Helpless

Halo

I couldn't sleep all last night. I would doze off and then woke up only to think about Jen. Where was she? Was she okay? Everything in her room, reminded me of her. There were pieces of her everywhere. Her clothes were there. Her perfume. Her makeup. Her music. Her laptop. Even her pillowcases, they all smelled like her. The only times I would doze off was when I would grab one of the pillows and hugged it to my chest. I would close my eyes and imagine her being there with me.

After tossing and turning, I decided to wake up and get dressed. It was a little bit past 7am. I was still jetlagged, but I didn't care. There was no point in trying to rest or to sleep.

I heard a knock soon after. It was Lin-Manuel.

"Good morning," he smiled. His smile used to be genuine. He was always so happy and full of life. All of that was now gone. "Sleep well?"

"No," I shook my head. "I would doze off and then wake up."

He nodded and looked down for a moment. "I heard back from Vanessa. She got in touch with some private investigators. And they are fluent in Spanish. They've worked here in Mexico, so they're familiar with this country."

"Thank God," I sighed.

"I know," he nodded. "They should be here in a couple of hours. Vanessa has arranged everything."

"It's comforting," I mumbled. "At least now we know we have a backup just in case the police here aren't taking this case seriously."

"Exactly," he said patting my back. "Come on, breakfast is almost ready."

I nodded and followed him towards the kitchen. I realized that I had not eaten. The kitchen smelled heavenly. I didn't know what their chef was cooking but it smelled delicious.

Minutes later, Jen's parents and grandparents walked out, and we sat at the table to try to enjoy our breakfast. Everything their chef had cooked was amazing. She was an elderly Mexican woman with a kind smile. Her cooking was fantastic. Even the coffee and the freshly squeezed orange juice. Everything was delectable.

A couple of minutes later, we heard a knock at the door. As it was usually the case, we all held our breath and prayed that it was an update on Jen's whereabouts. But no such luck. Jen's dad didn't come back into the kitchen for a while, so we continued our conversation about the private investigators Lin-Manuel, and I had hired.

"What is he doing here?" I heard Jen's mom ask.

We turned around and looked at a face I thought I wouldn't see again. Instantly, whatever good mood I was in, was now replaced by complete distaste and anger. It was Alex.

"Alex, came to offer his support," Jen's dad responded.

"Why?" I shot back. Why did he want to help when he had been a complete pig to Jen? Was his conscience now killing him?

"Johnny," Jen's grandfather began, calmly. "I am not a fan of this man. I heard all about what happened last time. But right now, we need all the support we can get."

I let out a quiet, sarcastic laugh and shook my head before looking down at my cup of coffee. Maybe he was right. But he was the last person I wanted to see right now.

"I'm with you," Lin-Manuel whispered in my ear. "I've never liked him. And I feel that he's only here to get back on the family's good graces."

"Apparently" I scoffed.

We all made our way into the living room where Alex sat opposite me. At one point, I looked up at him and I noticed that he kept looking right at me. I raised my eyebrows at him and made a hand gesture, as if asking him "What's up?" He then smirked and looked away. I hated that son of a bitch. There was no need for him to be here.