UNEXPECTED ✰ COLIFER

Chapter 37 ✰ Broken

Jen's pov

After riding the horses for a few hours, John and I arrived back at the ranch. I exchanged phone numbers with him so we would be able to contact each other just in case it was needed. I felt my heart beating in my throat as I walked into the hotel. Once in the elevator, the nervous feeling became even more intense. What if he was just in the hotel room? What if this was all a preconceived plan and he just wanted to surprise me? I felt hope. Too much hope. I unlocked the door with the pass and swung it open but to my disappointment, the room was completely empty. I sighed deeply and carried our bags inside, after which I stretched out on the bed. I hoped to hear the sound of water running from the shower, I hoped to hear his beautiful voice while he was humming a song once again, but it remained silent. Nothing but a deadly silence. The only audible sound was the ticking of the clock, but that only made me even more nervous and annoyed than I already was.

I stretched out and stared at the ceiling. My thoughts wandered off to last night. To the amazing sex we had in the lake and his warm touch that had set my skin on fire. I got goosebumps over my body at the thought of that evening. It was so perfect, as perfect as during our first few times together. Meanwhile, we were a lot of years further, but still, he was the one who made me feel that love is real. That love can be true and pure.

I woke up from my thoughts by a hard punch on the door. I hurried to the door and had to hide the disappointment when I saw John standing in the doorway. I bit my lip and looked at him hopefully, but his face already betrayed him.

'We didn't find him, Jennifer. No traces, nothing. We have no idea. I think it's wise to inform the police and you should call someone. I know that you're from the United States, but do you have someone that you can call right now?'

It took me a lot of effort to swallow my sob. 'His parents' I murmured.

He rested his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it gently to comfort me. 'Do you want me to call them?'

After Colin's mother caught me in the hotel room with Jack last time, it didn't feel right to let John tell her this news. I shook my head. 'I'll call them myself, thanks'

He nodded and was about to turn around again. 'If there is anything I can do for you...' he started.

I smiled. 'Well, if you could find my husband...'

He grinned, but his eyes showed his feeling of guilt. 'Then I'll send him back to his wonderful wife' he called over his shoulder as he continued his way back to the elevator.

I closed the door and went looking for my phone. I scrolled through my contacts and stopped at his mother's number. My fingers trembled and I wasn't sure if it was fear or if I was just nervous about telling Colin's mother the news that her son had disappeared again. After a few minutes of doubt, I tapped the call button. The phone rang a few times before I heard her enthusiastic voice.

'Hey Jen! Are you guys enjoying the trip?'

I couldn't hold back my tears any longer and started sobbing softly, but loud enough for her to hear it. 'What's wrong? Is everything okay?'

'C... Colin is...' I stammered. I searched for the right words but couldn't find them.

She sighed loudly. 'Not again.'

I nodded but didn't realize she couldn't see it. 'Jen, we are coming to you right now. Are you at the hotel?'

Her voice went past me like a vague noise in the distance.

'Jen?'

'Yes... Yes, I'm still at the hotel.'

'Con and I are on our way.'

'And the children?'

'Do you want me to take them with us?' she asked doubtfully.

No matter how much I wanted to see them, I had to think about what was right for them. 'Maybe that's not such a good idea' I said eventually.

'I'll bring them to Allen and then we're coming to the hotel as quickly as possible. Take care of yourself' she said before she ended the phone call.

I threw my phone on the bed and rested my back against the wall as I lowered myself to the floor. Time slowly passed and it seemed like hours before Colin's parents knocked on my hotel door. I had expected an awkward silence, but his mother immediately wrapped her arms around me when she saw me.

'What happened?' she asked worriedly.

I shrugged as I started sobbing again. 'He is gone. I don't... I just...'

She pressed a soft kiss to my temple as she gently rocked me back and forth like a child. At any other time I would have found it very uncomfortable but right now it seemed like the only way to calm me down. She grabbed my hands and examined the scratch marks on my hands. 'What happened?' she repeated.

'I woke up this morning and he was gone. We looked everywhere.' I paused for a minute to catch my breath again. 'I'm afraid that it is all starting over again...' I said, barely audible.

She nodded understandingly and held me tighter. I noticed that she was struggling with her own emotions too. 'We should wait for the police. In the meantime, we should go back to the kids. They've missed you.' 

I wasn't looking forward to telling the kids what had happened, but I knew she was right. I couldn't wait to see them and close them in my arms again.

The days that followed were like hell for all of us. Every morning when I woke up without him caused my hope to fade further away. Ivy didn't understand why her dad didn't come back and Mason was way too young to be able to understand a word. Colin's parents helped me as much and as well as they could, but it was hard. Hard because the love of my life was snatched away from us for the second time. Hard because the fear, the sadness, and the uncertainty crept up in me. After a few weeks of uncertainty and sadness, it was time for the three of us to return to the United States. I left behind his native country, his home, and his family with a broken heart. The worst of all was that it felt like I was leaving him behind.

'Is mommy sad?' Ivy asked as we walked towards our gate at the airport. Her lip trembled and she squeezed my hand a little tighter.

I stopped the baby pram and knelt beside her. I gently wiped some tears from her face and pressed a kiss to her forehead. 'It's going to be all right, sweetheart. I promise.'