Castle in the City

61

Sagacity's POV
"Anyone heard from him as yet?" my dad asked, and I sighed and checked my phone for the umpteenth time while shaking my head. "Alright, tell me what happened over again."

I sighed, "When we were on our way to the wedding, he said that he had been seeing things that reminded him of his mother. He never really specified what he was seeing. He said he was fine, and he seemed fine."

Nico added, "He seemed perfectly fine at the wedding too. Nothing seemed off with him."

"Facts," Justin and Zach said in unison.

Natalie agreed, "Even during the reception, he seemed fine. He was laughing with everyone. He even gave a great toast."

"Then his phone rang," Aria pitched in, bringing up new information, as I didn't know he received a call during the celebration of Natalie's and Nico's wedding. "We were talking and he told me he had to take a call."

I frowned, "Did he say who or seem off?"

Aria shrugged, "I didn't get a chance to speak to him after. I went over to Zach to talk. As far as I know, after the call, he went over to hang with you and Aurora."

I shrugged, "Must not have been important. He didn't bring up a call to me. When we got home, he said he was going out for a jog and never came back."

My dad frowned, "Why did he go for a jog so late?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. I figured he wanted to clear his head or something."

Nico nodded, "He likes to go on jogs when he has stuff on his mind."

"But he seemed fine during the wedding ceremony and didn't bring up anything at all?" my dad asked, and I nodded as I thought about last night.

Aurora yawned the same time I did, causing Damien and I to chuckle. "Today was a long day," I smiled.

Damien smooched my cheek and smiled, "Get some rest."

"Where are you going?" I asked as he grabbed his phone and water bottle.

He smiled, "Out for a quick jog. You don't gotta wait up on me."

I yawned again and nodded, "Okay." My eyes were already stinging from fighting my sleep. I looked at Aurora, who had already fallen asleep in my hands and decided that I'd join her soon. Damien smooched her forehead and took her from my hands. He then placed her on her bed, which we kept inside our room because we didn't think she was old enough to have her own room as yet. We instead occupied that extra room with her toys and treated it as a toy room for her.

"I'll be back soon," Damien said before smooching my lips, and I nodded while laying under the covers.

I yawned, "Don't forget your keys."

"Aight," he nodded. "Goodnight, love."

I blushed, "Goodnight, babe."

"And you didn't get into an argument or anything?" my dad asked and I shook my head. "Well, it isn't like him to miss work and not call beforehand, and the fact that no one has seen him since last night might mean that something happened to him." I ran my hand through my hair in slight frustration and nervousness as my mind began thinking of all the worse possible scenarios. "I'll have my guys look into it, but keep trying his phone."

"Okay," everyone nodded, and I looked across the room at my mother, who was holding Aurora in her hands and speaking with my grandmother. I couldn't stomach the thought of losing Damien and having Aurora grow up without her father. I could only pray for the best- that he was safe and soon to come home.

"Wait," I said as I remembered the red car that Damien had zoned out to. "He zoned out while looking at a red car yesterday. That's when he said he'd been seeing things that remind him of his mother. I didn't get a look at the plates but I remember it being a cherry-red Honda with heavily tinted windows. Maybe if one of your guys can check the traffic lights or something...I don't know...."

My dad nodded, "Yeah, they can. I'll look into it and let you guys know as soon as possible if any info surfaces."

"Alright," I nodded, my dad offered a sad smiled as he glanced over at Aurora and then me.

He sighed, "Whatever happens, you gotta stay strong for her, Sa. Okay?"

As a tear trickled down my cheek, I nodded. My dad wiped my tear away and smooched my forehead before heading out the house. I sniffled, "Can you guys stay with me for a while."

"Yeah, sure," they nodded, and my mom and grandmother walked over to us.

My grandmother asked, "Do you want me to spend the night with you, dear?"

"Yes, please," I nodded as I took Aurora from my mother's hands.

Aurora looked up at me and asked, "Mommy...you okay?" Her eyes held concern as she watched me, and she cupped my face with her small hands. I could see her eyes starting to water a bit, and I knew it was because she saw me worrying. I remembered the last argument Damien and I got into last year. It had made Aurora cry because she didn't like seeing either of us upset. Damien and I never argued since then.

I forced a smile and nodded, "Yeah. Mommy's fine."

"Where Daddy?" she asked, and I felt my bottom lip trembling.

Mother answered, "He's outside right now, Aurora."

"Okay," Aurora nodded, but I could tell that my mother's answer disappointed her. She missed him already. She hadn't gotten her good morning kiss from him, along with the Good morning, my little pumpkin. It was routine for her, even when Damien had to go to work. She purposefully woke earlier in those days just to get to see her father before he'd leave, and then she'd take a nap after.

Aurora wrapped her arms around my neck and lay on my chest, and I tightened my arms around her, holding her securely in my arms as Nico placed a hand on my shoulder for support.

What the fuck happened to Damien last night?

The End!

A/N: Like I referenced in the previous chapter, it was a struggle for me to end this book 😭 I wanted to give you all a good ending, but I was also a bit conflicted about whether I should end the book for good or have a part two. Judging by how this book ends, you can tell that I'm going with the latter. There were a bunch of things that I wanted to include in this book but didn't because I didn't want to drag it out as much as I already have 😭 so I'll save those for book two. Given my schedule and all, I haven't gotten a chance to start writing book two as yet, but I hope to have the first chapter out by next week Sunday. I'll of course notify you here once that first chapter is published and the name of the book. Likewise, thank you all so much for the love and interest dedicated in this book and for inspiring me to write 😩💗💖 I will forever try to find interesting plots to give you all! If you haven't checked out my other books, feel free to do so as you wait for book two. You can find them by clicking on my profile and scrolling down to my reading list 😌 Until then 😘💕