Afterlight ✔️

chapter thirty-two

— Jay Bieber

Ever since my outburst that day, all I could ever think about afterwards was to get home to my beautiful girlfriend. I yearned to see that smile on her face, her enticing eyes, and her soft angelic voice. All of those features of her's never failed to make my day. No matter how fucked up we were, there was something about her that always made everything so perfect for us.

I knew that sometimes, I couldn't control myself. I couldn't control the buildup of rage that I've collected over the years. The swirling emotions of sadness, grief, anger; it all turned into rage. Even though I took some of it out on Chloe, I still hoped she would eventually forgive me. She had been the only person on this planet, keeping me joyful. She gave me hope that my life would get better. If she didn't come in my life, I'd probably be burning in the flames of hell. I had just been grateful that there was someone put in my life, who I thought was special enough to literally share everything with.

I was becoming so damn attached to her. I had been waiting for the perfect day to spill everything to her, how much she meant to me. All of it. She was the mere bliss of my life, and I couldn't wait to come home after my stupid outburst and see her again.

After such a mess that went on at my old dwellings, I opened the door to my house with a full smile on my face, teeth showing and all. The breeze inside of the house was an unusual cold. Everything was silent, like it was before I picked up Chloe and brought her home for the first time. It was an eerie feeling. It wasn't what I expected to come home to. Something was off... Chloe wasn't in sight, I didn't feel a single presence.

No, stop. I needed to stop overanalyzing everything and check out the upstairs area. Maybe she was sound asleep.

The glass on the floor from my sudden outburst had disappeared. The house was clean with the smell of disinfectant. Dragging myself up the stairs, I began calling my Chloe's name, waiting for an answer. In my hand, there was a rose I had picked earlier in the day for her. There were flawless petals, blooming around the core, just for her. I was beyond ready to hand it over to her and see the enticing smile on her face; the one I couldn't clear from my mind.

"Chlo!" I called her by her nickname. There was no exact answer. Nothing at all. I began running from room to room, having no luck finding her.

Chill, Jay. Maybe she just went out for a walk. No big deal, right?

Trying to keep my composure, I slid my phone out of my pocket and dialed Violet Noir's number, soon followed by a ringing tone. Knowing that she had been Chloe's only friend around here, besides me, maybe her and Chloe were out spending time.

At that point, I tried to think of every rhyme or reason that Chloe maybe didn't get kidnapped. I didn't want to think about that happening to my girl, anymore. It happened way too many times. I thought in my head of other situations that could've possibly drove Chloe to leave the house.

"Hello?" Violet answered brightly. Her voice gave me hope. Violet was the sister to me that I never had. When my parents got killed, I knew I was left with nothing. She moved into town, and made me feel like something. Her family let me in and treated me better than my own family had treated me. Her brother, Nick? He was my brother, too. The Noirs were always there.

"Hey, it's me." I huffed tensely, resting my hand on the cool granite countertop.

"Jay! How have you been?" She giggled through the phone. "Violet, do you want any brownies?" I heard her mother scream in the background, but no Chloe. "Sure, mom! I'm on the phone with Jay, right now. I'll be down in a minute!" She called back to her mom. "Tell him I said hi. I miss that kid!" Her mother stated in the background. I smiled to myself, thinking of the fond memories I had with that family.