THE CODE THAT LINKS US ©

Chapter Forty Seven

GEORGINA

"Do you think she's going to like it mommy?" Alison asks while I comb her hair in a beautiful style. I look over to her drawing of what is supposed to be her and Madison with her phrase of I LOVE SAN FRANCISCO on the bottom and a 'get well soon' message. I smile.

"I'm sure she's going to love it," I tell her, and she giggles. "I wonder when I would get one."

"You are not sick," she replies coloring the shirt of her stick figure purple.

"You can do one for me when you start school," I reply tying the finishing rubber band, then giving her a kiss on her cheek. "You are all set."

"Can I have some chocolate now?" she asks.

"What do we say?"

"No chocolate before dinner," she repeats what I always tell her. "I don't like rules."

"Let's go to see Madison," I say with a laugh.

On our not so long trip to the house, we play a small silly game to expand Alison's vocabulary. It serves as my distraction from what's about to come, while keeping Alison from expressing the same thoughts.

No one notices when we arrive. Literally. Not even Teo comes to greet us. "Where's Teo?" Alison says reading my mind as I turn the car off.

"Maybe he's sick," I reply trying to lie to myself too because this has never happened before. I climb out and open Alison's door. She gives a little jump out and runs to the door.

"Daddy, I'm home!" she shouts knocking at the door while I close the car and reach her. I ring the bell that no one ever really uses and that finally gets Teo to open the door.

"Welcome Mrs. Wrestler," he greets me formally letting us in, and my heart stops when I find everyone gathered in the living room. Levy, Dylan, Sean, Sarah, Martha, and even Charles. All of them sitting on the living room, paled and with worried looks. This can't be happening.

"She can't be dead," I say with a big lump in my throat at the same time that I hear Alison calling from upstairs.

"Mommy, where's Madison?" she shouts running back to where we are.

"You better sit down, Gina," Sean says standing up and guiding me to one empty couch. I sit down with no other option. Sarah is crying a lake, which gets a tear out from my eyes too.

"Where's my daughter?" I ask breaking down and Sean's green eyes stare right at me.

"I am afraid we don't know, Gina," he replies worried and I begin to shiver.

"What do you mean?" My voice breaks.

"She wasn't in bed when I went to check on her," says Sarah with her voice breaking too. "It was early, but the bed was empty," she cries.

"They left when no one was awake," Sean says.

"They?"

"Fucking Wen is nowhere to be found either." Dylan punches the couch in anger. Though I don't miss the tremor in his voice, telling me that he is also worried.

"She is with Wen?!" I say panicking.

"That's our best guess, Gina," says Sean and I just cry in reply. It would have been better if she was dead instead. Where is she? Where are they? Why did he dare to take her away? He shouldn't have done that. She's going to die anyway. Why wouldn't he just leave her alone?

"Is she alive?" I ask, not ready to hear the answer.

"There's no way we can know," someone says. I don't even bother to recognize the voice, instead I just pray and hope with all my heart that she is safe.

At least six pair of eyes stare right at me, waiting for me to say anything, but I can't. It feels like the air is missing and the house is getting colder. My baby, my sweet and loving girl. I cry in silence staring at the cup of coffee they gave me. Alison scoots closer to me.

When I turn to see her, a terrible fear takes over me. I remember what I went through with Madison. The hundreds of times she made me a drawing and I shut her out because I needed--no, I wanted--to stay focused on my work. All the times that she acted up to get attention and we just let Sarah handle her. The recitals I missed, the tournaments I never attended. How she grew up alone and how she might have died the same way.

The tears get out from my eyes one after the other and I raise my hand to stop Alison from getting any closer.

"Mommy," she cries and I shake my head.

"I can't do this," I say. "I can't ruin your life too... I'm sorry."

I run upstairs and end up in my daughter's bedroom. It's all cleaned up and so ready to welcome her back, that it hurts. I let myself fall on the bed and grab a picture of her and Levy that's next to her bed. They're both smiling with the sun kissing their faces and it makes me cry harder. I caress her face like if I could touch her in the same way. "I am sorry," I say, "I am so sorry." I hold the photo against my chest and cry like I have never cry before. My lungs gasp for air so hard that it hurts and make me shiver on the bed for what seems to be an eternity.

SEAN

When everyone finally leaves. I go upstairs and being guided by Gina's sobs; I find her in Madison's bedroom. She's sitting on the bed looking through the window at the beautiful sunset that shines outside in a magnificent way. She holds a portrait in her hands and the tears keep falling from her red eyes one after the other.

When I sit down next to her, without saying anything, it only takes a little while before she rests her head on my shoulder. I rub her back, without saying a word and staring at the sunset, just like she does. There's nothing I could say that could make her feel better, and besides wanting to know where her daughter is... I know there's really nothing she wants to hear. She's a strong woman and I am so proud of her for everything she has done, for never letting go of her beliefs and for always fighting for what's important to her.

"I know where she is," she says tired when the sun is finally gone. I nod.

"I really wish I knew where the Centre is, Gina," I say, and she straightens to look at me.

"I know," she says with her eyes on mine that take new tears out of hers. I dry them gently and force her a smile. "It terrifies me, the fact that I'm not able to protect her."

"She's smart," I say, and she buffs.

"You know how this is. You know that's not even going to help," she replies shaking her head and then looks at the picture. I stare at our beautiful daughter.

"I believe that they needed her for a reason. They're not going to gamble on her if there's a reason for taking her back there."

"Still..." she says full of worry. " Sean, I really hope she's dead," she says looking at me with pain. I nod with no other option.

Who am I trying to fool? She knows the truth. It's not going to be good for Madison if our guesses are right.

And for her own sake... she better be dead.

END OF BOOK ONE.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO COPIES, ADAPTATIONS OR DISTRIBUTIONS ALLOWED WITHOUT PREVIOUS CONSENT.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

EDITED BY: JadeFoliage

I KNOW, I KNOW. FEEL FREE TO CRY IN THE COMMENTS AND MAKE SURE YOU READ THROUGH THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.

ALSO DON'T FORGET TO VOTE IF YOU LIKED THIS LAST CHAPTER!!

READ YOU LATER AND SEE YOU SOON!

-MF. Hernandez.