The Heart's Melody (TwoSetViolin)

t w e n t y - e i g h t : rest

e d d y c h e n

I sat beside Kaylie as she ate her breakfast. No one else in the table were speaking. It was like the life was sucked out from all of us ever since Claudette disappeared.

Especially Brett.

Speaking of him, he didn't even touch his food. All he's been doing for the past two days were the same routine­ - check his phone, waiting for any updates from Detective Luther, the detective in charge of Claudette's missing case. Then he'd roam the whole neighborhood from 6 AM till 11 PM. He wouldn't even rest for a second. Heck, he doesn't even want to eat without muttering his girlfriend's name despite his mother's pleas.

That's how much he loved her.

We were all devastated ever since Raphael burst through that door, saying that she was missing. We were all in chaos. It's been really hard for Chris and their mother, too. She was crying nonstop ever since she got the news. Her disappearance really took a toll on Brett. Unfortunately for us, after searching for a long time, we had no traces of where they went. Except the leads that Raph gave the police, nothing else could help. All we know was that she was taken by Luna and her big ass chimpanzees.

We didn't even leave the place. We're still staying at the beach house since Claudette went missing here. The local police around this city have been seeking any signs of where Dette could be. Since she was abducted, the news spread like wildfire. Help also came from all over the place, there were many volunteers to assist in finding her. Posters, as much as it pained us everytime we see it, were hanged almost everywhere. We can't go home yet, it's a two-hour drive, and it'd be hard to go back and forth if we find her. But the unfamiliarity of the place didn't stop us to look for her every hour of the day. We can't give her up easily, especially to that mentally ill woman. No way in hell.

A nudge from Kaylie breaks me out from my flashbacks. They all started to stand, getting ready to leave. I planted my feet on the floor and followed them outside. Brett walked behind us, his hands in his pockets, and his head hanging low. I caught a glimpse of Serene. She was clinging to Raphael's arm as he whispered something in her ear. I couldn't hear what they were talking about, but it was evident that she was on the verge of tears. She blinked multiple times to push the them back.

Kaylie sighs beside me as I tore my eyes away from the couple in front of me. I intertwined my fingers with hers and gave it a soft squeeze in an attempt to comfort her. But her distressed state never once left her body. Her palms became slightly sweaty as we arrived at the parking lot. I turned to Brett as Kaylie joined Raphael and Serene. Raph opens the door, and Serene proceeds to enter the front seat. She and my girlfriend talked in hushed whispers as I conversed with my best friend. He was tugging on the strings of his hoodie as his fingers moved against the screen.

"Hey, uh," I started. He looks up at me, and what I saw immediately alerted my concern. Dark circles rested beneath his eyes. He looks so tired, but a minute of rest obviously didn't cross his mind. He unlocks his car and rummaged through it for a couple of seconds. He took out a water bottle and took a swig.

"Any news yet?" I ask as I leaned on the car. He shook his head no in disappointment. I sighed heavily. Every "no" that we received from the police and the detective crushed our souls bit by bit, and it was most visible in Brett.

"I'm gonna go look around," he responds after a minute of silence. I stood up straight, crossed my arms and let him get into his car. The engine roars to life, just as Raphael approached us. He stood behind me as Brett closed the door and opened the window.

"Hey Brett, you should rest for a bit. It's only 9 AM," Raphael suggested. I focused my attention on Brett as he leaned his head on the steering wheel, closing his eyes.

"Yeah, I, uh, actually fell asleep back at the house earlier," he reasoned as he remained unmoving. It was clear that the tiredness from all the searching he was doing was slowly getting to him, even though he says the opposite.

"Oh really? What, like 30 minutes? Come on dude, you gotta rest," Raph stated once again. I watched as both boys argued. To be honest, I side with Raph on this one. He has to rest, but then again, his girlfriend is missing, and we don't understand how he feels on a certain level.

"I told you, I already did. Also wasted three hours in the process. It's 9, I should've started at 6."

That was another issue. He doesn't realize that he got too wrapped up in finding Claudette that his attitude got a bit... let's say he's not really the nicest person around at the moment. But we try to understand him as much as we can. We know what he, all of us, are dealing with right now. The only difference was his suffering was ten times worse than ours.

"Well, I think you should-"

"No, Raphael. I have to g-"

"Brett," Raph says, ignoring the annoyed tone Brett used as he stepped closer to the window. "Do you think if Claudette saw you right now, overworked, overstressed, and doesn't even eat any more than a spoon of rice, do you think she'd be happy? Do you think she'd want to see you like this?'

He raged. And I think it was only because he cared about Brett's wellbeing too. Plus, he only said what we all were thinking for the past days. As much as we want to find Claudette ASAP, Brett needs to take a break too.

Brett looks up from the steering wheel. A determined look in his almost teary eyes as he stared right back into Raphael's.

"That's the thing, Raphael. She's not here to see me. She's not, I need to find her so she can see me like this," he says as his voice cracked. Raphael remains wordless as he takes his hands off the car. Brett glances at me before he dashed away and never looked back. He sped out the parking lot, leaving us staring at his white vehicle, disappearing as it grew smaller and smaller into the distance.

The boy behind me sighs as he throws his hands into the air.

"Just let him be, we can't do anything about it," I scratch my neck as I went with him towards the girls. Kaylie looked up at us as she wiped a stray tear from her eye. Serene stared into the distance, nothing in particular. Raphael fell silent as well, shifting his attention on the ground. The only thing that made a sound were the cars that rushed past us. That was until Serene finally breaks out a sob. Kaylie doesn't waste a second as she enveloped her in a hug. Her own tears fell as we made eye contact. I looked at the heavens that darkened. The girls cried as I felt my own emotional baggage spring up my chest. I swallowed the lump on my throat as I took a deep breath.

We were all falling apart. But we need to stay strong more than ever. Claudette needs us.

Wherever you are, Claudette. We'll find you, we won't lose you that easily.

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hello, this is more like a filler chapter, just to let u guys see how the gang is doing!! :D