Adopted By Michael Clifford {Book 1}

23- Missing

Michael's POV

I ran out of the restaurant and called Maya's phone. I heard it ringing and followed the sound. Her phone was hidden in the bushes behind the building.

"Damn it!" I yelled. 

Footsteps followed behind me.

"What's going on? Where's Maya?" Luke asked.

"I-I don't know. We need to find her. We need to get to the police station. Right now," I said and went to the car.

"Calum, call Nick. Tell him what happened and to meet us there."

Calum's POV

I called Nick and he picked up at the last ring.

"Hey, Calum. What's up?"

"Maya's missing. We need you to meet us at the police station," I said quickly.

"What?" 

"Maya went to the bathroom at the restaurant and when my sister went to check on her, she was gone. Her phone was behind the restaurant."

"I'll be there in five minutes," he said and hung up.

Michael's POV

Before we were even completely parked at the police station, I ran out of the car and went inside. People looked at me like I was insane.

"My daughter's missing! She's gone!" I yelled.

"Sir, we need you to calm down-"

"No. I need to find my daughter. Please help me," I said, nearly on the verge of tears.

"Sir, relax. Explain to us what happened and we'll try to find your daughter," an officer said.

I sat down and explained everything.

Nick's POV

I grabbed my jacket and ran to the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" My dad asked.

"To the police station. Maya's missing," I said.

"You're not going anywhere. You need to study," my mom said.

"I studied earlier," I told her, slipping on my black Vans.

"Do it again. How are you going to get anywhere in life if you don't study?" Dad said.

Anger flared through me and I whirled around to look at them.

"For once in your life could you act like you're my parents?" I yelled.

"Excuse me," my mom said, crossing her arms.

"You don't care about me. All you care about is having a perfect family, and I'm messing it up. I get in the way. You always liked Lindsay and Josh more. Don't even deny it. I see the way you treat them. They get everything, and what do I get? Nothing. Maya is more important to me than either of you," I yelled and ran.

I heard them calling my name, but I kept running until I reached the station. Luke and Ashton were pacing the room when I got there.

"Nick!" I heard Calum yell.

I turn to my left and see him. I ran and squeezed him. He wrapped his arms around me like Josh used to when I was younger.

"It's my fault. She's gone and it's all my fault," I said.

"No, it's not. It's no one's fault," he said.

"Yes, it is. She told me she thought something bad was going to happen. I promised her that everything would be okay, that I would protect her. But I didn't and now she's gone."

"We're going to find her Nick. I know we will."

Maya's POV

I woke up in a dark room the size of a small cellar. There was a single light in the middle that gave off a dull glow. I was sitting on an old mattress in the corner. I couldn't remember how I got there.

I wiped my face with my arm and saw black stuff on my skin. I remembered everything that had happened.

"Hello," I called out.

A screen appeared in front of me on the wall. There was a man in a black mask.

"Hello, Maya. Good to see you," he said.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" I asked.

"You sound just like your mother. You look like her more and more every day," he said, smirking.

"H-how," I stuttered. "How do you know my mother?"

"Why, I'm the one who killed her. And if I don't get what I want, the same thing will happen to you," he said.

How was this possible? I thought he was in prison. He was sentenced to life.

Was I going to be his next victim?

Luke's POV

The police said they would start investigating as soon as possible. They said usually we have to wait twenty-four hours, but they said they'll start working first thing tomorrow. They did a quick search at the restaurant and asked a few questions before letting us go home.

"Can I stay at your house tonight? I kinda blew up on my parents," Nick said.

"Of course. We should stay close together," I said and everyone agreed.

We all camped out in Maya's room that night. No one slept on her bed, though. I guess we all wanted to imagine that she was there with us.

*~*

I decided to make breakfast the next morning to try and cheer everyone up.

One by one, they all came downstairs. No one said anything. There was nothing to be said.

Michael was the last one to come down. He trudged down the stairs at three in the afternoon.

"Anything from the station?" I asked.

He shook his head and heated a slice of pizza. We all sat in the living room and stared at the blank TV screen, not making an effort to turn it on.

I guess this was how it was going to be for a while.

Michael's POV

I got a call from the station later that night. They said Maya's food was drugged and that she probably threw up the black stuff that was in the sink.

They had a lead on whoever took my daughter. It was a man who was infamous for murdering and kidnapping people.

He was the man who killed Maya's parents, and now he had my little girl.