Kiss Me Slowly

Chapter 48: The Find

Chapter 48: The Find

"Where'd it go?"

Denny rewound the footage and played it back. Nothing. One second it was there, the next it was gone.

He searched for the car in our town at the same time, but nothing came up. It's like it disappeared.

I cursed and banged my head on the table with my hands tangled in my hair. Denny rubbed my shoulders and back, but he was just as upset as I was.

"This isn't how it was supposed to go." I had to fight to keep the tears from my eyes. I hadn't cried in a long time. The last time was on my wedding day, but those were happy tears. I hadn't cried—really cried—in maybe 3 or 4 years. My grandpa had died, and then my grandma a couple days later. Then Mom found out about my sexuality and flipped. Then I learned my girlfriend had been cheating on me. I met Ethan a little later, we dated on and off, broke up, and Mom finally came around. It was an emotional year.

But I'd go through it a million times over if it meant Ethan didn't have to deal with this. I'd give almost anything if it meant he could live a normal life without worrying if someone was out to get him. How he deals with it...He was much stronger than me, that's for sure.

"I know." Denny's voice was almost too quiet.

"What are we going to do?" I put my head on my arms and looked over at him.

"I don't know."

"We could send a team out?" I asked halfheartedly, already knowing the answer.

"The neighborhood's too big. We'd never find anything before they made their way out of town." Denny

Sighed. I closed my eyes. "Hey, don't lose hope. We'll figure something out." Denny rubbed my shoulders some more.

"What if we never find him?" I asked.

"Kenny—"

"No, I mean it. What if we never find him, and Carter keeps him for the rest of his life? What if we never see him again?" I felt tears welling up.

"Hey, stop that." Denny turned the chair around and made me look at him. "We will find him, ok? I don't care how long it takes. Ethan is strong. He'll find a way to get back to us if we can't get to him. But we will get Ethan back, one way or another. Ok?" I got the feeling he wasn't assuring just me of it, but I appreciated it.

"Ok. Thank you." He took my hands and rubbed the back of them while looking at me.

"We will get him back."

After that, Denny and I curled up together on the chair. I could tell he was worrying just as much as I was, even if he didn't show it. He fell asleep for a few hours, but I couldn't.

I wouldn't. I couldn't! I mean, in the last two months that I'd known—really known—and been with Ethan, it was hard to imagine going a day without him. Joking around with him, teasing him, even just spending time...Those moments were the ones I held close to my heart. The memories I've made with Denny are plenty and happy. The ones I've had with Ethan are few, but cherished. Now I'd like to make more with both.

But how was I to do that without Ethan?

It was nearing midnight. I needed to do...something. I had to figure anything out. I slipped out of Denny's arms quietly so I didn't wake him.

I searched the traffic cams again, the street cams, the shop cams (limited as they were), and still found nothing. I stayed up for a couple more hours trying to find something useful.