Aftercare

Chapter 34-HMH

MILES HERNANDEZ
One Week
7 days
168 hours
10.080 minutes
604,800 seconds.
Since I've been alive.
One week since my happiness was taken away from me. Since I last smiled, laughed, or felt anything in general. 3 days since I last slept or closed my eyes.

1 week since my world turned upside down.

I don't know what to do anymore. Keep staring at the wall that covered the Palm Springs Police Department waiting room for the 5th time this week, or go kill myself. One minute she was there, and then she was not.

And then she was not.

My eyes are red, swollen. Eye bags that prove that I hadn't had the time to sleep. Sleep is indeed the last thing I cared about right now. How many beers have I had this week? 10? 15? Perhaps 20? I wasn't supposed to give up so easily. But if there's one thing I'm more addicted to more than alcohol right now, it's her.

I hadn't even had the time to do anything. God, I shouldn't have fucking let her leave that hospital room alone. I still remember the icy feeing I got when Lucas called me and told me she wasn't answering her phone.

2300 times.
That's the number of times I've tried calling her this week.
No answer.

The way her dad rushed into the police department the next morning, crying. The man nearly had a heart attack. Considering the way he had treated her before, I had actually thought he had something to do with this until he fainted.

Ms. Rodriguez was desperate. Desperate for any clue to find her daughter. She was the bravest one of all of us. God, like mother like daughter. Lucas and Diego? Finished. Miserable. Angry. Three words that would describe how they were this week.

Diego punched one of the police officers when they said that they got so many missing person files, that we would have to wait until 48 hours was up.

And god, Eva. She locked herself up in her room, afraid of the reality of loosing the only best friend of hers left. She didn't want it to happen all over again.
Never.

I don't remember ever feeling this much rage in my chest before. Not when my dad would beat me up drunkly every time I asked him to make me food, or read me a bed time story. Or when the kids at school would call me motherless. Not even when my mom passed away, which is what scares me.

Never felt this miserable, this worthless. Cause I'm reality, without her, I'm nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Why does it always have to be her? Why not me, for once? Why? Why can't I take away all that pain from inside her that had been there since she was a kid

Congrats Mile, finally lost the one thing that actually made you happy.

All I want to do is scream. But unfortunately, that wouldn't help the police officers here actually want to help me. Not that they have a choice. If you have money, you have power. Nora probably would disagree with me, but I don't care.

I only want her.

I don't even have a clue on how I was even alive anymore to be honest. In my imagination, I would've lost it a long time ago. But here I am, alive, willing to do anything to get her back.

Anything.

My eyes blurt up when the two police officers that were following our case came out of the other room inside. Me, Diego and that dipshit who so called himself Nora's father stood up in a rush.

"Goodmorning, Mr. Rodriguez" one of them says greeting Nora's dad. He gives us a quick nod, before leading us in to the investigating room. All I wanted was for this time to be diffrent. Just one fucking clue on where she was, might help me not loose my fucking mind.

"Would you like some water, Mr. Hernandez?" The police officer asks me. He probably felt how these I was at the moment, judging by the way I was still wearing the clothes I was wearing 6 days ago when he first reported her missing.

I couldn't say yes. I couldn't say yes to anything while she wasn't around. Everything seemed wrong without her. "Any updates?" I ask ignoring his question and running a hand through my hair.

He smiles slightly as I exchange looks with Diego." I was hoping you'd ask that. Thankfully this time I have good news for you at the least" he replies back. I sit straight and put my hands on the table as soo  as he says the words "good" and "news". We weren't able to get answers about either of those words for 6 days now.

"We were able to track down the plaque number of the car that left Boston Hospital the the day she went missing. Of course, many cars left that day, but we were able to find secret camera footage, showing us which car she was- um- abducted to" the words fall out of his mouth like poison.

I clench my jaw. Just the idea of someone putting their finger, let alone hand on my girl makes me furious. All I had was her and I couldn't even protect her. "Do you know who this plaque number belongs to?" Mr. Rodriguez says making me clench harder this time.

Why act like you care? I don't get it. He abuses her all her life, cheats in her goddamn mother than decides to be the sudden father figure? Pathetic.
"Well-um-we-er , we did find the account name that had purchased the vehicle, which is why we had asked you to come this early today" the officer says opening up a file that was sitting on the table.

"We tracked down the the card information, to find this. We don't know what it means yet, but if it is what we think it is, we're going to have to talk to Miles, a bit more privately." He says. I furrow my eyebrows, not understanding what he was talking about.

"Hijo de puta" Mr. Rodriguez suddenly hisses looking at the file. Diego gets up and breathes heavily, muttering a curse word I couldn't make out from under his breath. I pull the file towards me in confusion, desperate to understand why they were suddenly so irritated and angry.

I open the file, look at the car plaque. And before I could even look at the account name, I know who's care it is. For once in my life, I wish I never knew so much information. I know this car. I know cause I've been in it before. I've driven it before.

The dark blue BMW with the initials of my fathers name on the back, was perfectly caught in the picture. Any rage that I had ever felt in the past few days suddenly disappeared into thin air. He did it. That motherfucker.

My dad.
Hugo Miguel Hernandez
Plaque Number: HMH

Im gonna find you you sick bastard. And Im going to make you regret ever touching her.

I recite the words through my head, making sure never to forget them. I close the file. "Any ideas about locations?" I ask the officer. He nods. "Quiet a few places actually, but I can't say little"

I nod "lets get to work then, shall we?"