Missing

Getting nowhere

It was evening now and Grace and Jacob had spent the last hour sat at one of the canteen tables in silence.

Grace held her hot chocolate in both hands and watched a young girl walk towards the hospital exit with a cast on her arm. Her mum was holding her other hand and comforting her, telling her how brave she had been, promising that they would buy a treat on the way home.
Tears sprung to Grace's eyes. She wondered what it must be like to have your mum to comfort you at times of being scared and in pain.
She didn't have her mum to comfort her like that girl, when she broke her wrist 3 years ago.

She sighed and looked down at the polystyrene cup in her hands, the contents untouched and now cold.
She had always imagined this moment, the moment she got to see her mum again for the first time. But she hadn't imagined it like this. She had fantasies of running into her mum's arms, her mum holding her tightly and telling her everything was going to be ok now. Her mum would come back home, they would be happy again, the three of them, just like it was before she went missing.
But the reality couldn't be more different.
Her mum hadn't uttered another word since she woke up this morning. Connie's vacant eyes just had a continuous stream of tears falling from them.
Jacob and Grace had remained by her side, helplessly watching her, it was so difficult to know there was nothing they could do to help.

Grace looked up, to Jacob sat opposite her, his coffee also cold now, sat on the table in front of him.
He was leant back in his chair, eyes focussed somewhere behind her.

"She's going to be ok isn't she?" Grace asked quietly.
Jacob looked at Grace and gave her a small smile. "Yeah... She just needs time."
Grace could hear the uncertainty in Jacob's voice, she could tell that he was just as worried as her.
Jacob sighed as he watched Grace blinking away her tears.
It was strange, how how now that Connie was actually awake, none of the pain of the last five years had been released, it had only been deepened.
He just wanted to hold her again, he wanted see that smile, he wanted the old Connie back.

Jacob checked the time. He and Grace had been asked to leave for a while, so the various doctors and psychologist and investigators could all ask her about what happened. They said they would come and let him know when they were finished, but he couldn't just sit here anymore.

The harsh sound of Jacob's chair scraping across the floor caused Grace to look up.
"Where are you going?" She asked him.
"I'm going to see Connie." He muttered.
"But they told us to wait here while they talk to her." Grace frowned.
Jacob grabbed his coffee from the table. "I need to check she's alright. She's just woken up in hospital after five years of being locked away. Five years alone, and right now she is surrounded by people she doesn't even know, all interrogating her. She must be so scared and confused. She needs me." Jacob said as he walked away.
Grace sighed. "I'll just wait here then." She muttered as she watched him slam the cup in the bin on his way.
She knew just as well as him that it must be a horrible experience for her mum. But she also knew that to help her mum get better, they had to let the doctors do their job. She shook her head and twisted her cup in circles on the table.

---
Connie stared at the group of people surrounding her bed. They all wanted to know what happened to her. They wanted her to go back to the start and tell them everything that happened.
She still hadn't said a word to them, now an hour later.
She didn't want to talk to these strangers. She didn't want to relive the pain of the last five years to them. Not right now.
She closed her eyes and pushed her head back into the pillow.
Why couldn't they just leave her alone?

"I WANT TO SEE HER." Jacob shouted in frustration.
Connie looked towards the door when she heard his voice from outside.
Jacob was being told to wait outside by one of the doctors, something that he wasn't happy about.
"Jacob." Connie said quietly.
"Jacob's waiting outside for you see. So you can talk to us, he's just there alright?" One of the doctors said gently. She hoped they would begin to get something out of her now, Connie had finally said something. Not much, but a word had finally left her mouth.
Connie ignored the doctor and kept her eyes on Jacob stood outside.
"I want to see Jacob now." Connie said bluntly.
"Ok. When you're ready to talk, you just let us know. We're here to help you Connie." The doctor smiled and followed the others out of the room.

They allowed Jacob to enter the room and sighed as they looked in from outside.
"We need her to open up about what happened. Maybe we could ask Jacob to try talking to her about it?" The investigator suggested.
The psychologist studied Connie, who was now back to her vacant state, just holding Jacob's hand. "Hmm. It might be worth a try. He's obviously the only one she trusts. She doesn't want to relive whatever she has experienced. But until she does, she's going to find it hard to let go."
The other doctor nodded. "We will talk to Jacob tomorrow. But for now, she needs to rest. We need to give her some time to adjust."

"Where's Grace?" Connie said in panic.
"She's in the canteen. She's fine, don't worry. I can go and get her for you now." Jacob said softly and gave her a reassuring smile.
Connie nodded.
Jacob rose from his seat and released her hand from his.
"I just want to go home now Jacob. Please." Connie pleaded.
Jacob hated how desperate she sounded, so vulnerable.
"As soon as you're well enough, we're going home. I promise."

When Jacob returned with Grace, Connie was sleeping.
Jacob smiled. She looked so peaceful.
They resumed their positions in the chairs by Connie's bed, how they would spend the rest of the evening.
"We're going to be home soon...all three of us again." Jacob whispered to Grace.
"Just like we used to be?" Grace asked.
Jacob nodded. "Just like we used to be."

They were going to have to be patient, but he was sure that one day, things would be fine again.