The Wrong Sister

The Note

tw: sexual assault. Its a little vague, but has some graphic bits 

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My parents lay in their hospital beds side by side.

I chattered away, "So Gabriel has this contact who stays back in Woodmead, and he managed to get all the official information about Joe. So that was pretty good." I paused the silence sinking into my bones. "I've been staying at Gabe's. I don't know where he took me after the car crash, but this isn't the same as the place I remember. It's a really nice house though. Much smaller thank goodness." I took a breath, "I haven't been alone since everything happened. Gabe's just waiting outside." My breath stuck in my throat, "We're trying really hard to find Chloe. I promise. Gabe has checked every abandoned house. He has people in Woodmead checking too and a bunch of other towns." I gnawed on my lip until it bled. "I'm sorry. It's my fault. I should have guessed it was Jozef." 

Hot tears slid gently down my face. 

The door clicked open the soft sound like thunder. 

Gabriel appeared in my eye line. He knelt in front of my chair. 

"They're getting better. It's going to be okay." 

"What about Chloe?" 

His silence was answer enough. 

"They're going to blame me and they're going to be right." I cried, violently now, shivers wracked my body. Gabriel's body curled around mine my face pressing into his chest as he lifted me on to his lap.

He held me tightly, "How about we blame the man kidnapping women for the kidnapped woman?" 

I chuckled still crying, "Okay." 

We sat in silence for a while. Me sitting on Gabriel's lap him brushing my hair away from my face softly. It had become an unspoken agreement. We cuddled, but never kissed. Nothing sexual would happen while Chloe was gone and there was no talking about our sort-of-relationship. 

"Chloe won't be able to survive him." I said it softly. I didn't want it to be true, but it was. We were running out of time. 

"What do you mean?" 

"She won't give in to any of his demands, I know her. He'll get violent if he feels like he can't win anything." I stared at my feet on the other side of Gabriel. They were covered in blood. 

It was unlikely to be real so I didn't say anything. My nightmares and hallucinations had resurged. 

Gabe's grip tightened, "What demands is he likely to make?"

"Things that make him feel powerful." 

The silenced urged me to continue. I lifted my head to look at him. 

"Can we not talk about this here?" 

He glanced at my parents' recumbent bodies. He nodded. 

We made our way back to his house. 

I made us both tea. 

I avoided his eyes. 

The tea burned my tongue. I hardly felt it. 

"What demands, Artemis?" 

I sighed, "They're less demands more liberties. Chloe won't take them silently. He'll get violent. She won't learn to accept them, she's too strong. He'll end up killing her, if accidentally." 

Gabriel narrowed his eyes at me, "What liberties? You are being deliberately vague."

"The specifics don't matter, all that matters is finding her fast." My voice quivered with fear and desperation.