I walked down the hallway until I got to Colby's old office, which was now occupied by Sam. I hated how many memories were surrounding me, both positive and negative.
I remembered the first time Colby brought me in here, asking me about my family.
I remembered the rage that I felt, knowing there was a chance he would hurt or kill my siblings.
In reality he would protect them and keep them safe from afar before he eventually grew to love them as if they were one of his own.
This office held a lot of memories for Colby and I and I wasn't exactly excited to create more negative memories here.
"You doing okay?" Nate asked as he walked into the room. "Yeah..can you grab my bag from the car?" I asked as he nodded.
"Yeah, I'll be back." He said then left the room. I frowned and looked at the papers sprawled on the desk.
In the corner of the desk, there was one of Colby's rings. He must have taken it off and set it there since he didn't like wearing it to events that he could lose it.
I remember him telling me the story that Sam got it for him when he became the leader of this gang.
It was a simple silver band with a couple emblems. I think Sam had one very similar, which could have been a gift from Colby when he took over.
I sighed and grabbed it, looking at it liked it was the most valuable thing in the world.
"Where are you?" I whispered, twisting the ring in my fingers. I was trying to not cry at the stupid piece of metal, but knowing it belonged to Colby made my heart ache.
I just really fucking missed him.
Nate came back a couple minutes later with my bag slung over his shoulder. "I need to see all of the letters that were sent to you guys." I said as I took my necklace off so I could hang Colby's ring on the chain.
If I was going to get anything done, I would need him by my side in some way.
"Okay, yeah." Nate said then walked over to me and grabbed all the papers.
"There's not much information on them but maybe you can see something we didn't." He said and set them on the desk in front of me. I sighed and picked them up, looking at them closely.
He was right when he said there was no information on the pages but something definitely stuck out to me.
It was a little emblem in the corner of the page that I had seen before. I couldn't quite figure out where I had seen it though.
"What's wrong?" Nate asked as I squinted my eyes, looking at the emblem. "This looks familiar." I said then pointed to it.
"Really?" He asked as I nodded. "Can't put my finger on it, but I feel like I've seen it before." I hummed then put the papers on the desk again.
"Will you take me to this address?" I asked and pointed to the letter with the invitation on it.
"Yeah, we can start by going there tomorrow." He said as I nodded and reached for my bag.
"Works for me." I said then pulled out my seizure medication. "Shit, do we need to get you more of that?" Nate asked as I shook my head.
"I have enough for a couple of weeks. I don't plan on being here long." I said then popped the pill in my mouth.
"Did Colby ever figure out how to get into Sam's computer?" I asked and put the pill bottle back and zipped it up.
I needed to take my prenatal vitamins but didn't want to do it in front of Nate so I would have to take them at the house.
"No, he couldn't find the password." He said as I nodded. "I'll work on it tomorrow." I said then stood up, bringing my hand to Colby's ring that was hanging from my neck.
I honestly felt so much comfort having this with me.
I needed him by my side now more than ever.
"The girls are really excited to see you." Nate said as we walked out of the office. I nodded, keeping a hard look on my face.
I was looking forward to seeing the girls but I wasn't going to be the best company.
My heart ached, knowing Colby might be struggling somewhere. I knew he and Sam were strong but it didn't make the situation any better that they were gone.
I didn't make eye contact with anyone as I walked down the hallway and towards the elevator.
I've been weak in the past. Very weak. I wasn't going to let anyone walk all over me this time.
As soon as we got into the elevator though I deflated.
"You don't have to act so tough. These guys know not to fuck with you." Nate said as I nodded.
"Doesn't mean they won't." I mumbled. "I guess that's true. I think they're more afraid of you than they are of Colby." He said as I nodded.
"Good." I said as the doors opened. I didn't care that they were afraid of me.
I was angry and bitter to be back here and I was going to do anything to get Colby back.
If anyone crossed me I would absolutely ruin them and have no regrets.
When we got to the house I felt the nostalgia erupting in my chest. It had been so long since I've lived here, but it didn't take away how many memories surrounded the place.
"Home sweet home." Nate said as I nodded. "I guess." I said quietly then got out of the car, grabbing my bag.
"Have you eaten?" He asked as we walked towards the house. "No, I probably should but I feel sick." I said with a sigh.
Being this stressed was already not good for the baby so not eating wasn't great.
It was hard to focus on anything but Colby's disappearance but I needed to focus on the baby too.
When we walked into the house I heard a gasp then a squeal.
"Julia!!!" Stas squealed as she ran towards me, hugging me tightly. "Hey." I breathed out, hugging her back.
"I've missed you so much! You have to tell me how you've been." She said an pulled away to look at me.
"Maybe tomorrow? I'm pretty tired." I said quietly. "Understandable. Do you know what room you're staying in?" Stas asked as I shook my head.
"No, I haven't been assigned a room." I said causing her to laugh. "Well since Kat is in Canada you can stay in your old room if you want." She said as my heart sank.
"Maybe a different room would be better." I said and picked my nails. "That's fine! I totally get it. You can stay in the room next to me." She said then led the way.
I loved how comforting Stas was and how understanding she was being.
I knew she was probably lonely since it was only her and Tara in the house, but she respected that I needed time to myself.
All of this was just so overwhelming.
I wanted nothing more than to be safe at home with Colby and the kids. I wanted him to hold me and give me reassurance that everything would be alright.
At this point I didn't even know if he was alive.
"Here we go." Stas said and opened the door to the guest room that was next to her room.
"Thanks, Stas. I'll see you in the morning." I said then gave her a hug. "I'll be right next door if you need anything." She said then turned and left the room.
I sighed then went to put my bag on the bed. I was exhausted from today but knew that this was just the beginning.
Before I could do anything for the night, I had to check on the kids.
I grabbed my phone then sat on the bed, dialing Corey's number.
"Hey, Jules." He answered after a couple of rings. "Hey, how are they settling in?" I asked and ran my fingers through my hair.
"They're doing alright. They're good kids and Devyn is obsessed with Juniper." He said as I nodded.
"She has that effect on people." I said quietly. "What about you? Are you settling in?" He asked as I looked around the mostly unfamiliar room.
The last time I was in this room was when Colby and I reconnected last year. I remember how torn I was about being around him again, but I didn't know how lucky I was.
I wished with my whole heart that Colby could be here with me right now.
"As best as I can." I said quietly. "Did you make sure to turn on the security system?" I asked quietly. "Yes, Julia. It's on and we're all good here. We're worried about you." He said as I nodded.
"Understandable. I won't be okay until I get to the bottom of this." I said then stood up so I could get myself unpacked.
"If anyone can do it, it's you." Corey said as I nodded.
I didn't know if I fully believed that, but I could believe that I would do anything to get Sam and Colby out of danger.