Death's Middle Name {boyxboy}

Chapter Thirty-Two

~Saturday 6th January 2018~

"Vant?" Heiress' gentle voice crooned in Vant's ear, waking him from the restless half-slumber he had drifted into, "Vant, the police are here," Vant cracked open one eye, knowing there would be more urgency, more empathy if the police had found Alwynn.

"What do they want?" Vant grumbled into his pillow, sick of the fucking police and their pointless, time-wasting interviews.

"They said they want to go over your statement once more and then you'll be dropped as a suspect," Vant didn't respond, staring across his bedroom at the wall, "come on, Vant, one last time and then they'll leave you alone," Vant sighed, knowing his daughter was correct. One last time, then the police could focus on actual leads.

Heiress had actually been rather pleasant during the days Alwynn had been missing, spending the majority of her spare time with Vant, more often than his other children. A part of him had believed at first that it might have been an act of guilt, that she might have hurt Alwynn, but after a particularly cruel outburst from the man, she admitted she simply wanted to be there for him.

"Yeah, I'm coming," Vant murmured, sitting up and running a hand through his hair, wincing as his fingers caught on every knot and matted clump. Maybe showering and getting clean was next on the agenda, he couldn't wallow in self-pity forever.

Vant's mood switched from numb to highly emotional when he glanced to his left, seeing the big grey bear he had sewn up for Alwynn as a surprise he was going to give the boy the night he disappeared. Vant no longer held back the tears, letting them flow freely even around his children, not caring that he looked so broken. He was broken, why act otherwise?

"Hey, it's OK, I can tell them to come back later if you want," Heiress' tone sounded even more concerned, Vant knew how much it was frightening his children to see him in such a state. He was supposed to be a role model, he was supposed to lead and teach, not cry.

"No, it's fine," Vant wiped his tears away, although more simply fell to take their place, "best get it over with," Vant rose from the bed, stopping when Heiress stepped into his path. Despite having a petite figure, Heiress could sure as hell give good hugs, Vant missed that. He had abstained from much contact with her since her feelings were still raw, although, in hindsight, maybe that wasn't the best of ideas.

"They're gonna find him, Vant, or we will. He's gonna be fine, OK?"

"Yeah, I know," Vant said with a feeble half-smile, letting Heiress reach up and brush away the tears from his cheeks. Vant followed his daughter downstairs, never letting go of her hand as they entered the living room and sat on the couch opposite the two detectives that were working on Alwynn's disappearance. And doing one shitty job of that.

"Good morning, Mr Bayer, how are you feeling today?" oh great, therapy talk, because that definitely didn't get old the first time.

"Does it matter?" Vant grumbled, his patience having run dry with the police long ago. He no longer cared for pleasantries and manners, he was in a bad mood, as was to be expected, why should he care about how others saw him?

"My dad didn't sleep well last night," Heiress smiled politely, what a role reversal, "worrying and stuff, you probably understand."

"Of course," the detective on the left, Adrian, if Vant remembered correctly, spoke the most, with the other, James, merely observing, "a good night's sleep is quite rare in cases like this," Vant suppressed the roll of his eyes, he might not have been valuing pleasantries but he didn't need to be outright rude, "anyway, as your daughter no doubt told you, we would just like to run through your official statement one last time and then you will be dropped completely as a suspect. If you could just begin right when you woke up and then go from there in as much detail as possible please," Vant took a deep breath, hating how many times he had to relive the memory of the last time he had seen Alwynn. He had already had to admit his relationship with Alwynn to the police, not wanting anything to impair the investigation, and obviously, the revelation hadn't gone down well with Lyanna and Clark. At least they had the decency to put finding Alwynn as a priority and dealing with their 'problem' afterwards. How considerate of them.