Loud Silence

Chapter Seven

Violet will be paying for what she did today. How dare she, setting up something like this, and even if she had argued otherwise, an older sister knows when she is being deceived.

So innocent as she announced last night that she couldn't join our trip, blaming it on her boss once again. I couldn't put it off for another week, anxiety building too high, resulting in just Taylor and me in the car now.

We're heading to Mackinaw City, a little town by the bay in Michigan, to a plot of land with a house right on the water, miles away from the next nearest house.

"Are you tired?" Taylor asks me. I shake my head.

I just started working, finally putting my nursing degree to its use. It's been four months since I came home, and I have begged and pleaded my case on why I should be heading back to work.

Violet finally gave in after Taylor convinced her that it's actually healthy for me to start getting back to the world and occupying myself with a routine. So obviously, she listens to him, stating that his medical opinion makes sense versus my constant nagging.

Taylor got me an interview with two doctor offices. Without any experience besides from clinical, I doubted that I would have been able to land a single interview, anywhere.

My desire to work in a pediatrics office was put to the test. Being around all those children proved more difficult than I had predicted. Instead of comforting, it turned me into a victim of paranoia. Every time a little girl yelled "Mommy", my heart would drop. I couldn't even make it into the interview.

Cardiology was completely different, filled with elderlies. The cardiologist owned the small building that was his medical office. He had interviewed me himself. Dr. Kwon, a Korean man in his 60s—the age my parents would have been—was modest and kind, and I couldn't imagine working for anybody else.

Luckily, the feeling was mutual. He said he saw potential in me, patience. His office required a lot of patience. He explained that the office was his child, as he has no kids. After his wife passed, this was the only substance left for him to cherish. He needed his staff to value his office as much as he did. For some reason, he saw that in me, and wanted to give me a chance, and I was determined to prove my worth.

In between my weekends off, I have carried out my plan of searching the Walkers' properties.
I caught a plane to Jacksonville, Florida first. Once arriving at the brick house, I parked there for several hours. It was dark inside, but a car was present in the driveway. Sneaking around the house to look inside like a robber was not an option.

A family of four eventually came home. Mom, dad, and their two boys. I watched as the father carried the boy sleeping on his shoulders, followed by the mother holding the other little boy's hand. They were probably summer renters. I couldn't help as the tears escaped from the corner of my eyes while I sat in the car—from disappointment, from jealousy.

The next trip I took was a flight to Maine. They owned another piece of land there in Belfast, a beautiful summer house out by the lake. Parked outside of the gate and looking at the house about a quarter of a mile in, I knew no one could possibly be there. The house had recently been in a fire. Most of the walls were gone, exposing the damage that had seeped inside and consumed the house. I left, once again empty-handed.

This is the last location. I've prepared myself for the past week. What if I find nothing? Where would I look next? What if I find them? Do I call the police first? Do I run in to save my baby? Questions after questions building inside my gut. There is no other option. I will risk everything for her.

After I told Taylor what I have been up to, he demanded to be here with me on this trip. "What if you saw him there? Do you think he would just let you take Daisy without a fight?" He had scolded me.