Cruel Awakenings

2. This Bites

  There's nothing more annoying than a raging loud ass alarm. Waking up in the mornings has always been difficult, but with the slight hangover, it's even worse today. The sun peeking through my dark bedroom curtains just reminded me that the day had just only begun. I wanted nothing more than to shut the alarm off and go back to bed, but I knew better than that.

Fuck.

I sat up with my head in my hands and groaned. My vision blurred just a tad bit, and a headache formed.

"Alright, Aurora. Time we dig up some information on you." I muttered, heading to the kitchen to grab some coffee and later to have a quick shower.

  I met up with Mr. Richardson at Bailey's. It was a quiet but upbeat bar with great lights and music loud enough that discussing cases for me earned me that private discreetness from listening ears. My barback Alex knew me enough to ensure the back table was always empty. I always tipped him as much as possible every time I came. He was a sweet thing who knew my work, and as much as he liked his tips, he followed through without any questions.  I appreciated it more than he knew.

  Sitting at that table was a relatively short man with reddish-toned hair and dark green eyes. Nothing from his appearance struck me as somebody I'd remember daily. He has one of those standard everyday kind of guy faces. "Hey... you're Savannah? The PI?" He stood up rather quickly and extended his hand.

Well, Rosalina Hayes, but an alias is safety. So sure, Mr. Richardson. I'm Savannah.

   I nodded with a slight grin and shook his hand to knock pleasantries aside. We both sat down and got as comfortable as we could for strangers. I removed the small notepad and pen I always kept on hand for small notes and names.   "That's me." I smiled, glancing around quickly at the small crowd forming at the entrance. "Tell me more about your situation Mr. Richardson.  Any details that the cops ignored or you found rather important, I'm all ears."

     He nodded slowly and swallowed. "Yeah... and call me Chris. Well, my girlfriend's name is Aurora Cassidy. She's 23 and looks like this..." he shakily slid over a photo of them together with a sigh. She had blonde white hair and bright blue eyes. The kind of girl who screamed Florida or California for sure. They looked adorable together. Though he was slightly older, you could see they fit together beautifully. "She went missing a few days ago. We went out for a bite, and she left the table to go to the car and grab her jacket. It was maybe five or so minutes when she didn't return." He raked a hand through his reddish-orange locks and shakily sighed.

  "Did you have the restaurant check any footage?" I carefully questioned, trying to weed out if this was something I should take on or not. Sometimes missing people do not want to be found, or they get mixed up with the wrong crowds. I never assume there isn't some connection between those kinds of things.

  He nodded quickly. "Yes. The footage is grainy, but you can see her walking to our car, and just a second later, she's gone. It makes no sense.." he trailed off with a furrowed brow studying my face for answers. If I had any at the moment, I'd surely give them, but this is only the beginning.

"Has Aurora used her phone or tried to reach out to anyone else? Is it possible that she left you?" I had to lay it all on him.

"Um. No. I called her phone and checked it for its location, but it must have been powered off. But still, it's not like her to just up and go. She didn't even get to the car. Her jacket was still there.. and the door was open.." he breathed, and I could see his eyes begin to water at the thoughts looming over him. "This isn't like her. She wouldn't leave without a trace. We had plans for a trip... I was planning to propose this weekend" his green orbs gazed at me a moment before looking down with a shake of his head. "Even if she did leave me, she wouldn't have done it like this. We live together. Too much to just leave behind". He trailed off into his mind, and I just sat back and took some quick notes.