▫Point of Possible Return▫ [Hannibal Lecter FF] ▫AU▫

Ch. 21

"This is the end.
Hold your breath and count to ten.
Feel the earth move and then,
Hear my heart burst again."
-Skyfall by Adele

[Amelia's POV]

Jason waved his hands for us to calm down. He was letting out a small laugh but stopped when he looked over my shoulder through the window on the door. His smile dropped and his expression twisted. "Why're the police here?" He asked nodding behind me.

"What?" Was the first thing that came out of my mouth.

I sprung up and turn, my eyes traveling to watch an officer walk down the hall, occasionally looking into room's windows. I opened the door, pushing my chair aside and walked out into the hall. I stopped and watched the officer round a corner to another hall. I shook my head and went back into the lobby, where Hannibal still sat. He looked uncomfortable and uneasy. As I neared him, his eyes landed on me with the expression that he didn't want to be here anymore. I felt this feeling that made my stomach turn into knots, and not the good kind. It was that feeling you get when you know someone's going to lie to you, no matter what you ask, just by looking at them.

"Why were the police here?" I ask when I come within feet of the man.

"They were looking for someone." He says coolly and without hesitation.

"For who? Was it Zack?" I ask quickly, taking another step forward.

"They didn't even hand me the picture." Hannibal scoffed, then added; "I couldn't even see the picture."

"Ooo, but I did." The nurse in the front desk cooed. I turned around and I saw her motion towards the ceiling, like one of those Baptist you sometimes see in the grocery store, telling someone about the power of Jesus Christ.

"What did the guy look like?" I ask, this time nearing the counter.

"Um," The nurse, who by the name tag was named Patty, lowered her hand and leaned on the desk. "He had black hair, his eyes were as brown as this table," She tapped the table as if she was typing on a keyboard. "and he had freckles 'cross his nose. He's 'bout the cutest fella I ever saw. He coulda put Johnny Depp outta business." Classic Zack. How come he never had a girlfriend that would put up with him?

Thinking back now, I wish Patty would've came into his life earlier and maybe filled that question. Would we be in this situation? Probably not.

"That's him, Zack!" I turn to Hannibal with a smile on my face. "Their finally trying to find him!"

Starting at a hospital was the first place they looked. Then they started to search the last place we saw him and all surrounding areas. Its been weeks -I'd say two and a half weeks to say the most- and at this point, his body -if he was dead- would be at the black putrefaction stage; this is basically where the skin of the deceased turns black then flattens because all of the gases have escaped and the internal organs would liquefy... If he were dead and I was praying that he wasn't, that he was still alive and well and all he done was run off to blow-off steam, that he was mad at me and wasn't answering because he didn't want to talk. I wanted him to be alive, to be by side and tell me what he was thinking and to sing whatever his heart desired.

He was my best friend and I didn't want him to go. I didn't want him to leave me in any situation, and it killed me that we argued in that hotel room. It broke me. It made me feel like I was to blame for all of this. The guilt kept building up and was a snowball out of control and nothing could stop it.

I sat in the floor of my apartment every day I was off or when I got home from school, arms around my knees as I waited for someone to call; someone to say that Zack was alright, and that they found him sitting in a tree singing Margerritaville. I wanted to hear those so very badly.

Hannibal didn't bother me during the following days. He let me be and in truth, I needed it. I didn't talk to Mia and if we met in the halls of school or in classes, I avoided her and acted on my old premise of being shy and awkward.

Now, six days after the boys in blue started to look for Zack, I felt like there was no chance that the boy I came to know was sitting in that tree. Some part of me wanted there to be a slim chance -even a sliver- but there were no more leads. I hated every minute of those moments.

Today, I sat on the couch but in the same position. I had my eyes closed and images of Zack kept flashing up in my mind. I wanted them to stop but they wouldn't.

There was a single knock on the door before someone let themselves in. I didn't care who it was. I felt the presence sit beside me. The person placed their hand on my back, more of a sympathetic gesture than anthing else. I opened my eyes and looked to see that it was Hannibal.

"Don't make it hard for yourself, darling." His voice was soft as he said this.

"It's hard not too- I've known him ever since I was little..." I rub the back of my hand over my eye.

"Have they said anything about your mother?" He asks, scooting to the back of the seat.

"Their thinking of taking her off life support... I told Jason that I didn't care." I shrugged my shoulders as I lay on his. He wraps his arm around me and I lay my hand on his chest. I could hear his heart gently thumping.