Taming Him

Chapter 16 - Bare Minimum

"So tell me what has happened again? You reported dad going missing to the police, and they didn't say much?"

My mom shook her head. "They said to get in contact with them again if he's still missing by next week. I'm not sure what the next step is after that. They might want to interview some of us, but overall, they didn't seem too concerned."

I huffed, running a hand down my face. "You and him just divorced, and he was obviously hiding a shit tone of debt from us. How is that not concerning in the slightest?"

"I really don't know," my mom responded, sighing. "Tell me what you found out about his company again please."

Taking my phone out, I searched up the website Kaleb had showed me, typing in my father's company. There were still no results. "His company isn't registered, Mom."

She hummed, swiping up and down my phone and pushing her glasses higher up onto her nose, squinting at my screen. Passing it back to me, she leaned back, her eyes becoming teary. "I'm at a loss on what to do. I'm guessing if his company isn't registered, then there isn't a way we can get in contact with any of his colleagues?"

I shook my head. "Mom, I'm worried." I gulped, the thought racing into my head and causing my insides to tighten. It had been invading my thoughts the past few days, and it terrified me. "What if he's..."

"No, Freya," muttered my mom, shaking her head and moving around the table to take my hand. "Your father wouldn't do that to us. We may have had issues, but he would never take his own life like that."

I breathed in a shaky breath. My dad had never seemed down or depressed, but then again, I hadn't spent too much time with over the past years. He was hiding a lot. Still, he just didn't seem like the type of person to consider suicide. He was a very straightforward person who said it how it was. He loved his vacations and enjoyed the finer things in life. I didn't see it as an option for him.

My mom and I both jumped as Kaleb burst through the door, followed by Brent, their guns hanging limply by their waists. Brent's lips turned downwards, realising they had interrupted a moment between my mother and I.

"Oh, um, sorry," he muttered, nodding to Kaleb as a quick goodbye and excusing himself, offering me a small smile before he hopped into his car and drove out of sight.

Kaleb didn't say anything, his eyes raking over me before he made his way up the stairs and into his room, causing me to stiffen. He was dressed in a tight black work-out top and dark jeans, his combat boots pounding against the floor as he marched. His hair was tousled, and his grey eyes were as piercing as ever. Even just the sight of him caused my heart to nearly burst.

"He didn't look very happy," my mom said, cocking her head at me and humming, moving away and heading into the kitchen.

Our conversation was over then. Classic mom.

She was right though. Kaleb didn't look happy. Him and Brent had been hanging out the past couple of days and I hadn't seen much of him. I would overhear him telling Jackie that he was heading out to the shooting range, and he would then be gone for the entire day. He really loved shooting. He never took a day off from it.

Grabbing my backpack, taking out my most recent sketch- ready to fix the atrocity- I began walking up the stairs, leaping out of my skin when Kaleb flung his door open. He stared at me, and I froze, gulping.

Say hi. It's what friends do. Remain neutral.

"Hello, Kaleb," I said formally, my inner monologue cursing at myself for sounding as if I was from the 1800's.

Kaleb chuckled, clearly amused by how flustered I was, and the corner of his lip twitched upwards. He eyed up my sketch pad, holding his hand out to me, obviously wanting to take a look.