Chapter 57: Chapter 57

Amy felt her heart failing by the passing second.

She took a glance at the clock hanging on the wall again. Two: Thirty am.

What was she supposed to think now?

Was something wrong? Did they get into an accident? Did Cole actually have an ulterior motive, and was just showing it now? Had he ran away with her son?

What was going on?!

She felt like running mad, at this point.

She and Kayla spent hours at the park, searching for Tris and Cole, but they were nowhere to be found. They got tired of searching, and continued their search at other parks, until the securities threw them out. They checked all the places they likely might be at. And then they checked the unlikely places. They ran out places to search, and they began asking people around, describing what they looked like.

They got no results, and Kayla begged Amy to go home and rest. Maybe they'd show up. Maybe someone would call.

For hours, Kayla and Amy sat in eerie silence, patiently waiting for a knock on the door to end all this madness. This nightmare was too much for Amy to bear. How could Cole just disappear with her son like that?!

A knock on the door sent electrical impulses to their impulses and they rushed to the door.

Kayla managed to get it open with her shaky hands, but she got disappointed when she saw Liam standing outside.

"Hey, good evening," Liam greeted as he walked inside, but Kayla didn't give him any response.

"I came as soon as I could. What were you saying over the phone? Cole and Tris have gone missing? How?" He asked Amy with worry written all over his face.

"I don't... I don't even know..." Amy, who had managed to keep herself together, bursted out in tears.

"It's okay. Please don't cry. I'm here for you," Liam said and held her close.

Amy managed to calm down, and Liam asked her to explain what happened, as far back as she could remember.

"Okay...," She sniffed and began recounting, "... I followed Tris to school today for the PTA meeting, and Cole showed up unexpectedly. They waited for me in the car, while I spoke to Tris's teacher. I finally joined them, and we drove home. Tris hand lunch..I offered Cole some, but he refused. When Tris was done, he dragged me to the kitchen, and asked that he take him out to the park. He... He told me he was going to bring him today later this evening. They left, and since then, I haven't heard from them again," Amy tried to not to break down again.

"Have you tried calling him?" Liam asked.

"Yes, but his phone is switched off," she answered.

"Have you gone to the police?" He asked.

"I haven't gone to them yet," she replied.

"Okay. I have an idea," he said.

Kayla and Amy looked up at him in anticipation.

"What's the idea?" Amy asked impatiently.

"We can go to his house and check to see if he's there," he said.

"Why would he be in his house, and not responding to our calls? Is that even reasonable?" Kayla argued.

"I mean, it's worth a shot," Liam said.

"Let's go check. It's better than doing nothing," Amy said and left the house before the both of them.

They got out and Liam got the doors opened.

"Drive as fast as you can," Amy pleaded once they entered the car, and Liam floored the pedal.

A journey that was supposed to take an hour, took less than thirty minutes.

They finally got into the estate, and were soon in Cole's compound.

They got to the door and knocked.

There was no response.

They knocked again and again, but they got no response.

"I think I have a spare key," Liam said and checked his pocket.

Thankfully, he had one on him, and he unlocked the door.

They walked into the house, and the lights switched on automatically.

They got into the house and began searching room after room, yelling their names as they moved, hoping they'd be in one of those rooms.

Amy got into the master bedroom to search for them. When she was certain no one was in the room, she headed for the door, but something caught her eye.

She turned to the mahogany bedside drawer. Just on top of the drawer was one of the pictures they took at the park, days ago. She walked over to the drawer and picked the picture up.

This one was framed, and it had the three of them in it. At the corner of the picture were the words "my loves, my everything," written with a red marker.

She walked over and picked it up. A tear fell down her eyes as she stared at how happy they were. Where could they be?

"I don't think they're in the house...," Liam walked in on her while she was still shedding tears.

"It's okay, Amy. There's no need to cry. Drop the picture," he walked over to her and embraced her in a hug.

"But where are they? Things were going so smoothly... Why could they possibly be?" Amy sobbed weakly.

"They're fine, Amy. We may not know where they are, but I know they're safe and sound. If not, we would've gotten a call from them," Liam said as he consoled her by gently rubbing her back.

"Stop crying, Amy. I'm here for you. I'm not going anywhere. I'll stand with you through this plight. You have nothing to worry about, as far as I'm by your side. I'll take it upon myself to make sure I find them. You have me, Amy. So please stop crying-"

All of a sudden, they felt a force pull them apart roughly.

"What do you think you're doing?" Kayla questioned Liam.

"What do you mean? I'm trying to comfort your friend. Did I do anything wrong?" Liam looked confused.

"We came here to search for Cole and Tris, and you're holding her this close? Why? Because Cole is not here?"

"Kayla, stop exaggerating. He was only trying to console me-"

"No, let her talk. I know why you're angry. It's not because I'm holding her in some kind of way, as you presume. It's because of what happened at the court hearing. You're still mad at that, right?" He questioned.

"Isn't that a valid reason to be mad? Is it not valid enough to hate you?!"

"You guys-"

"First of all, that shit happened more than a month ago! And I did it for a friend! A friend that you both are cool with now! Why do I have to be the one to take the brunt of the situation, despite the fact that I've tried multiple times?! Why do you hate me so much for something I did for a friend?!" Liam flared up.

"Are we supposed to applaud you for doing it for a friend?! Where was your conscience?! You looked us in the eye, and lied against us in court! You expect that shit to go just like that, just because you did it for a friend?! If you could do it for a friend, you could do it for another stupid reason, so cut mw some fucking slack!!" Kayla spat.

"There's nothing I can do to redeem myself in your eyes, so why would I bother trying?! Think the worst of me, for all I care! But just so know, I won't stop being by Amy's side, just because you hate me!" He swore.

"I don't give a fuck if you stay by her side or not! All I'm saying is, stop being in compromising positions, all in the name of consolation-"

"I don't want to hear one more word from the both of you!!!" Amy screamed at the top of her lungs, managing to shut them up.

"What is wrong with the both of you?! I'm trying to find my son, and you decide to display this madness before me?! Is this what I need right now?! A back and forth from people who are meant to be my support system?!! If this is the help you have to offer me, then keep it!! I don't need your fucking consolations," she yelled and stormed out of the room.

Kayla and Liam stared at each other, and fot the first time, they could agree on something - they'd both fucked up.

***

"I can't do it anymore, dad!" Tris cried in agony.

For the past two days, his father had been drilling him relentlessly. They'd done all kinds of training, from pull ups to sit ups.

They'd trained to the point where Tris couldn't feel his hands anymore.

"Stand up," Cole muttered.

Trust was surprised that his father asked him to stand up. He thought he'd yell at him like the previous times, telling him to fight through the pain and do one more reps.

"Come sit beside me," he said.

Tris managed to drag himself up and sit beside his father.

"One day, you realize that I did this to you, not to punish you, but to be a better man. A better wolf. You are my son. You cannot be a weakling. You have to be strong to face different obstacles and opponents. Life is a lot more than ice cream and picnics. Here, take some water," Cole handed him a bottle of water.

"I will not always be here for you, and neither will your mother. When we leave, I want this place to be your place of peace. Where you ease off the stress, and where you get ready for battles. You can come here anytime to work out. Am I understood?" Cole asked, and Tris nodded weakly.

"Good. Now do fifteen more reps for me," Cole added with a sly smile.