The Dad

Gone

I woke to the sound of silence. I rolled over and looked at my clock. It was half past noon. Weird. Usually Vi would've woke me up by now. I rolled out of bed and went to her room.

"Bug, are you awa-" I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw her room. It was empty.

(-)

"Can you give a description of your daughter?"

"Yeah, um, she's three years old, she has dark brown hair and blue eyes. Last night she was wearing a green Mulan nightgown."

"Ok. And do you know who may have taken her?"

"My ex-husband, but he's been gone for about a year." 

"And what's his name?"

"Jackson Wang."

(-)

I sat on my couch, just staring at the wall. My daughter was gone, and I couldn't do anything. My mom was at my aunt Charlotte's house about an hour away. I didn't really have any friends, I lost those when I had Violet. Suddenly an idea popped into my head. I pulled out my phone.

Namjoon

Are you free right now? I need someone to talk to

Yeah. Do I need to call you or do you wanna meet up or...

Meet me here

I messaged him my address. I looked down at my lap and realized I was still in my pajamas. I hurried upstairs, ran a brush through my hair, and threw on jeans and a plain green T-shirt.

Green is Vi's favorite color. 

I went back downstairs and sat down on the couch. A few moments later, there was a knock on my door. I took a deep breath before opening it.

"Hey," I said to the tall handsome man in front of me. "Come in." I stepped aside and let him in. I led him to the couch and we sat on opposite ends. I was having trouble meeting his eyes. His deep, chocolaty eyes that one could get lost in. I decided on a spot out the window while I propped my elbow on the arm of the couch, chewing my thumb nail. We sat in silence for a moment before he broke it.

"That's a pretty necklace."

"Oh, thank you." I fiddled with the locket around my neck. "Um, Violet picked it out for my birthday last year." I hesitated before undoing the clasp and taking it off my neck. I opened it and showed him the picture inside. 

"Is that her?"

"Yeah. She found a silver dollar in my mom's backyard. I hadn't seen her that happy since..." I trailed off. I couldn't finish the thought. I wasn't aware I was crying until I felt Namjoon wipe a tear from my cheek. "I-I'm sorry. I just- today's been-" I broke into sobs.

"Hey." He knelt on the floor in front of me and held my hands. "Hey, what is it?" I couldn't say it. I couldn't bring myself to say it, to admit I had failed as a mother. He didn't press further, just held me as I cried.

We sat there like that for a long time before I finally calmed down. Finally I whispered:

"She's gone."