Every night, when I closed my eyes, his image would be branded to the backs of my eyelids. That same smile, so gorgeous yet so deadly. Those deep blue eyes, like the treacherous oceans you find, the ones which sometimes have those desolate lighthous...
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Corina, Xander, Simon and Grace walked in sync, in determination, back to the woods.
"I'm sure she's here somewhere," Xander said with intense amounts of hope in each sound wave of his silky voice.
"When we're with the police, and the community, we'll find her," Corina said with conviction. "We won't miss a single spot."
The four turned in a slow circle, looking around at the beautiful trees adorned with dewy leaves rustling in the summer breeze. The fresh smell of soil and air travelled over to them and they breathed it in deeply, wondering how such a peaceful place was being used with the intention to kill their best friend, staining these very trees with her blood.
Simon curled his fingers into fists. Was this even the right place? Was Karissa — Lorelei, he had to remember her real name — even here? Or was she in another country, maybe even another continent? They were going on a hunch of Xander's; and it was possible that Xander had heard her voice because he wanted to. That was the kind of thing that usually happened in these situations, right?
Simon kept his mouth shut, instead nodding supportively whenever Xander said anything about Lorelei. Xander was just filled with ... so much hope that Simon found it physically impossible to say anything that let him down. His best friend had been so dejected lately; this search party conjured up a spark in his eye, a spark of such determination that it was almost contagious, and Simon would be the last one to put it out.
He knew how Xander felt towards Lorelei. He saw, every time, the way he looked at her, and it almost broke his own heart to see how shattered Xander was when Lorelei was taken. Xander had admitted that that evening with her was amazing; he told Simon that he'd never felt that way towards anyone. Simon had found it rather adorable, to say the least — but when he voiced his thoughts, Xander glared and grumbled, pushing Simon playfully, but his eyes were soft. Sad. And Simon's happiness was sucked out of him in that moment, seeing how torn Xander was.
"What if she's not here, though?" Grace said worriedly. "I mean, these woods are three hours away from where Lorelei lives. That's pretty close, if you think about it."
Simon nodded at Grace, only half listening. He was more focussed on the few flecks of aqua in her baby blue eyes, how her blonde curls fluttered in the breeze, how her soft mouth moved when she spoke, her softer voice sliding over him and wrapping his heart in a blanket —
"Yeah, but he'd have had to have the house built before. Think about it, there are loads of woods all over the country, he'd have little bungalows in lots of them. This one was probably the most convenient, though it's pretty close. Also, who'd think that he'd keep her so close to home? Most people would think he'd take her far away, so maybe this place is less suspicious overall," Corina rattled off reasons, shrugging, snapping Simon out of his thoughts. Simon almost blushed, and looked away before anyone noticed how long he was staring at Grace —
Xander nudged Simon. Simon almost slumped in defeat, and when he turned to face the knowing, signature smirk of Xander Revell, he glared. "Shut up," he mouthed, only making Xander's wicked grin widen.
Grace, oblivious, continued, "Yeah, true. Convenient for us too. I'm just really surprised that so many people are helping us!"
"Yeah, how many was it? About seventy, right?" Simon replied, furiously trying to ignore Xander's burning gaze and smirk from making him flustered.
"Yeah, seventy to eighty," Grace agreed.
"You know what's funny?" Corina said in a dry voice, giving Simon the impression that it wasn't very funny, but more sarcastic. He grinned.
"What's funny?" he prompted.
Corina kissed her teeth, narrowing her eyes in a dramatic pause. "Well," she began, and using air quotations, she continued, "How the police told us to 'keep this under wraps' so that the media 'don't catch the story' and the 'local residents don't get scared.' I mean, how pathetic? Yeah, let's not tell everyone that a sixteen-year-old girl has been kidnapped for the third goddamn time by a murderer, one that could literally live on the same street as them, and could possibly knock on their very door if she escapes and manages to come back home."
Corina's jaw was set in an increasingly angry tone and Simon saw Xander observing her.
"I know we spread it, against their word, but they didn't even care when it got out. It was just inconvenient, they didn't actually care about the 'local residents' getting scared because a murderer was on the loose. Pathetic, honestly. I bet their searches are half-hearted as well. It's like they've accepted that Karissa — I mean, Lorelei — won't get another chance at life!"
Corina let out a rage-filled noise, her eyes deadly.
"If they don't get Lorelei out alive, I don't care. We'll fucking find her ourselves, kill the killer himself and then we'll sue these idiotic bastards for not doing their job."
Simon got the gist that she was very frustrated and was showing it on the police, whom he was hoping were actually trying their very best to find Lorelei, but he kept his thoughts to himself, deciding not to fan the flames. He doubted very much that the police weren't trying — even if she was right, and they'd given up, they'd still have to put effort in now that the community knew. Everyone was depending on the police, and it wouldn't do wonders for their reputation if they didn't find Lorelei safe and sound.
"I'm good with that plan," Xander said quietly. Simon's chocolate eyes immediately snapped to Xander's, and he was saddened to see the hopelessness in Xander's usually electric green eyes again.
Simon reached out and put a hand on Xander's shoulder, and Xander's eyes met his. Simon gave Xander a reassuring look, filled with hope and energy that he, himself, struggled to feel.
"We'll find her," Simon told them in a strong voice, but maintained eye contact with Xander. After a moment, he nodded once. Simon smiled and took his hand off of Xander's shoulder; the spark of determination was back again. Simon promised himself that he would keep that spark in Xander's eyes, whatever it cost him — he wouldn't let his friend fall into an unending pit of self-blame and depression.
A/N
The promised double update! Lorelei is so damn lucky to have these friends in her life... but will it turn out for the better?
Or for the worse?
Will she come out alive or will she tangle everyone in a mess she was trying so hard to get out of?
VOTE and COMMENT if you wanna know ; ) To my readers who've made it this far: IM GLAD YOU LIKE MY BOOK! Please keep reading!
