Heart Me

27

Stone stepped out of the warm shower, a cloud of steam billowing behind him as he wrapped a towel around his waist.

"Iris?" He called out as he dried himself off, hoping she had finished talking to her parents but there was no response.

When he finished, he went to the bedroom to find it empty, devoid of any signs of her presence. Stone walked over to the window and parted the curtains slightly, peering out into the garden below. The lights near the pool were still on and the moonlight cast a glow over the darker parts of the garden, but there was no sign of her. The silence outside was unsettling. Without wasting another moment, Stone quickly pulled on a shirt and a pair of boxers before dashing downstairs. As he reached the bottom of the staircase, he could see the front door slightly ajar.

"Iris?" He called again, but the silence was deafening. "Iris?" He peaked at the living room.

Stone came back to the door and as he stepped outside, the familiar sight of Iris was nowhere to be seen. The porch stood empty, devoid of her usual presence. He strained his ears, but there was no trace of her voice conversing with her parents. A sense of unease crept over him, a feeling that something was amiss. Frowning, Stone scanned the garden, but Iris was not there either. His heart quickened as he turned around, and his foot brushed against something on the ground.

"What?" Stooping down, he picked up Iris's cell phone. "Babe..." He whispered.

Panic began to swirl in his chest like a storm brewing on the horizon. Something was definitely wrong. Stone spun scanning the darkness for any signs of her, but everything was incredibly quiet. His heart was beating strongly against his rib cage and his palms sweating.

"IRIS!" He then yelled and he started running around the garden feeling the humid grass under his feet as he raked every single space of the garden. "Iris!"

He stopped. Rested his hands on his knees knowing perfectly well he was alone. She was nowhere and it wasn't like her to leave without saying anything. Let alone leaving her cell phone randomly on the ground. Stone heaved, tired of running around but in panic too. His head was spinning. The ground was being pulled from under his feet violently. He straightened up and tried to formulate a coherent thought. He knew she did not leave, not on her own free will. They were great. They were at a wonderful moment of their relationship. They had regained trust and strength. They loved each other and he did not doubt that anymore as he did months ago. His heart was telling him she didn't leave. Stone then tried to steady his heavy breathing to try and listen to any subtle sound around him, but then he shook his head. If a vampire was around he would never be able to hear it unless it was the vampire's intention. He unlocked Iris's cell and searched for Chris's number. While the phone rung on the other side of the ocean, Stone still looked around.

"Iris?" He heard Chris picking up the call and tensed.

"It's me..." He simply said. On the other side, dead silence. "Chris?" Stone called as he curled an eyebrow, but he knew Chris was sensing now something was not right.

"Where is she?" He asked. Chris started pacing around.

"I don't know..." Stone gasped and that's when he realized how fearful he was. His hands started shaking and so did his lips. His eyes filled with tears. It was as if everything was finally downing on him. "She was going to call her parents and told me she'd meet me, but she never did, and I came down here. Her cell was on the ground..."

"But I didn't feel anything..." Chris was confused. He used to feel Iris. He was never able to read her mind, but he could sense things around her, and he felt nothing, not even a strange sensation.

"Think, Chris..." Stone begged him, pulling away his glasses and cleaning his eyes with the back of his hand.

"It might not be related to my kind." He suggested.