name running on the program constantly so if there’s ever someone that matches her information I’m the first to know. They didn’t ask questions, they just wanted to make sure I wasn’t selling it to another country.
The money I made off the program is enough that I never have to work again, so at least there’s that. Now I develop smaller, less dangerous software for everyday use. I wouldn’t call it a passion of mine, but it’s something to keep me busy. It’s something I can do alone and I’m good at it, but it won’t ever replace the empty space she left.
When I get to the little stand that sells coffee I give the young woman my order and pay. She smiles at me, but I don’t say anything as I wait.
“How are you doing this morning?” she says cheerfully, and I just nod. “It’s a gloomy day, thanks for coming over and keeping me company.” This time she laughs at her own joke and I look away uninterested.
When my coffee is ready I take a step forward and reach out to take my cup. Just as I hold onto it, her fingers graze mine and I jerk back, spilling some of the coffee on my hand. It scalds me, but I ignore