Home is You

Chapter 17

Steffy

I watch Wyatt walk out of the room, before exhaling. I reach over to the night stand to grab another tissue to clean my face up. I can't imagine what my face looks like right now. I'm sure make-up is smeared all down my face. Normally, something like that would bother me, but I don't even have the energy to let it affect me.

Me: Hey. My informal business meeting is still going on. I have something personal that I need to do, once my meeting wraps up. Liam will be at the office late.

Me: Can you keep the kids out for a little while longer and then possibly come here and stay with them tonight? If not, I'll see if I can get my dad or brother to stay with them.

Me: Sorry. I know it is short notice.

Amelia: No problem. Is everything okay?

I run my finger over the phone, trying to think about how to address this or if I even should yet. I quickly decide that it's best not to involve Amelia right now, at least not until I have a better idea of what is going on, and where we stand. I don't want Amelia to feel pressured around the kids to keep mum on it.

Me: Yeah. Everything is okay.

Amelia: Okay, do you want me to bring by the kids at all before you leave?

Me: No. Just give them my love and tell them I will see them tomorrow at some point.

Me: Thank you so much, Amelia. I don't know sometimes what we would've done without you all these years.

Me: Call me if there are any problems

I don't wait for Amelia to respond before throwing the phone onto my bed. I vaguely hear Wyatt in the living room on the phone, I'm assuming with Bill. I work up my courage to get off the bed and make head way. I mindlessly walk around our bedroom looking for anything that might be off or different. I have no idea what I am looking for. Nothing looks out of the ordinary to me, out of place, but maybe it is just that I cannot focus at all on what is in front of me.

I walk over to his closet opening the door slowly. I turn the light on, quickly looking up and down, hoping something presents itself. Immediately, I notice a good portion of his clothes are gone. Everything looks scattered. I grab the small step stool from the back of his closet to reach the top shelf. I pull myself up, standing on my tippy toes to see. I immediately notice that the extra blankets are pushed to the side and his lockbox is visible. I reach my hands forward to pull it forward, noticing that it is slightly open.

I wrap my arms tightly around it while stepping down off the step stool. This is slightly concerning because Liam never leaves the lockbox open. I lift the lid, not sure what I am expecting to see. I rummage through the papers and different things in the box, before realizing that all the emergency cash we had in here is gone, as well as his most recent passport, along with a few other items.

This isn't good. I step back looking at the that stuff on our bed just trying to process everything. I look over to the pile of tissues that has collected up on the bed in the last couple hours, surprised that there are still tissues left in the box.

I grab the pile of tissues and throwthem into the waste basket by the side of the bed, when my eyes trail over to a pile of papers, maybe envelopes at the side of the bed. I bend down to pick it up. It's five more envelopes. I quickly sort through them realizing thatthere is one envelope foreach Kelly, Cooper, Taylor, and Jamie. There is even one for Beth. They must have fallen or been knocked over in my haste and initialbreak down, when I found mine that I didn't initially see the rest of the letters he left on the nightstand.