I'm standing in front of the entrance of the warehouse. The suitcase containing the money is in my hand.
My heart beats fast. Lais is behind these doors. I can finally see her again, if nothing goes wrong.
The kidnapper wants me alone, but there are cops already surrounding the place, all drawing their guns. I glance at one who's leaning against the wall of the warehouse, ready to ambush.
He nods, giving me the signal to proceed. And so I open the double doors with my hand. It creaks open.
I step into the place. It's quite dark that I can't make out anything.
Somehow, it just doesn't feel right.
Something cracks ahead of me, and in a second, the police ambush the warehouse. The lights are on, their guns pointed at the space, which is...empty.
There's a sound humming from a radio on a desk. Lights flicker from a small TV in front of a couch. A cat comes out behind a dust bin, knocking it down.
But there is no one here.
My hand is sweaty as I keep holding the case containing the money, watching as the cops inspect the place further.
They search everywhere, while I'm here, stunned.
What is happening?
After a few minutes, they're done checking every corner of the place.
I hear one of them report to his superior, "It's empty." And that's when I drop the case in my hand, staring blankly at the mess before me.
A sudden cold air blows through me, making the hair on the back of my neck stand.
What the hell is this?
Did the kidnapper just trick me? No, he needs the money, doesn't he?
Does it mean that he now knows that I bring the cops?
Where is Lais?
There are so many unanswered questions in my head, and fear begins to engulf me. I hear frantic shouts around me, orders given, more people rushing into the warehouse.
But I'm still nailed onto the same spot. Dead silent.
The reality comes crashing down on me.
What have I done?
Did I make a mistake?
One hour passes. And here I am, leaning my back against a police car, my hands covering my face as my heart sinks even deeper into an endless pit.
Vaughn leans against the car too, at my side. "We'll find her," he says.
I want to believe it, but why does my heart say otherwise?
I can't help but think that they indeed kept Lais in another place, and once they found me break the deal, they had a change of plan. The plan that would be my worst nightmare.
Oh, God, if something happens to her because of this--
My mind can't even bear thinking about the possibilities that may happen.
The main suspect, however, is Tuck.
A cop approaches me. "We found out that her stepfather is on a drug deal with a foreigner. We just caught the said dealer and managed to trace Tuck's location. It's another warehouse, and we have to move quickly."
My heart leaps in my throat. That might be the place where they keep Lais, and without waiting for another second, we get into the car.
The journey to the other warehouse takes approximately 15 minutes.
I stare outside the car window, only to find that dark clouds are covering the sky. It's not a bright morning like yesterday, just like what happened in my dream.
My lips tremble nervously, and a soft cry leaves my lips as I look down at my lap.
Please, God, don't let anything bad happen to her. Don't take her away from me.
Once the car stops, I rush outside, but Vaughn catches me.
"Jake," he warns, stopping me, holding my arms and shoulder from behind.
"No!" I struggle when another cop pushes me back. "Lais!" I shout.
I know that they need me to wait, but I can't. Yet, there's nothing I can do when another cop helps Vaughn to stop me.
Fuck. Three people are blocking me from storming into the place.
After a few minutes of struggling to break away, the cops inside the warehouse finally give us the signal to proceed, and I run into it.
I stop short when another cop motions for me to follow him.
And suddenly, my legs feel heavy. I follow him, walking toward a small room.
And there before my eyes lies a pool of blood. My legs give in, and I drop to my knees.
It can't be...
My nightmare has turned into reality. The only difference is that I don't see her body.
A cop hands me a denim jacket, and I take it, staring at it in disbelief.
"Is this hers?" he asks me.
I can't respond to his question. As I bring the jacket closer to my face, I smell her signature sweet scent, like she's here with me, and another soft cry leaves my lips.
I nod, signaling that the answer is true.
Another hour passes as we wait for the forensic team to give us the result of the blood. Feeling numb, I stare at the ground beneath me, sitting on the cold cement, my back against the wall.
Vaughn sits beside me, but he doesn't say a word. He knows that there's nothing to say unless the result is out, unless it tells me that it's someone else's blood and not Lais'.
A cop strides toward us. "We've got the result from the forensic team."
That makes me immediately stand up, my heart racing inside my chest. The devastated look on the cop's face worsens my fear.
"I'm sorry, Jake," he says. "It's hers."
The world around me feels like crumbling. "What?" I stutter, my voice barely a whisper.
"It's hers," he repeats. Guilt skates all over his face, and he takes out a crumpled paper from his pocket. "We found this inside the same room, but we decided to wait until the blood result was out. This is yours."
Slowly, I take it from his hand, and he walks away to give me time and space. Unable to breathe, I open the paper and see Lais' handwriting.
It's a letter, crumpled after being formed into a ball and soaked, as if she wrote it while crying.
Dear Jake,
If you happen to find this letter, you might have realized that I'm no longer in this world. I'm sorry. This is the only way I could think of reaching out to you before I go, because I still have so many things to say to you, things I've been keeping inside my heart for a long time.
I know that what happened to me is out of your hands, Jake. I know you, so please, don't ever blame yourself for this.
I want you to know that you give me nothing but happiness. With you, I feel joy. Warmth. Life. I've never felt so alive.
Do you know that you stole my heart when we first met three years ago? I was so glad that you saved me from that pervert inside the bus. From then on, I started to think differently of you, because you protected me, even though you were hurt because of me. Do you know how worried I was when you played the big football game while still being injured? Thankfully, you killed it. And I was so happy for you. That day, the rain fell from the sky, just like I fell for you, Jake. It was the first time I realized my feelings for you. The vision of you laughing, roaring your victory, is still very much in my mind. It's so beautiful, like a painting.
Then we met again. And just like the last time, you protected me, even when you had to go against a powerful man.
You're still the same person who looked out for me, still the same boy who stole my heart a few years ago.
You're always there. For me.
Every time I look into your eyes, I never see a monster in them. They're serene like the ocean, and I'm drowning in them. You make me feel loved. You make me feel precious. You make me the happiest girl in the world, Jake.
It is me who should be sorry. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry that I couldn't keep my promise to you. I told you that I would never leave you.
Please, will you forgive me?
I love you, Jake. So very much.
My hero.
My everything.
My hand is shaking when I finish reading her letter.
The ache in my heart is unbearable, and I collapse onto the ground again. This time, tears stream down my cheeks.
She couldn't be gone. She couldn't have left me forever.
It's all because of me. I've broken the deal. I've called the cops.
I killed her.
But what did she tell me? She said that I was her hero. That I was her everything.
"Jake..." Vaughn bends down next to me, and when I look at him, I can see that he's still trying to swallow what's happening, that he can't believe the reality either.
Lais is gone. And she has taken my heart with her, along with my soul.
She's my other half.
And so I scream her name inside my heart, breaking down on the cold ground.