Taming the Author

18: Steady yourself

What happens after the grand wedding? What happens to the lead couple when the romantic boyfriend-girlfriend adventure is over? Is it really a happily ever after?

Check out @lovewordsmusic's "Eros" and see how what happens after Cassie's "happy ending."

***

How do you sneak into the hospital after visiting hours?

The first helpful thing that rushed into my mind, after knowing Loramina was missing, was Rupert's smiling face. I pretty much dismissed everything else in the world after hearing "Lora's missing."  I even forgot Heather was beside me! It wasn't until she gripped my arms and shook me that I realized she was there and that I was having an anxiety attack.

I stared at her troubled face. I saw her lips move, but none of her words meant a thing to me.

Loramina was missing.

That was all I could think of. At first, I thought it had to be a joke. Helena was messing with me! But she didn't seem like someone who would think the situation was funny. And why would she even try to make fun of me? We just met! Surely, she wasn't some crazy woman crying wolf...

Then images of Loramina getting kidnapped as she walked alone in the thick woods seeped into my consciousness: attacked from behind, a filthy hand stuffing a white cloth over her face, her eyes wide with fear as her body succumbed to the sleeping potion...

Scenes from various crime series, horror flicks and action films flooded my head. I saw her tied and gagged in a warehouse floor with a bloody knife looming over her. I saw her stripped, chained and crying. I saw her drugged and slumped on a filthy bed with a smelly man unbuckling his belt in front of her.

Blood rushed to my head. The world was spinning. My eyes could see Heather anxiously asking me what was wrong, but I couldn't think of the words to answer her question. I only felt my heart pounding painfully against my chest.

Helena was still on the other line. I heard her ask me if I could think of a place where Loramina would most likely go to - a place she would most probably look for in a ranch.

I couldn't think of any place she might have gone to in the area. If she was in the zoo, I would say the boating area since that was what she said she needed to see.

Then I remembered the fishing rod and I felt chills creep up my spine. I saw Loramina standing at the edge of a lake and taking her sneakers off. I watched her sink her feet into the mud. Then she walked forward into the water; the lake lapping more of her body with every step. The water had munched on her knees when she took another step forward and fell into the deep gray water. I saw her arms slip up into the surface, waving for help. But no one was around.

I wasn't around.

I swallowed and shook my head. I had to clear my mind of my assumptions. She could have just been lost somewhere!

That idea didn't help. I saw her aimlessly walking in a dark woods alone, with wolves secretly hounding her from the shadows.

"-me what's happening?!" Heather's voice broke through my bubble of fear and paranoia.

"I left Loramina in the ranch and now she's missing," I said, finally grasping my wits.

Heather seemed surprised at my response. "Missing..?"

I realized I hadn't ended the call with Helena so I raised a finger to Heather, asking her to give me a moment. "Helena," I said. "I don't know where she could be, but I'll be there to help you out. I'll call you later." I ended the call, slipped my phone back into my pocket and made sure to wear an apologetic face. "Heather, I'm so sorry but I need to leave."