Let them go

Chapter 33

Ethan POV

I parked my car next to Aiden’s.

He didn’t leave yet, so I assumed that he had found Riley. She was probably out with a friend. She forgot to call us, and her phone died.

I was sure that she was going to get a long lecture from Aiden.

I knocked on the front door. I could hear loud voices from the inside.

Was someone crying?

Maybe it was Lucy.

My heart raced, and I couldn’t wait for someone to open the door for me.

I entered the house and walked toward the living room.

My eyes fell on Lucy, who was sobbing in Theo’s arms. She kept begging him to let her go. She kept telling him that she had to go.

Why did she want Theo to let her go? Where did she have to go?

Liam and Ezra were on their phones, screaming someone’s ear off. I couldn’t understand what they were screaming about.

Why was Lucy crying?

My eyes found Noah, who was gripping my brother’s shoulders tightly. Aiden’s back was turned toward me, and I couldn’t see his face. Noah was telling him something, but I couldn’t hear what.

What the fuck happened here?

“Aiden?” I called my brother, making everyone except him look at me.

The emotions I saw on their faces confused me. Why did they look so fucking scared?

“Ethan.” Liam spoke first. “Where are your parents?”

My eyebrows furrowed. Why did that matter?

“They are in Canada on a business trip.” I said, narrowing my eyes at Liam. “Why?”

“You need to call them.” Liam said, gulping. “They need to come home.”

My heart raced.

Why would my parents need to come home? Why did Liam care where my parents were?

“Why?” I asked.

Liam took a deep breath and looked at Noah.

I followed his gaze and watched as Noah grabbed his phone from the coffee table.

He approached me, unlocked the phone, and gave it to me.

I took it from him, feeling more confused than ever.

I looked at the screen, and my world stopped spinning.

It was a photo of a girl whose hoodie I recognized immediately.

It was Riley.

My baby sister.

She was tied to a chair.

Her head was bent down, and I couldn’t see her pretty face.

There was a message under the photo.

Hello, doll. You told your brothers about the notes. You gave your phone to the police. You didn’t come to school. You left us no choice but to take this pretty friend of yours. Come to us, and we will give Riley back to her family. We would like to say that she will be unharmed, but she is a feisty one. She put up a lot of a fight. But let’s not hurt Riley any more than we have to. Come to us if you want to save your friend. Wait for further instructions and don’t tell the police. Riley is too pretty to die.

Riley is too pretty to die.

Die.

Die.

Die?

Die as in gone? Die as in I would never get to see her again? Die as in I would never get to hold my baby sister again?

Someone took her? Someone hurt her? Someone hurt Riley? My Riley?

Did they have a fucking death wish?! Did they want me to fucking kill them?!

Because I would. I would fucking kill them!

My hands started shaking.

My vision was blurry.

I was staring at the little girl tied to a chair, and my heart kept breaking over and over again.

“We called Peter.” Ezra’s voice, made me look up. “They are going to find her, Ethan.”

I ignored him and looked at Aiden. He was still sitting on the couch with his back turned to me.

I forced my frozen legs to move. I approached my brother, and my stomach turned when I saw his face.

He was broken. Completely broken.

I kneeled in front of him and cupped his cheeks. His eyes were empty. It felt like he wasn’t here.

He looked like Noah when Lucy was taken.

“Aiden?” I called him, and my voice broke. “We will find her. We will bring her home. I promise. We will bring our baby sister home.”

Aiden didn’t respond. He didn’t even look at me.

My heart clenched painfully. I wanted my brother. I needed my brother.

I sat down next to him and pulled him into my arms. I kissed the top of his head and took a deep breath.

I needed to force myself to focus. Riley needed me. My baby sister needed me.

I looked up at Ezra and Liam.

“What did you do so far?” I asked, my voice trembling. “How long ago did they send the text?”

“About 10 minutes ago.” Noah said, and I could hear the pain in his voice. “Liam and Ezra called Peter. He is checking the cameras in school.”

I tightened my arms around Aiden.

My whole body was shaking.

How badly did they hurt her?

She was probably so scared. Was she cold? It was so cold outside. She didn’t have her jacket on in the photo. Was she cold?

“You need to call your parents, Ethan.” Ezra said as he sat down next to me.

“I am not calling them until I know something.” I said, gulping down the lump in my throat. “I am not calling them until I have at least some leads. I can’t do this to them.”

Ezra took my hand in his.

“I know it’s hard.” Ezra said. “But they need to know. You need to call them.”

My heart raced.

How would I tell my mom and dad that their baby was gone? How would I tell them that someone took her and hurt her?

How the fuck was I supposed to do that?!

“I can call them.” Liam offered. “Just give me their number.”

I pulled my phone out of my pocket, unlocked it, and handed it to Liam.

He took it from me and left the living room.

I focused on my brother.

“Aiden?” I called him softly. “Come back to me, bro, come on.”

I got no response from him.

My heart clenched painfully.

I watched as Theo handed Lucy to Noah. She gave up trying to escape their arms.

She was staring in front of herself absentmindedly. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and she sobbed quietly from time to time.

Noah took her in his arms and kissed her temple.

Theo approached Aiden and me and kneeled down in front of us.

“I know what you feel right now, Aiden.” Theo said softly. “You need to snap out of it. Riley needs you right now. Your brother needs you. You can’t find her like this.”

A sob broke through Aiden’s lips.

“I can’t...” Aiden said quietly. “They took her...”

“We will get her back, Aiden.” I said, placing a kiss on his temple. “We will get her back.”

Aiden looked at me. The pain I saw in his eyes made me want to scream.

“Ethan?” he called me.

It was like he didn’t even notice that I was here until now.

“I am here, Aiden.” I said softly. “I am here, baby bro.”

“They took her.” he said as tears fell on his cheeks.

“I know.” I said, trying to stop my voice from shaking. “We will get her back. I promise.”

Aiden buried his face in my chest. A scream that broke through his lips made my body burn in pain.

I would find our Riley.

I would find her, and I would kill the fucker who took her.