The Search

Layla's Memoir

* Layla's POV *
It's dark... so dark. And cold. The last thing I remember is swimming with Mommy in the ocean. I was looking at the pretty fish. The water was warm and tranquil. I was on a high of bliss. Everything was absolutely right in the world. And then... it all went dark. I felt a sharp pain in my neck, and that was it. Did I call out for Jess? I don't remember... My eyes are still so heavy. I am cold. So cold...
Am I dead? Wouldn't that be ironic. Trying to die... to end all the pain. Only to end up happy in the end. Out of all the days that I wished myself dead, I realized I don't want to be a memory right now. It's funny how in a matter of seconds you could just become a memory.
Out of all the pain that I've survived, wouldn't it be a damn shame to be at the end? After 20 years... and then 9 months of the best time that my life had to offer. Jessica asked to marry me. I was going to be hers forever.
I always believed in God. So what is this? Is this all I lived for ? Cold. Darkness. The black abyss of nothingness. I have to be dead. I don't feel anything. Everything is numb... dark.
Am I laying down? Standing? Sitting? I don't even know.
I hear a deep voice... more than one? Is this Hell? God... are you there? Is that You calling my name? I... I see some light now. But it's not warm. Is ... is someone behind me? Jesus, fuck. There's that sharp pain again. I... I can't...

*Jess's POV*
"Excuse me? Hello! I want every single person on the police force looking for this fucking yellow car! My fiancé is GONE. Someone took her when we were on a scuba diving trip! Do you not understand?! This is her passport! My girl is GONE. SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING!"
I am screaming at the top of my lungs. I'm absolutely hysterical. I'm at a police department in a foreign country , and I'm losing my absolute shit. My baby girl ... she was taken from me in just a matter of seconds. My innocent little baby. How could this have happened? How could I have LET this happen?! Oh my God, what am I going to do? Someone took my baby!
"Ma'am, calm down. We are doing everything we possibly—"
"DON'T tell me to calm down! Someone took the love of my life! Please, you have to help me find her!!!"
"Ma'am. I can assure you that we're doing everything possible to find Miss Logan," the police man says. "Miss Logan" ... the name I called her one time when she was just my student. Oh, but she was always so much more. I cannot stop crying. My little girl must be so scared. And I'm so helpless on what to do.
Suddenly, a familiar face walks into the department.
"Ma'am! Oh my god, is she okay? Have you found her?" I look up and see the man from the cabana.
"Marco?! Is that you?"
"I'm so sorry, I never got your name yesterday!" He responds.
"It's Jessica. Marco, someone took my girl! They took Layla when she was in the water! I can't believe this!" I didn't know this man at all, but here I was crying as he hugged me and held me in his arms.
"Jess, I saw it. I came straight here when I couldn't find you!"
"Sir," the police man began, "will you come fill out a report please?"
"Without question," he said. But I stopped him.
"What did you see?! Who was it?! I didn't see anything. I just looked up and she was gone."
"Jess , I called the cops as soon as I saw what had happened. Some guy , probably in his 30s... tanned skin, dark hair, about 6 ft. Definitely strong enough to carry her." I cried and cried harder and harder.

The police took us back into a private room.
"Sir, do you think you could ever pick this man out of a lineup?" the cop asked
"I'm sure I could. There's security cameras on the pier , too. You might want to look at that. As well as the cameras in the parking lot"
I felt a bit of relief to know that the man who took her could be identified.

After hours and hours of waiting for answers, I couldn't handle it anymore.
"Alright, I need to speak with whoever is in charge of this investigation!" I demand.
A detective approaches me from behind the counter. Marco still by my side.
"Ms. Skyes?" the detective asks.
"Yes, that's me"
"I need you to come with me"
I do what the man says. Marco stays in the waiting area.
I'm walked into a room with cameras , and my heart breaks at the footage displayed before me. My little girl... unconscious in a strange man's arms. Thrown into the back of a yellow mustang by a strange man foreign to me. Handled with absolutely no care... I can't contain myself when I begin to cry again.
"Miss Skyes," the detective begins... "I need to tell you something. And when I tell you, I need you to give me your trust that I WILL find Layla. But I also need you to be ready for what I'm about to tell you." I try to catch my breath.
"What is it? Please, I have to get her back."
The detective sits down in front of me.
"We have about 48 hours," he says.
"Until what?"
"To never finding her again"

I can honestly say that I had never screamed or cried so loud. My heart completely shattered.