Unprofessional (Under editing)

Chapter 36: Aftermath

Isaac's POV

I didn't even shut the door behind me.

It slammed open against the wall, rattling on its hinges as I stumbled into the foyer, keys still dangling from my hand. My chest burned. My heart hadn't stopped racing since I left the office.

Forty minutes. That damn traffic held me hostage for forty goddamn minutes. Every red light, every bumper-to-bumper delay, felt like the universe mocking me.

The whole drive, I kept telling myself maybe—maybe—I could catch her in time.

That she was still packing.

Still sitting with Lovey.

Still here.

I was hoping. Praying.

"Rowan?" I called out, already walking deeper into the house. "Rowan—Lovey?"

Silence.

No cartoons humming from the TV. No sound of drawers opening. No little feet thudding against the floor. Just... silence.

My shoes echoed through the hall as I made a beeline to her room. I shoved the door open.

Empty.

The bed was perfectly made, sheets pulled tight like she always insisted. The scent of lavender still lingered faintly in the air. The room was clean. Of course it was. She always said a clean room kept sickness away. Muttered it under her breath every time she wiped down a surface or folded a blanket.

I yanked open her drawers—empty. Closet—cleared out. Every hanger gone. The space was cold. Hollow.

I backed out, heart thudding like a war drum as I turned down the hall toward the smaller bedroom.

Lovey's room.

My hands shook as I reached for the knob.

Gone.

The unicorn nightlight was missing. The stuffed animals that used to line the bed—vanished. Her little glitter-covered hairbrush, the purple hoodie she wore every other day, even the crayon drawings she used to tape to the wall... all gone.

I stepped back, dizzy. Swallowed hard. My breath hitched.

They were gone.

They really left.

And I had no one to blame but myself.

___

One of Benji's twins, CJ sat quietly on Benji's lap, his iPad glowing in the low light of his living room. The quiet tapping of his fingers was the only thing keeping the silence from swallowing the space. I barely heard it. My mind was a mess—fogged and spinning.

I hadn't even wanted to come here. But I didn't know where else to go.

Benji hadn't pushed. He just gave me that look—the one that said, Talk when you're ready.

"CJ, time for your bath!" Sarah's voice rang from somewhere down the hall.

CJ perked up instantly. He scrambled off Benji's lap and took off running toward his mom. I watched him go, something aching deep in my chest as I thought of Love.

Benji exhaled, rubbing a hand over his beard. "You wanna talk about it?"

I didn't answer, I just laid back on the couch lost in thought.

He stood up, stretching slightly before heading to the kitchen. He came back with two glasses of whiskey. The ice clinked as he handed me one.

I stared at it for a second. Then took a sip. Burned nice going down. I needed that.