Conrad
A month. One whole month has passed without Maya. It isn’t any easier than the day she left. I haven’t heard from her. I still have no idea where she is or if she is okay. I have no luck finding her or Callum, but he has stayed away. There have been no issues with him towards me or my family. It still doesn’t make me want to find and kill him any less. I have never felt such pain and heartache as I have in the last month. I am sad, lonely and withdrawn. I haven’t been going to work; I’ve only been talking to people to try and find Maya if I have to. I have spent my day upset, drinking, and not taking good care of myself. I am broken and lost without her. A part of me is missing.
If I could narrow it down to what state or country she is in, I would search it high and low until I found it. I would stay there with her until she was ready to return. I often wonder why she didn’t ask me to go with her. I assume it is because of Callum’s threats. It would probably have put a target on their back if Maya or I weren’t around. I miss her nearly every single second of the day. I haven’t been sleeping great. My bed didn’t feel right without her. I noticed she took some of my clothes with her, her way for comfort. I still have a lot of her things here; she didn’t take them all. I take it as a sign there is some hope she will come back to me one day.
The second Bridget found out Maya left, she came rushing over, thinking she could win me back with Maya out of the picture. I quickly shot her down. Even if Maya never returns, I can’t imagine myself loving anyone else. No one can compare. I hope and pray it doesn’t come to that. I need to keep telling myself she will come home again.
I am pulled from my thoughts with a notification that someone is at my front door. I groan. Why won’t everyone leave me alone? I don’t want to see anyone. I grab the tablet to see who it is and am surprised to see my sister outside. She came home the day after discovering Maya left, but she had to return home. I didn’t expect to see her again so soon. I wouldn’t be surprised if my mother called her because I was refusing to see anyone, and she knew Chelsea flying from London to check in on me would make me open the door. I sigh and let her in.
I headed to the front door since it was locked. I open it and wait for her. The second she is in front of me, she hugs me tightly.
“Chelsea, what are you doing here?” I ask, hugging her back.
“To check in on you. Everyone is worried. No one has seen or heard from you.” She says sadly as we part.
“I am fine.” I lie.
She raises her brow at me, “You are far from fine. You look like shit.”
“Thanks.” I snap and return to my sofa.
She quickly follows me inside, “Sorry, but it is the truth. Have you heard from her?”
I shake my head and whimper, “No. What if she never comes back, Chelsea? What if I have lost her forever?” I sob.
“Conrad, she will come home. She wouldn’t leave you forever. She was protecting you, protecting us. You two belong together, and nothing will change that. I know her not being around is hard, and you are in a lot of pain, but you need to get it together. Maya would hate knowing you are hurting and not taking care of yourself. She will come back to you. We will find it no matter what it takes. We will find a way to make sure the bastard gets caught, and you and Maya can get married as planned.” She says softly, rubbing my back.
“I can’t, Chelsea. I can’t be okay and get it together without her. It was never supposed to be like this. I was the one who was to protect her, and I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did, Conrad. If she never met you, her life would be worse. Callum would have gotten to her easier. You took care of her and loved her in ways she had never felt. Maya running away was her way of protecting you. Her love hasn’t changed for you. You two will be reunited.” She replies.
“I don’t even know if she is okay. What if something has happened to her?”
“I am sure she is fine. She would have picked somewhere she would be safe. You need to get it together and get your head straight. You can’t put your all into making this right when you feel like this.” She says.
“What do I do, Chelsea?”
“I am not sure, but we will work it out. I think you should come back to London with me for a little while.”
I shake my head, “I can’t. What if she comes home and I am not here? She will think I forgot her and left her.”
The tears are streaming down my cheeks.
“It will be good for you. We can work together to find her still. Leave a note in case she comes home, but you can’t stay here; you’re miserable, worrying, and alone. It is not good for you.” She sighs.
“I don’t know if I can. How am I supposed to track Callum down if I am in London?”
“You can’t track him down, Conrad. We both know if you find him, you will hurt him, which won’t benefit anyone. Do you really want Maya to return, and you are in jail? We will hire more people if we need to track him down, but I refuse to let you be the one who does it.”
I can hear the concern in her voice for me. She is right, though; if I am the one to find him, I will end up in jail because if I start hurting him, I won’t stop.
“If she ever comes home.”
“Stop, okay? Maya is coming home. I don’t know when, but she will. You need to believe that. The love you two have is something written in the stars. It is fate, and no matter what happens, nothing will stop you two from being together and spending the rest of your life together. Please, come to London with me. If not, I am moving in here until we find Maya.” She states firmly.
I know she would if it came to it.
“Okay, but not for long. I don’t want to be gone long in case she comes home.”
Chelsea nods, “I understand. Even a week or two.” She smiles.
“And you will help me try to find her?”
“Yes, we both will. And we can ensure everyone here continues searching for her and Callum.” She smiles.
It may be good for me to get away and try to clear my head. I need to be on top form if I want to find Maya. For all I know, she could be in London or elsewhere in the UK. She mentioned she would love to visit Scotland one day, but she said she wanted to do it with me. It could be a possibility. If I have to fly to Scotland and search the entire country, I will—every city, town, highland and island. I have to find more information first, though, or it will be a waste of time if she is not there.