Twenty Five.

Chapter eighteen

Ellington called everyone he knew, everyone that he could think of to see if they had seen joey and Sophie. He called his friends, his family, the lynch's friends and family and anyone else he could think of but no one had seen either of them. Ellington began to panic, chewing on his nails and hyperventilating.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Ross exclaimed strolling down the stairs. He immediately noticed that something wasn't quite right and ran over to him. "Woah bro, are you alright? What happened?"

"Rydel, Sophie, Joey, Gone..." He gasped, pointing to the video camera. Ross picked it up and his eyes widened as the nightmare unfolded in front of his eyes. "Oh gosh." He muttered under breath. "We'll find them, don't worry."

Ellington sat on the floor like Ross had told him to, breathing deeply and trying to calm down. He listened to Ross as he instructed his brothers.

"Riker and Rocky, both of you split up and look all over town. Get some of your mates to help you if you can. Ryland and I are gonna clean the house up and Ellington..." He said kneeling down in front of him. "You have the hardest job all of all." He produced and presented him with his phone. "You have to call Rydel."

"W-w-what? No no no! I can't! No!" He protested nervously. "Ellington, you have to. You don't have a choice! Rydel needs to know and we need her help!"

Before Ellington had the chance to argue further, they had all attended to their assigned roles leaving Ellington on the floor with his phone. Taking a deep breath, he dialled Rydel's number, hesitantly.

It rang a few times, the tone echoing in the room. Rydel picked up and half heartedly mumbled "Hello."

"H-hi Rydel, it's um, me. Ellington." He stuttered, his palms sweating.

"Please hang up and don't call me ever again." Her tone had a seriousness to it that he hadn't heard before. His heart pounded in his chest at every word, each echoing hauntingly in his mind.

"I really need to talk to you. I know I've done wrong but it's about joey." He said equally trying to be serious but also trying not to cry.

"What about him?" Rydel asked, her voice softening. She adored joey and loved him with all of her heart.

"He's gone. Sophie took him last night and no one has seen him since. The boys are out looking for her, b-but we need you to help too. i-i know you're mad at me but please can you do this for jo-"

she cut him off abruptly. "Im at the starside hotel, just down the road. pick me up in five minutes." She told him before hanging up.

Shaking, he got up and pulled on a sweater and some jeans before calling Riker and Rocky to see if they had found him yet. They hadn't. "Don't worry Ell, we'll find him." Rocky assured him before hanging up.

Ellington drove down to the hotel, feeling fragile and scared. All he could think about was losing Rydel and his son.

Rydel was standing outside the building, wrapped in a huge coat and some ripped skinny jeans. Her knees were pink from the cold and her hair was hidden under a beanie. Her eyes were fixed to the ground but they trailed upwards as he pulled up. She didn't hesitate before climbing into the warmth of the car and unbuttoning her coat a bit.

Ellington didn't say anything but began driving instead. Rydel didn't say anything either, her eyes glued on the windows and skimming the surroundings for either Sophie or joey. Ellington did the same as he drive.

Several minutes later, the silence was broken by Rydel's question. "Do you know what either of them were wearing?"

The question was processed in Ellington's mind but unfortunately he wasn't sure. "Honestly," he eventually spoke up. "Sophie was wearing some of your clothes and joey was in his favourite pjs."

Rydel furrowed her eyebrows a bit. "In my clothes? Did you say she could borrow them?"

"No. Not at all. She took a lot of money from my wallet too." He replied casually. She kept her eyes on him for a few more seconds before turning back to the window.

After driving around for an hour with minimal or no conversation, Ellington parked in a car park. They had driven all around town and hadn't seen anything or anyone. After calling rocky and riker again just to be informed they hadn't found anything either, they didn't know what to do.

Silence once again descended over them. "Right." Rydel sighed, looking at him. "We'll both split up and look all over town. I will meet you back here in exactly thirty minutes. If you find him, call me with your location and I'll meet you." She leaned in to kiss his cheek and then remembered and awkwardly pulled back.

She climbed out of the car at the same time as he did. They both slipped their hands into their pockets and began their search.

Ellington walked down the west side of town, looking in shops, cafés, diners, stores and any other building that he passed. He was beginning to lose hope of ever finding his son. All around he saw families, some going on a Christmas day outing, others going to a diner for their dinners and some playing with their new toys. No matter what they were doing, they were all together. As a family. After looking for thirty minutes, Ellington went back to the car. Rydel wasnt there. Figuring she was on her way back, he perched on a nearby bench.

Memories came flooding back to Ellington, giving him a pain in the chest where his heart was. He thought about the day he found joey on his doorstep. He thought about all the sleepless nights he had experienced feeding joey late at night and the bond that together they had created. He thought about the first day Rydel had come back into his life. The second she turned around outside his apartment door and the smile plastered on her face that warmed his heart. He thought about the fact that he might never see his son again and the fact that because he was kissing his ex he had lost the real love of his life. suddenly, he couldn't hold it in anymore. tears poured down his cheeks and he put his head in his hands, sobbing like a baby.

"Ellington? Oh Ellington!" Rydel gasped, seeing him in the state that he was in and running over to him. She wrapped his arms around him tightly and he sobbed into her shoulder. She rubbed his back in circles and kissed his shoulder gently.

"I'm.. never.. going.. to.. see.. him.. again.. am.. i..?" Ellington hiccuped, trying to stop crying.

Rydel pulled back and wiped his tears with her fingers. She looked into his eyes and smiled reassuringly. "We will find him. I promise you. We will find him."

He nodded a bit, wiping his nose on his sleeve. "Come on, I'll drive you home." She told him, getting up and pulling him to his feet in the process. He was shaking slightly as he made his way to the passenger seat and sat down with Rydel's assistance.

Ellington stared gloomily out of the window into the darkness, losing all hope and joy. Even though there were twinkling Christmas lights and decorations all around, even though he could see families sat in their houses eating dinner together and opening Christmas presents all he felt was cold and empty.

Rydel turned the engine off and looked at Ellington who hadn't moved or spoke the whole journey. She nudged him gently and he looked at her. "Thank you for driving. You know if you want, you can come inside for a drink or something..." He said quietly.

Rydel just shook her head. "You know it's not right." He looked down and nodded, opening the door and moving so his legs hung out the car.

"Wait, Ellington." She said, grabbing his arm gently. She had a tear in her eye as she spoke. "We'll find him. I promise." He just nodded again, climbing out.

"Merry Christmas Lynch!" He shouted to her, forcing a smile.

"Yeah, Merry Christmas Ratliff."

if you want me to update, you're gonna have to leave a lot of comments. sorry but I hope you're enjoying it.