Complete Harmony (Sequel to The Missing Lyric- Nemi)

Chapter 12

Demi

I was sobbing into Nick's chest, his arms around me, but I didn't feel safe, like I would normally. I felt scared, like my world was going to shatter around me. When I lifted my head to look at Nick's face, I saw he was crying, too. We both were scared to death that the body that was found was going to be Lyric.

Agent Malone stepped to the counter & motioned to our stove. "Your dinner is burning."

Nick let go of me, quickly & turned the stove off. "It's okay, since I'm not really that hungry anymore." He sighed, leaning his hands on the counter beside the stove.

"Listen. Sadly, there are a lot of missing people in the world, more specifically, the west coast, so don't lose hope yet. This might not be your daughter." Malone said, stepping into the kitchen.

I nodded my head, wiping the tears from my cheeks. I took a deep breath as Nick turned around. "You do need to eat something." He said as he went to the fridge & opened the door. We had a lot of food in there that was already made up, courtesy of our mothers. Nick pulled out a casserole dish & started putting some of, whatever was in the dish, onto a plate. I could tell he was upset, but trying to keep his shit together. He wanted to scream. He wanted to hit something. He wanted to bawl his eyes out. I knew this because I wanted the same things.

Nick & I tried to eat & we didn't say anything as we sat at the table together. Every time Malone's phone chirped or rang, we held our breath as we waited to hear who was on the other end of the line. No word from the M.E.'s office came that night & eventually, we headed up to our sanctuary, our bedroom. The next morning, I woke up & saw I was alone in bed. When I looked around, I saw Nick standing, staring at a photograph on the wall. The photo was one I took of him & Lyric on the day her adoption was final. She was hugging him & their cheeks were pressed together, while they both had huge grins on their faces. It was one of my favorite pictures of them because you could see the resemblance between them, especially in their smiles. They had the same shaped eyes, too, which was also evident in that photograph. I watched Nick's face, closely, as he stared at the framed memory & my heart broke seeing his expression be so lifeless. I slipped out of bed & walked to him, sliding my arms around his waist. "Mornin' Beautiful." He said as he kissed my head. 

"I love that picture." I commented, my voice cracking.

Nick cleared his throat. "Me, too." He said, his voice gruff, then he took in a deep breath. "I don't know what I'll do if she doesn't come back to us. I feel like I could go insane."

"I know. I feel the same way."

Nick looked down at me. "I'm going to go down & start the coffee, while you get dressed." He leaned his head toward me so he could kiss my lips softly, then he headed toward the door. With his hand on the doorknob, he turned back to look at me. "I love you. I realized last night as I was falling asleep that I hadn't said that to you in awhile."

My mouth turned up, slightly. "I love you, too."

Nick managed a tiny smile, then headed out of the room. I got dressed after I showered, then headed downstairs. When I got down there, the coffee was ready & Nick was pouring me a cup as I walked into the kitchen. "I heard you coming down the stairs." He mentioned as I took the cup from him & gave him a grateful smile.

Nick & I sat at the counter & drank our coffee, in silence. After minutes of sitting there, saying nothing, Agent Malone came into the kitchen & she looked distraught. I sucked in my breath & Nick's eyes got wide. "The M.E. called & said the girl is between the age of 9 & 12, so in order to rule it out or determine if she is your daughter, she wants you to come down & see if you recognize her."