Life Without You

Chapter 68 - Proceeding Alone

"Andy? Andy!" Rita searched high and low for Andy everywhere in the house but he was nowhere to be found. This wasn't like him at all. She ran to Ariel's room and knocked on her door urgently, "Ariel, Ariel!"

Ariel opened the door with half-sleepy eyes, "Do you have to disturb me in my sleep?"

"Andy's missing!" Rita panicked.

"What! Andy's missing?" the shocking news sprang Ariel fully awake.

"I've searched him everywhere but he's not in the house!"

How could Andy go missing without the bodyguards' notice? This couldn't be happening again like at Yellowstone. She dashed out of the room to search for him until the doorbell rang.

Rita and Ariel quickly rushed out of the house to the gate, hoping that it was Andy. Instead, it was Leon, Evan and Anna.

"Sorry, you can't come in," said one of her bodyguards.

"Yes, they can," said a familiar voice behind them. Everyone turned to see that it was Hiroshi who had just arrived, his car parked along the street. He was looking more tense than usual.

The bodyguard let everyone in.

"You guys don't seem okay," Leon noticed Ariel and Rita were uneased.

Ariel suddenly burst into tears, "Andy's missing!"

"Andy's missing?!" everyone exclaimed together.

Rita nodded.

"How could the boy be missing under your watch?!" Hiroshi scolded the bodyguards.

They apologised and went out immediately to search for him.

"Don't worry, they'll find him," Hiroshi assured Ariel.

Everyone went inside the house.

"So, what brings you guys here?" asked Rita as she noticed all the visitors looked anxious. 

"Is my sister, Hiromi with you?" asked Hiroshi.

"No," Rita shook her head. Ariel shook her head too.

"Hiromi's missing and I'm unable to get hold of her, which is not normal," Hiroshi panicked.

He took out his phone and showed his sister's last Instagram post to everyone, "I believe she was last seen here and wearing this Dolce & Gabbana sweater. The location showed that she was at a nearby park. I've asked everyone at the park but no one saw her. I even went to the police but they won't consider her a missing person case since it's less than 72 hours."

He threw his head back in frustration,

"Sky's missing too. I was hoping she's at your place," said Leon

"Nope," Rita and Ariel shook their heads.

How could all three be missing around the same time?

The doorbell rang again.

"I'll go see who it is," said Anna. Ariel was hoping it was Andy, but her hope was dashed when she saw Anna return alone, this time with a face as white as snow.

"Someone slipped this under the gate. It looks like the same box that Hiromi threw away," Anna's voice trembled as she held up a small box wrapped in a shiny pink wrapper with golden polka dots, the exact same wrapper and box size that Ariel had received before. It had Leon's name on it.

Leon took the box from Anna and opened it. 

Out came two white cards and strands of hairs of various sorts instead of styrofoam bits. The hair strands included blonde and pink, similar to Hiromi's hair colours, dark brown like Andy's, and short strands of grey and white that looked like Sky's fur.