C O M P L E T E - first draft.
7x featured story.
Undiscovered Gem, Romance Ambassadors, January 2025.
Ambys 2024 Favourite - Mystery & Thriller
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I don't register what comes first--Mum's screams and curses, or the searing pain that perforates...
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September 25th
C A R M E N
It takes everything in me to not lose it on the drive home. I would be a wailing mess if it weren't for the danger that having a breakdown behind the wheel posed to myself and others.
I feel dumb. Like a complete and utter moron. I trusted someone—confided in them and showed them my vulnerability, only to discover that they were taking advantage of me. I believed Zachary differed from those used me for their own benefit, but I was wrong.
He's just like the rest of them.
As I pull into the garage and bring my car to a halt, I feel a mix of anger and emptiness. I'm left with a throbbing head and white knuckles from gripping the steering wheel with force.
I go through the motions on autopilot, from unbuckling my seatbelt and locking my car door, to entering the house. The plan of action is to hole myself in my bedroom with the curtains drawn to process everything I've just been told.
Walking in to the sight of two police officers looming in the lounge like dark clouds is not part of this plan.
Their faces are serious as they stand in the centre of the front room, holding their peaked hats at their fonts. "Miss Ellis," one of them says, acknowledging my presence. "You might wish to take a seat. It's about your brother," the officer adds, pointing towards the sofa where Mum and Dad sit on opposite sides.
I can't tell how my parents feel until I get closer and see Mum's expression. The seriousness of the situation is clear from the shattered look she wears, and my mind races with thoughts.
Did they find Cory?
Have they apprehended him?
"What happened?" I ask Mum nervously, my palms getting clammy.
Mum's lower lip shakes, which is out of character for her when it comes to my brother. Only getting chucked from the campaign seemed to wobble her this much. "I... Carmen, I don't... I don't know how to say this... but..." she starts saying, but her voice disappears.
"Mum... w-what's going on?" I repeat my question with a tremble, but there's no answer from her—just a blank, broken stare and a muttered apology.
Beside me, Dad murmurs, "they have found your brother."
Despite feeling my stomach sink, I resist the urge to look at him. After everything that's happened in the past few weeks, it's hard to see him as the same man I looked up to as a child. "Did... did they arrest him?" I ask.
Dad lets out a trembling sigh whilst Mum releases a choked sob. With a lump in my throat, I finally muster up the courage to look at my father for the first time in over a week.
