Choices

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven: Expected Questions

"So when your hope's on fire, but you know your desire. Don't hold a glass over the flame. Don't let you heart grow cold." Mumford & Sons: Hopeless Wanderer.

-

 I did not find Alex that day, or the next.

 S.H.I.E.L.D. has not found him and neither has the police.

 Tony has been working whenever he can by calibrating all wireless cameras across the nation to where Jarvis will alert us if he gets a glimpse of Alex. By sweeping all accessible cameras we can search more ground and maybe narrow down Alex's location.

 It has been a tense week since Alex's disappearance. No one has been talkative this week. No one even seemed to ever be in the same room together for too long, fearing the awkward silence surrounding the taboo. Tony had only three or four meetings or appearances he had to make this week; he has mostly worked on hacking the security cameras and doing whatever he wanted to do. Tony stayed primarily in his office and workshop most hours of the days. My mom went off to work, but called every hour for any updates. She tried to keep a close tab on Jeanna to make sure she was okay. Jeanna stayed at the tower at all times, never even leaving the living quarters. My mom offered a few times different ventures to try to get her out, but each attempt failed. Jeanna has not exactly become depressed, but has become very reserved and stoic. You cannot blame her for staying in the building and being unusually quiet though.

 Jeanna went home two days ago. Carrie was quick offering to go back to Oakley to stay with her mom as soon as she heard the news. Carrie was heartbroken to learn that her little brother was kidnapped. She will stay with her mother until Alex is found. I would not expect Jeanna to stay by herself during a traumatic time as this, but she should not stay here in Los Angeles. She needs to be in her own home with her family's support.

 As for me, I have tried to do everything I can to help. Some people cope by trying to get their mind off of it or turning to other means, such as alcohol and drugs, to really forget about a situation. I found peace in the exact opposite: spending each day emerged in the issue. I have spent nearly every moment that I have by either flying out personally looking for Alex or trying to expand our area of search. My eyes feel like they are permanently swollen as each night that comes without Alex brings me more grief. I found myself being up at earlier hours of the morning, for sleep had become more difficult.

 That is one thing travelling on a jet across the country to Washington DC has allowed me to do: catch up on sleep. The press conference is later this morning. We took a very early flight out this morning; I woke up at three and the plane took off at four. My mom was planning on going for support before a very important business meeting was pushed up for the same day. In the end, it was just Tony and I boarding the jet. Colonel Rhodes is planning on meeting up at the air base in Washington DC when we land and escorting us to the press conference. We are staying in a hotel for the night before we fly up to New York for another day. Tony wants to check on how the renovation of the old Stark Tower into the Avengers Tower is coming along. It should be nearly finished by now. So in two nights I will be back in my own bed. However, until then, sleeping in the dark cabin in the airplane chair in the aisle across from Tony will suffice.

 "Monica, wake up, we're about to land," Tony nudges me awake. I blink a few times, having forgotten that I was on a jet. I yawn and stretch as the midmorning sunlight illuminates the cabin around me. "You have some time to freshen up and change if you still want."

 I nod before grabbing my backpack and heading towards the small bathroom. I change out of my sweatpants into a pair of black skinny jeans and a layered navy tunic. I slip on a pair of grey leather Oxford flats too and fasten a long, silver necklace to complete my outfit. My clothes feel a bit more girly than what I'm used to, yet this press interview is a big deal. I brush my hair as it managed to stay straight since I straightened it last night. I do my makeup before I hear the pilot announce for us to buckle into our seats as we are about to land. I take a seat across from my dad. "Is there anything I should know or not do for a press conference?" I ask.