I hope you enjoyyyyy!!!
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Three Days Later...
I felt horrible. I didn't know what to do. My husband was stuck in a place and I didn't know where. I'd shown the police the surveillance video of Graham's car outside my house and it vividly displayed him and Cooper kidnapping Cameron together. The recording was all the police needed to arrest and incriminate those two, but they couldn't do anything just yet because Graham's license plates weren't visible. The police said that they even followed some nearby traffic cameras to track Graham's car to read his plate, but he'd taken them off completely.
Cameron was stuck and I couldn't do anything about it. I felt useless. "Here," Amani said softly, placing a cup of black coffee and a muffin in front of me. "Please eat. Cameron will feel terrible when he comes home and sees you haven't been taking care of yourself."
The professor had been coming over a lot and trying to comfort me while I sobbed and grieved over my missing husband. He would always bring food and treats for myself and Corgi, and he even brought some copies of Cameron's messy notes to cheer me up sometimes.
"How can I take care of myself when my husband is suffering," I muttered, my voice hoarse and broken.
Amani sighed softly and sat beside me with a cup of tea. "You may feel guilty, but you know it'll make him feel better... You know that."
I shook my head and clasped my hands over my eyes, feeling that I was beginning to cry again. "I need him here with me," I said, sniffling. "I can't live without him, Amani..." I had lost him for a month before, and even though I was with Lola, I felt so alone, incapable, and weak... Now, being married to him and seeing how much more useless and pathetic I had become... I felt stuck in a well of incompetence. As the days went on that my love was gone, I was falling further into the cold, dark pit of failure. My futile attempts to help my husband were like weighted chains pulling me deeper into the murky, depressing waters of the tomb, and knowing that if I had kept him by my side—knowing that that would've prevented his capture and made sure he was still safe and happy at home with me....knowing that made me feel like I was drowning indefinitely.
"Cameron needs you to remain optimistic, Giorgi. And I know that's a shitty thing to hear right now given the situation but it's true. You need to keep working to find him. If you don't want him to be gone for too long, let's search nonstop until we find him," Amani said sternly. "Kicking yourself and thinking about what should've and could've happened doesn't help anyone, alright? So eat your breakfast, take a shower, and get dressed. We're leaving in an hour—ready or not."
"I know I need to—"
"Hush. Eat," Amani commanded, nudging my plate closer to me. I stared down at the muffin and frowned as I'd felt too weak and sick to even try to pick it up. But, to my great surprise, Amani grabbed the fork he'd placed on the plate and cut a piece off of the blueberry confection, lifting it to my lips. "Just one bite will make me happy," he said softly, his deep voice vibrating through my ears. I moved my eyes up to meet the professor's and mentally groaned when I saw him staring at my mouth with such an intense, hopeful look on his face.
Reluctantly, I opened my mouth and allowed Amani to push the fork in, and I couldn't help my noticing how the corners of his lips rose as he fed me. "Thank you," he hummed, setting the utensil back down beside my muffin. "Will you shower now while I clean up? Or would you need help with that, too?"
"I can do it myself," I muttered, prying my body off the couch. With a pounding headache, I made my way over to my and Cameron's bedroom, and then into our bathroom. I thought my shower had been fairly quick, but just as I had stepped out, I heard Amani knocking on the door, asking if I was alright. I told him I was fine, but he said that I had been in there for about an hour so he thought I passed out or something.
I found it kind of odd how concerned and caring the professor acted for me, what with him being in love with my husband and all, and it was always a bit off-putting whenever he would try to cheer me up with references to my and Cameron's relationship... It seemed like he genuinely respected and adored our marriage, but I just couldn't understand why or how he did when he was so in love with the man I was married to. It was my own incapability of understanding Amani that made me feel eerie of him, and I knew I needed to stop thinking that he he was was doing something way since he was just being kind, but I also knew that it would take some time for me to get used to him and his feelings.
"As long as you're alright, then," he said, sounding relieved from the other side of the bathroom door. "Hey... Bryan," I started, wrapping a towel around my waist before opening the wooden surface. The professor hummed but didn't turn to face me. "Why... Why are you helping me so much? I don't get it," I said lowly, leaning against the doorframe while fidgeting with the knob, twisting it back and forth. "You're in love with him. Not me... So why are you always trying to make me feel better instead of...like, trying to find him before I do? Or something?"
The professor shrugged and turned to face me, meeting my eyes. "You make him happy... I love him happy. It's as simple as that, really."
After a moment of silence between us, I relaxed a glare that I hadn't realized I'd set on Bryan, and walked towards him, aiming for my closet.
"Would it make you feel better if I stopped coming over so much? I know I never really asked if it was okay in the beginning, so..." he inquired, his voice low and apologetic.
I didn't say anything for a while as I chose one of Cameron's hoodies and some sweatpants to wear. Upon lifting my husband's sweatshirt to my nose, I sat down on our bed and shook my head, before finally speaking up; "No."
"Uh-n....?" Bryan stuttered quietly. "Alright... Then, get dressed so we can leave." With that, he left my bedroom and I grabbed some underwear before putting on my outfit.
I'm sorry I'm taking so long, baby. I need you so bad, I can hardly function without you being here. Waking up without you everyday just makes me feel worse day by day... but I promise I'll keep going for you. I swear I won't stop working until I bring you back home.
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I hope you enjoyedddd!!!