Ethan
"It's all going straight to voicemail."
"Keep trying!" I cry, running my hands through my hair and trying to keep it together. I watch Grayson put the phone up to his ear again, but it only takes a few seconds before he pulls it away, shaking his head.
"Fuck!" I scream, and I think my voice is so loud that it shakes the house. Luckily, the kids were at school today, so they had that to focus on. I couldn't bring myself to go into work. It's been over 48 hours since Jess has been missing, and I filed a report only about an hour ago. I was actually shaking while doing that, and I'm not sure I've ever been that nervous.
"What do we do now?" I ask quietly, because I'm afraid that if I talk any louder, I'll burst out into tears. I slump onto the living room couch, and my brother comes to sit next to me.
"Wait for the police to do their job-"
"You expect me to wait for the damn police to find my wife?! How dare you!" I jump up from the couch and yell. Angry, hot tears start streaming down my face, and I'm sure I'm red at this point. I feel like a little kid who keeps asking and asking for something, but his mother repeatedly tells him no, and there's not a thing he can do about it.
Gray gets up, putting his arms around me and patting my back. I cry on his shoulder for a few moments, holding onto him.
"We'll find her, everything will be alright, don't worry. If it makes you feel better, I can stay here with you and the kids as long as you want." Actually, that made me feel a helluva lot better, and I pulled away from my brother, wiping my tears away. My cheeks were still on fire, and I peeked behind me at the clock on the oven.
"That would be awesome, Gray. Thank you."
"Of course. Let me run home and get clothes and stuff, then I'll be back here."
"Okay. I gotta go get the kids from school, anyway. I gave the police your number, too, if they find anything out and can't reach me, but I doubt that'll happen." He puts his hand on my shoulder as he passes by, and we look each other in the eyes. It makes me want to cry again.
"I've got your back. Always, man, you know that." I nod and watch him leave my house. I take in a few deep breaths, exhaling deeply. Finally, I will myself to leave the house and climb into my car that's been sitting in the garage. When I'm sitting behind the wheel, I look next to me, really realizing that Jess' car hasn't been in its normal spot for almost three days now. I wonder where it is. That makes my chest ache uncomfortably.
"Hey, guys." All three of the kids climb into the back seat, and I've twisted in my seat to see them and make sure everything's okay.
"Hi, Dad." The boys reply in unison, and I watch them buckle their seatbelts, and Katherine needs help with hers. She doesn't say anything to me, but I don't push it. I turn back around, looking in the rear view, and begin to pull out of the elementary school parking lot.
"I've got a surprise. Uncle Gray is gonna stay over for awhile." I try to sound as excited as I can, and I watch all of their faces light up. Well, at least they aren't depressed.
"I love Uncle Gray, Daddy." Katherine coos from the back seat. I have to keep myself from laughing, because my daughter has been talking about how handsome her uncle is. Jess assured me that all little girls go through that sort of phase where they think their father, or a male relative, is 'attractive' in a sense.
"I know, pumpkin." I smile.
"Uncle Gray!" Katherine yells as soon as she jumps out of the car, running up to him. Grayson turns from the tool bench in the garage, seeing his niece running nearly full speed toward him. He crouches down, opening his arms for her to jump into. I'm glad she's got him.
"Why don't you boys go get started on your homework. I'll be inside in a second." Ryan and Teagan happily oblige, walking into the house together. I walk over to Gray and Katherine, and she's whispering something in his ear, and I can tell that he's faking how interested in the story.
"You can stay in the guest room. Do you have all your stuff there already?" I say, putting my hands on my hips, and my brother is holding my daughter on his own hip, his arm wrapped securely around her.
"Actually, it's all in the living room right now. I'll move it, don't worry. Did you have a plan for dinner, to feed the kids?" I shake my head.
"I'll see what I can do." He winks. Thank God for Grayson.
