Lost Heart √

Twenty Two

Caden's POV

Skylar refused to answer any more of my calls or the texts that I sent her--which wouldn't have been so alarming if she hadn't sounded so strange earlier.

Back when she'd answered my call. Back when she had been there at that bridge. Costa Bridge.

"Fuck," I swore as I got out of my car, slamming the door shut behind me.

Not there, I thought. Why would she go there? Why would she when I'd never told her of--

I took out my phone and saw Seth's name flashing in an incoming call.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"Hey," he said. "So there's bad news and good news. The bad news is that she's switched off her phone. And the good--"

"What do you mean she's switched it off?" I exclaimed, raking my free hand through my hair. And god, I was mad. Livid. Because I couldn't stop remembering that absurd fear in her voice--the last phone call of mine that she'd bothered to answer. She'd sounded strange, and I couldn't, for the goddamned life of me, think of a reason why.

Costa Bridge, I reminded myself. Why had she gone there?

"I mean...she's switched it off," Seth said, then sighed. I clenched my jaw because surely, taking it out on him won't make things easier, would it? "I can't track her down any further than I already have. And I promise I'm not half-assing it, Caden."

A group of people stumbled out of a bar at some distance and I scowled.

"The good news, as I was saying, is that we know she's somewhere near where you are." He continued. "Pretty near, if you ask me. How about you look around and ask the people around you if they've seen her?"

"Or how about I just punch someone." I gritted out. "Something."

Seth muttered something incoherent before adding, "If you think that'll help you find Sky, sure."

"Don't bother smart-mouthing me." I hissed, but it lacked any real threat. "She could be anywhere right now. I don't--Why the fuck is she not answering any of my calls?" I tried thinking in a sensical manner, but I couldn't. Not when I didn't understand why she'd been at that one location I told myself never to think of. Not when I was dreading to even think of what could've happened to her.

"Her phone's switched off," Seth repeated in that calm way that he always somehow had himself in. It was fucking annoying.

"I fucking know that!"

He sighed again. "Give me a second."

I gave him a second. I gave him two seconds. "What--" I paced. "--are you making me wait for?"

"Okay, so the last spot I can see here, where Skylar last was, is right where you are. Street 14, yes?"

"Yeah." I scrubbed my free hand over my face.

"Hm, okay." I could hear the distant clicks from his end. "You see some sort of a...club around you? A bar?"

I looked back at the scruffy bar that I'd spotted earlier. "Yeah. Is she in there?" And I was already making my way over there. If Sky was in there all alone--

"Nope," Seth responded. "The alley that goes behind it. See it?"

I neared the bar and took a turn into the narrow, old alleyway. "This is it?" I asked.

"Yeah." He said. "That's the last spot I can track from Skylar's phone. Sorry, man."

I kept going ahead, eyes scanning every dark corner until I met a dead end. And there was no Skylar. Still no signs of her. I bit back another curse and exhaled heavily, closing my eyes.