Uncertainty - Stanford Pines x Reader (female)

Chapter 42

I don't know how I had managed, but somehow, a week had passed since the devastating news. Today, as I sat in my dimly lit apartment, my phone rang, the familiar ringtone pulling me from my thoughts. It was Mabel. We had just recently reconnected.

"Hey, Mabel.", I answered, trying to keep my voice steady.
"Hey...", she replied, her voice sounding tired but warm.

There was a bit of silence, neither of us quite knowing how to start this conversation. Finally, I broke the silence. "How are you holding up?", I asked, though part of me dreaded the answer. I turned on the TV, the familiar news intro filling the silence of my apartment.

Mabel was quiet for a moment, a soft sigh coming through the line. "I don't know.", she admitted. "Mostly I'm just worried. I keep checking the news, and it's... well, it's not looking good."

I nodded, even though she couldn't see me. The search for Stan and Ford was still ongoing, but the chances of them being alive were slimmer each passing day. The Coast Guard had found no sign of them. The news was filled with footage of fishing nets, debris, and rescuers searching the water.

"I know.", I replied quietly, staring at the TV with a certain numbness, while my hands were clenching around my phone. "We all are."

There was another long moment of silence before Mabel spoke again. "Have you... have you heard anything from anyone?", she asked, her voice hesitant.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, the answer to that question weighing heavily on my chest. "No, nothing.", I admitted, my voice hushed.

"There's been no new information.", I told Mabel, my voice flat. "I've even been in contact with the dockmaster in Seattle where the boat was registered. He said they had searched all the bays, but they didn't find anything. No sign of them."

There was a pause on Mabel's end, and when she spoke again, there was a tremor in her voice. "It's like they just disappeared.", she whispered, the fear and disbelief we were all feeling clear in her tone.

I closed my eyes, my heart aching as Mabel voiced the thought that had been haunting me. "I wish they did.", I whispered, the words slipping out before I could stop them, "I wish they had just disappeared."

I heard Mabel gasp softly on the other end of the line, the truth and horror of what I'd said hanging in the silence.
"Y/N... don't say that." Her voice was thick with unshed tears.

I knew how cruel my comment sounded, but I couldn't help the small part of me that believed it was better than finding their bodies.
"I'm sorry.", I said, my voice cracking. "I know it's awful to think that but... I just..."

The words died on my lips as the news segment on the TV suddenly caught my attention. My heart almost stopped. 'New information' flashed across the screen.

"Wait, wait...", I mumbled into the phone, my eyes locked on the TV screen. The news anchor was speaking urgently, her expression grim. I strained to hear her words over the pounding in my ears.

"Good evening. We start tonight with an update on the shipwreck involving the 'Stanowar'. Despite extensive search efforts, the Coast Guard has still not recovered any bodies from the wreckage. Officials have confirmed that the ship's passengers, Stanford and Stanley Pines, are officially considered deceased."

The room seemed to spin around me. I heard Mabel gasp softly on the other end of the line, her voice faint, but the words didn't register. The news anchor was saying something else, but all I could focus on was the image on the screen. A grainy photograph - it was one of the last pictures of Stan and Ford together before they had left.

The news continued, discussing the difficulties in retrieving the bodies due to rough waters and adverse conditions. They showed footage of the wreck site, now a somber graveyard of metal and debris, and interviews with search and rescue workers who expressed their exhaustion and frustration.