I'll Find You

Chapter 02

Tally Tate was always a brilliant kid; everyone who knew her well knew this tidbit of information about her. She excelled in school because of how quickly she absorbed the assigned material. Her memory was pretty extraordinary, as well, something likened to photographic. Tally always brought home perfect grades, and her parents were incredibly proud of that; they'd gush about her remarkable aptitude at any given opportunity. It was quite the difference between Tally and Damien, though. While Tally proved herself to be exceptional academically, Damien was content to remain seemingly average, much to the dismay of their parents.

Popular among her peers, Tally had what one might call an abundance of friends. The outgoing and friendly teen spent most of her free time with them, preferring to hang out with said friends than with her family. She was a typical teenager, Damien thought at the time. He, himself, wasn't much different in that aspect when growing up.

When Tally was around their home, though, the relationship between the brother and sister came easily. The two would spend as much time together as possible, always enjoying the other's company. Gossiping, laughing, teasing--they had what Damien had deemed a typical sibling relationship. In fact, that special bond between the two of them was quite difficult for the older brother to let go of when Tally so suddenly disappeared.

The first few days after Tally was abducted, her absence from the Tates' house was painfully obvious, no matter how little time the girl usually spent there. The home lacked warmth and laughter; instead, it was filled with great sorrow, undeniable grief, and a foreboding feeling that nothing would ever be the same again. In the following weeks, the family severely struggled with their usual day-to-day activities, even the basic occurrences, such as going to work or school. While the family understood that detectives were investigating Tally's disappearance, the longer the girl was missing, the more life that left the family. Until eventually, there was barely any left at all.

At the two-month mark of living without her daughter, Mrs. Tate had lost all hope of ever finding Tally and became seriously depressed. She hardly left her bed, neglecting what was left of her family altogether. The woman didn't have the mental energy to even care for herself most days, let alone anyone else. Instead, she turned to alcohol, desperate to fill the void in her so suddenly shattered heart. About a month after his wife's downfall, Mr. Tate lost his job. This unavoidable event was precluded by his persistent absence from his shifts. While he would leave the house every morning to withhold the appearance of his regular routine, he instead sought comfort in a bottle instead of attending his job. Spending hours on end in a dingy bar, Mr. Tate's only relief from the pain of losing his daughter was found by slowly drinking his life away. It seemed that Mr. and Mrs. Tate had similar destructive coping mechanisms at the time.

After witnessing the utterly devastating effect his sister's absence had on his parents, Damien struggled to accept the fact that she was gone, vowing to find his baby sister. Originally planning on attending college for a business degree, Damien quickly changed his major to criminal justice in hopes of becoming a detective. Knowing that he wouldn't be assigned to Tally's case, he could still help search for her and held every intention to do so. He also hoped to help other families in situations similar to his, wishing to assist them in finding their loved ones and keep them from feeling the immense pain his family was experiencing.

While attending college full-time and continuing to search for his little sister, Damien also held a full-time night job as a bartender. It wasn't a fancy job, but it paid the bills, supporting his parents as best he could. Damien found it somewhat ironic that he chose the precise poison that had overtaken his parents as a means of helping them; however, he didn't have many alternatives. It took his father quite a while to manage another job, and his mother was slowly adjusting to life again after beginning therapy. In the four years that it took Damien to complete his degree, life had slowly started to somewhat normalize for his parents. That is, as much as it could for someone who lost their child in such a way. At least they were functional adults now, which was a tremendous weight off their son's significantly burdened shoulders.

Damien realized just how alone he was when he began working as a detective. He suddenly understood that without having to care for his parents, he didn't have much of a life anymore. He had inadvertently distanced himself from most of his friends during college, not having time to hang out or party with them. While the realization had felt saddening at first, it didn't take long for Damien to understand that it was likely better this way. He wouldn't be able to hurt anyone's feelings by inevitably ignoring them while he continued his search for Tally. Being alone wasn't so horrible, anyway; Damien had experienced far worse things in his life already.

As the years went by, the hope inside of Damien slowly dimmed, but his determination grew more substantial. He had promised his sister that he would find her. Of course, she hadn't heard the promise, but he knew she was counting on him. She needed him, and he wasn't going to give up searching until she was finally back home where she belonged.

The more he focused on finding her, though, the more Damien's own mental health began to deteriorate. He was so wrapped up in the case that he neglected to take care of himself, the lack of proper self-care affecting him significantly. Anxiety crept its way into his brain, taking up permanent residence there and refusing to leave. He sometimes had trouble distinguishing reality from his dreams, which frequently also revolved around Tally.

The doctor who performs his yearly physicals had told Damien countless times to be more considerate of himself and his body's needs. While Damien was aware of the fact that he wasn't well, he couldn't bring himself to make many changes to his pre-established habits. He had managed to contort his life enough to please the doctor to give him a passing mark on his physical so he could keep his job, but as soon as that paper was received, he reverted right back to caring only about finding his sister. After all, if the paperwork said everything was okay, then his superiors had no reason to question the doctor's findings.