Mariana and Micah were called to the police station when Pamela's time was up and to present her findings. She was supposed to come at twelve and so far, it was five minutes past, but even one minute was too long.
Mariana tapped her fingers against the table. She kept glancing at the clock. Anxiety flooded her eyes with prickling tears. It's hands we're going slowly than ever before as they waited for Pamela to come and give them the news.
"I hope she didn't run away," Mason said, checking his watch. He saw the eyes of his brother and his wife shift from happiness to worry.
"Don't worry, she'll come," he reassured them as he didn't want to let them down. For once, he wanted do something good for his brother.
"She better," Micah mumbled with an angry glare while tapping on his phone.
"Mhm," Mariana said and put up a weak thumbs up. Her head felt heavy as a boulder as she kept flopping down Micah's shoulder. Her eyes watered like a river as she barely got any sleep last night and a ring of hotness surrounded them.
Mason tapped his knuckles with his overlapping fingers. "Sorry of all the stress this is causing you. I know dealing with a child kidnapped is hard but we'll be sure to find them as quick as possible."
He then glanced back towards where the men were talking. "I'll go see what's up," Mason said and got up and left them waiting.
Mariana yawned once again and licked her dry lips. She rose her head so that she can be focused, but her eyelids kept narrowing.
"Are you okay now?" Micah asked.
"Yep," she said and tried smiling, but she ended up looking high instead.
"My arms just hurt and I want to go back to bed." She exasperated like saying that used up all her breath. "But children come first!" Her finger shot up like she just had an epiphany.
Her moment of determination dissolved when Mason came back to them.
"So Mason, what did they say?" Micah asked.
"They put a tracker on her phone, and she's heading somewhere else away from here, so they are going to track her down and bring her back."
"Oh great," Mariana muttered angrily. She caressed her temples as they throbbed with pain. "Now I gotta ki—" she stopped herself since she remembered she was in a police station.
"I'm gonna get some information," she said innocently. She got up while mumbling, "how much longer is this going to go on? Feels like forever this is taking," she groaned.
"Don't worry, we will find her," Mason said.
They all left the police station and went on a chase for Pamela. The police kept her high on their radar as they followed the tracking dot. Mariana stared at the window. Everything went into a blur like time was rapidly running out. The sirens blasted in her ears made her more worried of the situation. She felt a beating inside of her, like a countdown before it was too late.
They drove for fifteen minutes until she faintly recognized the place they were in. She examined the area but nothing clicked to mind.
"Is that her?" Mason pointed to a woman walking on the sidewalk. She pulled up her hood and seemed to be speeding.
"Looks like it, let's see," One officer said and drove closer. They all peeked their heads out, but it was difficult to see since the woman had their head turned the other way.
"Come on, turn around..." an officer muttered.
Their suspicions were confirmed when the looked behind them and it Pamela.
"We got her." Mason smirked and they parked. The policemen got out and started chasing her. Pamela noticed them and started running away.
They watched as they chased her and swerved through the people and poles like an obstacle course. The wind blew violently against their faces as she turned a corner, but that was a big mistake. The police managed to catch her and brought her back to the car.
"Please, you don't understand, I—"
"Why didn't you come to the station with what you found like we asked?" The officer demanded.
"I had to see if my family was okay. I was planning to come this morning but then I received this note." Pamela sniffed with a hint of a sob and brought a note out. She gave it to them, and it read:
Now I'll show you what happens when you choose not to listen.
"I got worried so I rushed here first."
"But we said we would send someone to watch over your house so what's the problem?"
"Because I need to see it for myself!" Pamela shouted from frustration, "I can't keep gambling on their safety like this, I need to know if they're okay."
"Alright look, I'll phone the men that we sent there to see if anything has happened."
Pamela looked a bit sceptical but just nodded along. The officer then dialed a number and as it begun ringing, Pamela stared anxiously above it.
A few seconds went by and no answer.
"Hmm," the officer mumbled and scratched his chin in confusion.
"Well?" Pamela demanded an answer.
"Let's try again." A second time he pressed onto the phone.
No answer.
Pamela became unsteady on her feet. She bit the bottom part of her lip as she watched for a third the numbers being pressed onto the screen.
Even though third time was supposed to be the charm, it wasn't a charm for her as the line went flat yet again.
"Something has happened!" Pamela exclaimed and flapped her hands in panic.
"Alright, we'll go over there and check to see if everything is alright.," the officer said and put his phone back.
"Well let's go!" Pamela said and started speed walking back. Mariana and Micah followed her back as a dark feeling loomed over them because of the lack of answers.
They drove to Pamela's place which was a small and humble house. Yellow paint surrounded the walls, plain lawn at the front which would've been spotless, but that wasn't the case as the fallen soldiers laid across the grass.
"Oh no!" Pamela said as she rushed out of the car. The others followed, and Mariana stared at the scene like she couldn't believe it. The officers didn't appear to be harmed and there were little canisters spread about.
The police officers went and checked their colleagues while the others stood shocked at the scene.
"There are no injuries, so they seemed to have been knocked out unconscious by whatever was in this," one officer picked up a canister and inspected it.
"So where's my family?" Pamela questioned.
"Hopefully still inside unharmed." The officer looked towards the front door. "Let's see if we can find them."
They all followed as Pamela unlocked the front door. It slowly creaked open to reveal a dimly lit hallway. Only a gleam of blue soared through the middle. They walked, and the only sounds echoing were their heavy footsteps amidst the eerie silence. The TV in the living room was off, no bickering was heard, no playing heard from children. Even though Pamela had a family, this did not feel like a family home.
Mariana could see the fear increasing in Pamela. She kept scratching her beauty mark as if to distract herself. She wasn't looking at anyone and stared straight ahead, like their focus. That Mona wasn't serious about her threat.
They found a door that was left open and led down to the basement.
"Maybe they are down there..." Mason said.
"Let's go look," Pamela said. She grabbed a flashlight from a drawer and turned on a light. They all followed her down the stairs while the tiny light kept flickering, not showing much luminity.
They searched with the flashlight as her guide through the basement. Mariana clutched onto Micah's hand. She leaned on him as she felt the shadows along the walls were watching them.
The flashlight beamed around every corner. It found clothes stacked on the dryer, and puddles of water. The light kept glitching turning on and off which made Mariana tighten her grip.
But what they managed to find in the end, they hoped not to find.
Pamela trailed the light along the floor and came across a puddle of thick liquid. She peered closer and it was like black goo with a tinge of red around the circumference.
She shone a bit further and saw a hand. She could look no further as her hand covered her mouth to stop herself from throwing up. The flashlight dropped and splattered all over. She ran past Mariana and dropped to the floor, still trying to stop vomit from coming up.
One of the officers grabbed it and showed the full bloody bodies in front them, piled over one another. They only saw a glimpse before the officer removed the light from the distressing sight. But everyone saw enough to make their jaws drop and make their skin shrivel in disgust.
"Mrs. Davis..." the officer with the slowly turned to face her. Pamela was crouched on the floor, staring at them with her trembling lips.
"They're dead... aren't they?"
"I—"
"Oh I knew this would happen!" she screeched and her whole fell face down. Her throat released a blood-curling cry that irritated Mariana's ears, like hearing chalk scratch against a board.
"Why—I—did—I—agree..." Pamela sobbed and her croaky voice made her speech difficult to hear. Her arms wrapped around her stomach because the intensity of her cries made it push inwards heavily. "I hate her so much..." She punched the floor from anger.
Mariana watched her along with the others. A wave of pity flooded over her as Pamela's face slowly crumbled and broke down completely in despair. That's why her heart broke for her to find out the very thing they had been avoiding had happened and now they didn't know what to do.
****
Now the daylight hours have passed, Mariana went to bed, feeling unsuccessful. This morning was going so well, and she thought they were going to get good results but apparently not. After finding Pamela's family dead, she had gone mute when the authorities took her and didn't say anything. She just looked like any color been drained out of her, still having those marble stone eyes that ran cold of life.
She felt bad at what had happened to her family, but she didn't understand how Mona can be so wicked, probably learned it from Xavier.
She crawled into bed with the ceiling light blazing down. Lately, she's been scared of going to sleep in case she sees Xavier in her dreams. So she usually laid in the bed all night or when she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore.
She sighed again and then picked up a picture from the bed table. It was two pictures of their kids when they were newborns. She smiled at her little bundle of joys. Their tiny bodies wrapped in the cloth, sleeping soundly.
Don't worry my babies, Mommy and Daddy are coming to get you, just hang in there.
Mariana put it back and planted a kiss on top for their faces. She settled into the bed but when the door opened with a bang, it alerted her eyes and made them sharply turn to him like an intruder. But she relaxed when she immediately saw Micah's face. It stopped the dribbles of sweat running down her temples.
"Do you still want the light on?" He asked with his finger hovering over the light switch.
"Yeah." She nodded while her head was partially under the covers.
"Okay," he said and grabbed his sleep mask from the table. He then dived into the bed and sizzled into the covers.
"Night my flower." He kissed the tip of her nose and laid on his pillow. He pulled the sleep mask over his eyes and tried going to sleep with the light beaming dow like a bright sun.
Mariana watched him for a few minutes. She bit her nail, staring down as he was at peace but she was disturbed. She didn't feel like going to sleep yet and wanted some company.
"Micah." She gently poked him in the shoulder.
"Hm?" He mumbled and slowly lifted up the mask. He looked like he was well on his way to dreamworld before being interrupted.
"Can you stay up with me for a bit? I don't feel like going to sleep right now."
He turned his eyes towards her and even though he wanted to sleep, he felt bad because of the bags stacking under her lids, and the distress circling her eyes in the form of dark shades.
"Alright, I'll stay up with you," he said and sat up. He groaned a little as he straightened himself. His eyes were still half-shut as he drew her body close to him. He cupped her small scrunchy face, and stroked her hair while his arms enveloped her into a tight embrace.
Mariana closed her eyes but didn't fall asleep. However she felt safe in his radiating, warm arms which is what mattered. His hand smoothed down her back, caressing her to calmness, like a rippling wave simmering down over time.
"So what's wrong Mariana? Why have you been wanting the light on lately?" He asked with curiosity and concern and pointed to the ceiling.
"I had a nightmare and saw Xavier," she explained, feeling calm enough to let it out to him. "It was in complete darkness so right now, I don't feel comfortable sleeping if it's dark otherwise I fear I might see him."
"Oh you had another nightmare..." he lowered his voice from the shocking news and fear for his wife.
"Yeah." Her cheeks flushed as she felt embarrassed saying this.
"I'm sorry you have been having nightmares of him," he said softly and brushed a hair away from her face. "You can have the light on as much as you want if that will help."
"Thanks for bearing with me. I promise it won't be like this forever. Soon, I'll be comfortable going back to my special lava lamp," she said and picked it up from the table. It was sparkly purple that kissed the orange in bubbles. The glass had a faint warmth, only because it has been off for a few days.
"I really do love this," she murmured and caressed the glass like it was her lover.
"I'm glad it's helped you." He smiled, feeling proud of himself. "I remember you not feeling comfortable
sleeping in the darkness on our honeymoon, so when we came back I brought that for you as a surprise."
"And I've loved it ever since." She giggled and bit her lip as she couldn't take her eyes off it. She put it back and snuggled close to Micah.
"Thanks Micah." She grinned and kissed him on the lips. Then her head hit the pillow, and she kept her eyes open until she was ready to fall asleep.
A/N: Hey I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'm really enjoying the emotional maturity of M&M, I bet in book 2 they would've turned this into some petty argument😭. (Actually this reminds me a lot of when Mariana was feeling scared and called Micah to stay with her for the night🤣)
Thank you for 800 reads! ❤️❤️❤️