Baking With Boys |✔

41. Blancmange

"Kate..." I trailed off, biting the inside of my cheek to control my anger. Brandon placed a hand on my shoulder, his eyes fixed on the paused video on the computer screen.

"I knew she had something to do with this." He shook his head, exhaling a sharp breath.

"Do you think she took it?" the security guard asked, confused and squinting at the small figure.

I coughed, remembering our mission, and suppressing the boiling fury for now. "Yes, and we must find her soon!" As if in an urgency, I stood up, scraping the chair back on the floor. The sound echoed in the room, making me cringe at its sharpness. The security guard opened his mouth, but I didn't wait for him to speak.

Bella stood still as a statue, and clasping her hand, I shouted, "Thank you, sir!"

We couldn't stay here any longer. There was urgency in my steps as I pulled Bella out of the room. Brandon thanked the security guard twice and then ran out after us. It was selfish of us to use him this way, but right now, another problem was looming over our heads.

I gulped as sweat formed on my forehead. There was a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach. No thought or assumption could keep it at bay. When Sarah had mentioned Kate, I knew there was more to it than that. I didn't want to believe it then. But the broken pieces were now complete. They made perfect sense, aligned together to give only one answer.

We rounded the corner, a good distance away from the security room when Bella stopped. She pulled her hand out of mine, and I halted, turning back. I couldn't read her expression, or maybe she hid it too well. After a stare-down in which neither of us gave in, she sighed. "Tyler, what does Kate have to do with this?"

Her words were blunt and accusatory. She had the right to be. Giulia was her girlfriend, but the possibility that we knew why she was missing was higher. Brandon and I--tuned to the same frequency--avoided her stare and reached on a silent agreement.

We'll wait till we have proof.

"I have an idea," I said, "but I want to confirm it first."

Bella was suspicious. Eyes spoke louder than words, and the frantic way with which she searched around, it was no brainer that wasting her time with us wasn't in her best interests. But the way we both hushed and wrapped the situation under folds kept her curious and with us.

She didn't agree on the spot. And I couldn't be more guilt stricken. The impatience to find out the truth ate me from inside. It crossed my mind that there was no reason for her to trust us on this, yet the words left my mouth.

"Trust us." I pleaded.

Bella relented with a nod.

With a brief smile and a deep breath, the three of us stalked towards my room. Time was ticking, and with no news of Giulia or Kate, I feared that things would only worsen. I was someone who played by the rules. So, taking the matter into my own hands... it was a foreign yet a reassuring feeling. I knew I wouldn't back down without giving my one hundred percent effort. It was better than half-hearted attempts by strangers.

For now, self-dependence was the way.

As the room got closer, another fear bloomed in my chest. They were never ending; budding from the smallest of matters and taking root into our lives like plague. This time it was that Bella would feel abandoned and betrayed when she'll find about what we had done. Maybe it was a useless worry. But I was the type to think and over think an issue and work it to death.

A momentary relief came when Brandon produced the key card from his back pocket and opened the door. I took a deep breath, glancing at Bella and then back at the opening door. "Let's search," I said, as we took a step in.