Us.

Chapter 28: Again

Claire's P.O.V. (The next day)

My phone vibrates in my hands and I quickly open my eyes and answer it.

"Hello?" I say with the sound of sleep still in my voice.

"This is Alex Peters, I am the head of the search department. Is this Claire Foster?" He asks.

"Yes." I say, hoping for good news.

"We still have not found Braden, but we are still looking." He says.

"Okay." I say sadly.

"Could we come and meet in person?" He asks.

"O-Okay." I say.

"We will be there shortly." He says, the line then clicks dead.

Now I wish I brought my make up. I look like a wreck. I go to the bedroom and look through my bag. I find a tube of mascara and a little mirror with foundation. I go to the bathroom and apply the foundation to my red face and the mascara. I still look horrible, just less horrible.

I turn around and hear three knocks on the front door. Wow, that was fast. I walk over to the door, still ignoring a shooting pain in my foot. I open it and see three men with dark blue jackets, khaki pants, black shoes, and gold badges around their necks.

"Claire Foster?" One of them asks.
I nod.

"I'm Alex Peters. It's nice to meet you." He says extending a hand to me. I shake his hand. I look into his dark brown eyes that match his hair.

"Come in." I say, gesturing for them to come in.

"These are my partners, Jackson Morris and Mark Harris." Alex says.

"Hi." I say and shake both of their hands. Mark has blue eyes that remind me of Braden's and a lump forms in my throat.

"May we..." Alex asks, gesturing towards the couches.

"Go ahead." I say. All four of us sit down on the couches.

"We know this is a hard time, but we assure you that we are working the best we can." Alex says. I just nod.

"Today we will continue the search, would you like to come?" Mark asks.

"Sure." I say as I nod. The second they find Braden, I want to be there.

"Let's get started, shall we?" Jackson asks. We all stand up, and I still ignore my foot. I follow them outside and see two cop cars. I close the door behind me and continue walking behind them. Mark and Jackson go in one car.

"You can come with me." Alex says. I nod and follow him to the blue and white car. Alex gestures for me to get in the front seat and I do. I get in and it smells musty, and I am surrounded by gadgets and buttons. I reach over and click in the seat belt.

Alex pulls out behind Mark and Jackson. We head towards town, but they pull over in sync. Alex gets out, and so do I. My foot hurts like hell, but I'm still going to ignore it. I'm not the one who needs attention.

Braden is.

It's been over twenty four hours and he's still not back.

I follow Mark, Jackson, and Alex into the woods to my right. They push past the branches, and so do I.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"We are taking a quick look in here. Jackson thought he saw something reflect. Better safe than sorry." Mark says. We are walking through naked branches and cobwebs, and there are brown leaves under my feet that crunch with every excruciatingly painful step.