Chapter 142: See You in a Few Hours
Chapter 142: See You in a Few Hours
ELLIE
Staring at the light rain tapping against Anna’s apartment window, I pulled the blanket tighter around me, settling into the couch.
The weather outside was somewhat melancholic, with a sky covered by heavy gray clouds, matching my mood—caused by Ethan’s absence.
Fortunately, it was also the perfect weather to watch a movie with friends on a Sunday.
“Here,” Will said, placing the tray with steaming mugs on the coffee table, letting the aroma of hot chocolate immediately fill my nose.
The smell was enough to warm me from the inside, like a comforting hug.
“I’ll get the popcorn,” he said, circling the couch back to the kitchen.
A second later, Anna returned from the bedroom, throwing herself onto the couch beside me.
“He’s asleep?” I asked as she folded one leg over the other, pulling another sheet over herself.
“Finally,” she sighed, relaxing. “So? Are we ready?”
“Yes. We are,” Will replied, stopping behind the couch and placing the bowl of popcorn on her lap. Leaning down, he kissed her neck, making me feel a twinge of envy.
I waited for him to sit down, pulling Anna close and wrapping himself in the sheet as well before finally hitting play on the movie.
✽
The sound of a cell phone ringing made me open my eyes.
“Sorry,” Will murmured, stretching his arm to grab the phone from the table beside the couch, causing Anna to move off him.
I think both of us had dozed off during the movie.
“It’s Ben,” he said, staring at the screen before finally answering. “Yes?”
Bennett at this hour? What could he want? The call left me a bit intrigued, but not enough to hold my attention.
Actually, I was more interested in knowing if Ethan had sent me a new message. The last one had been in the middle of the afternoon, just to check if I was okay and to inform me that he was still at the office, even though it was already night there.
I knew he was working like crazy to get back soon, probably not sleeping enough. So, I decided it was better not to distract him with more messages.
But now, it must be early morning there, and I wanted to know if he had dinner or if he was resting as he should.
Picking up my phone from the coffee table, I unlocked the screen, happy to see there was a new message from him.
“See you in a few hours.
Love you.
Or rather, love both of you.”
Reading the message brought a silly smile to my lips.
It seems he managed to sort everything out in time and was already on his way. Knowing he would be back soon improved my mood, although I would have preferred he had a decent night’s sleep and returned only tomorrow, as planned.
“Ellie?” Will called, capturing my attention.
“Yes?” I looked at him, noticing he was still on the phone.
“Ben wants to know if you spoke with Ethan in the last hour.”
The question made me check the time of the message: it had been sent just over two hours ago.
“No. Why?”
“No. She hasn’t,” he said to Bennett, before addressing me again. “He wants to know when was the last time you spoke with him.”
“Just before six,” I informed.
He repeated the information, and I was about to ask what Bennett wanted when he got up from the couch, leaving the room and making me a bit apprehensive.
“What was that?” Anna asked, looking as confused as I was.
“I don’t know. Can you check?”
She nodded, getting up to go after him.
A minute later, she returned, sitting beside me again.
“So?” I asked.
“It’s nothing. Seems like some flights were canceled because of a storm in London, or something like that.”
Storm? Could Ethan’s flight have been canceled?
My first instinct was to call him, but the call ended right after the message that the phone was off or out of coverage area.
Maybe that meant he had managed to board. Damn. Should I be worried? And where the hell was Will? Why hadn’t he come back to explain what was going on?
But if it were serious, he would have told me. However, his absence from the room only made me more uneasy—although he was probably just checking on the baby.
✽
Fifteen minutes later, the doorbell rang, making something inside me go on alert.
Before Anna could get up to answer, Will finally reappeared to do so.
When he opened the door and I saw Bennett and Zoe enter, I was sure something was wrong.
Standing up almost automatically, I went to them, feeling the tension fill every inch of the room with each step I took.
I wouldn’t say I knew my brother-in-law that well, but I knew him enough to recognize when he wasn’t acting normally.
Bennett was naturally tense and grumpy—that was his charm. But at that moment, there was nothing natural or charming about the tension that seemed to dominate every part of his body.
“So? Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” I asked, crossing my arms and feeling a horrible sensation grow in my chest.
“It’s okay,” Zoe tried to downplay, but her cautious look had the opposite effect. “We just need to talk to Anna and Will first.”
Talk to Anna and Will first?
“Please, Ellie… just give us a minute, okay?” This time, it was Bennett who asked, surprising me, before I could protest.
“Alright,” I agreed, returning to the couch.
Alone in the room, I tried to calm my thoughts, feeling the anguish grow as my brain tried to unravel what all this meant.
And deep down, I think I already knew, but there was still a part of me that refused to believe it.
A huge knot had already formed in my throat when the four of them returned, gathering around me.
“We have to tell you something,” Anna began, sitting beside me and taking my hand. “But you need to remember to try to stay calm, okay?”
“Please, Anna…” My voice faltered, and I could feel my hands starting to tremble.
“It’s okay… Just stay calm.”
“I don’t know if my brother told you, but he decided to hitch a ride with one of our friends earlier,” Bennett explained. “A private flight…”
I shook my head.
“Seems like the boarding was a bit before the storm started…” He paused, too long, making my stomach sink. “The information we have is that the aircraft lost contact…”
Lost contact?
I blinked, as if I had just been hit on the head, and suddenly everything around me seemed to slow down.
Ethan was… missing?
“And has been officially missing for a few hours.”
Bennett’s voice continued in the background, like a distant whisper, as my thoughts ran wild, imagining something even worse.
The possibility provoked an almost suffocating pain, as if my chest were being crushed, and I couldn’t hold back the tears.
“They’re not getting radio communication, nor radar signal.”
“No. He didn’t…” I murmured.
“Unfortunately, they confirmed he was on board.”
No. No. No. I shook my head, trying to make Bennett stop.
“He… He didn’t…” I murmured, seeking support from Anna, trying to breathe. “Anna… Please… I can’t… I can’t…”
She said something, but I couldn’t hear anymore.
The air seemed to vanish from my lungs, and suddenly there was nothing left.
I had nothing left.