One Last Time

14

Eddie

Eddie stumbled up the stairs, hollering as loudly as he could. His lungs burned as he cupped his hands around his mouth. His voice boomed throughout the lodge hallways.

    "Evelyn!"

    His heart was racing, it was as if his own child was missing. He'd connected on such a deep level with Ryan, that he shared some of that worry.

    Eddie passed an old man who hobbled, using a cane.

    "Sir, have you seen a little girl? Just a toddler, blonde, braided hair. She goes by the name, Evelyn," Eddie asked, desperately.

    The old man shook his glum face. "Haven't seen her."

    Eddie felt a drop in his stomach, his knees began knocking, The old man passed by him, Eddie slower than him, trying to regain his balance.

    No. You're not having a panic attack right now.

    He gulped a lungful of air, resting against the wall. He closed his eyes, welcoming the darkness in contrast to the spinning light. It felt like returning to his bed after a long shift at work, it was indescribably comfortable.

    He felt a firm hand on his shoulder. A silent prayer was sent to someone up above that it would be Buck behind him. Quickly, he lifted his head and opened his eyes, halfway to be greeted by a blurry Bobby.

    "Ed?" Bobby spoke softly, yet it all sounded incoherent."You okay?"

    "Mhm," Eddie grunted. "I can't find her."

    "Let's check the third floor," Bobby suggested. "Maybe she explored her way up there."

    Eddie wobbled onto his feet, watching the spinning floor. He probably appeared drunk, how he cautiously placed one foot in front of the other. "Easy," Bobby asserted.

    Bobby remained close to Eddie's side as they walked through the third-floor hallway. Eddie wondered why the panic attacks were transpiring so consistently. Was it the stress of everyone here? The close resemblance of his past? This relationship with Buck?

    "Evelyn!" Bobby called. "Evelyn your dad is worried about you!"

    "It's me, Eddie. We need to know you're safe!" Eddie hollered.  "Evelyn!"

    Bobby turned to Eddie, "Do you think she's just shaken up about her mom?" Bobby spoke in a hushed voice. "And that's why she ran away?"

    "I don't know if she could really process it all. I have no idea what she saw. Kids are smarter than you think, they pick up things you wouldn't imagine," Eddie reminded, keeping his voice down. "Even if Ryan was acting different, she'd know."

    "Right," Bobby agreed.

    "EVELYN–"

    "Wait, do you hear something?" Bobby whispered, touching Eddie's arm. They both halted in their tracks, listening intently. "I swear, I just heard–"

    "Wahhhh," distant crying sounded in the hallways.

Eddie's heart raced as he held his breath. Bobby pressed a finger to his lips, stepping cautiously towards the noise. He signalled his hand, indicating Eddie to follow as they crept down the hallway. The fitful noise appeared to be coming from one of the hotel rooms. The absence of light, drastically changed the mood of the situation, allowing the tiny hairs on Eddie's neck to stand up straighter than a lamppost.

"Evelyn?" Bobby called. "Are you up here?"

The crying paused momentarily, leaving the tension torturing them for, what felt like hours. Eddie felt a drop of liquid on his hand. He glanced down for a moment, at the palm of his hand. Alarmingly, his palm leaked fresh blood. His fingernails were digging deeper into his skin. He took a deep breath and released his clenching fist as he exhaled.