Chapter Twenty-Missing.

Chapter Twenty-Missing.
BLAZE'S POINT OF VIEW
“Why aren’t you answering your phone?! I called you three times! ARE YOU DEAF?!” I ask my brother, Liam, or rather, scream because my voice keeps rising with each word.
I wouldn’t be surprised if my speakers broke.
“Chill, I was driving. I had to pull over. Where’s the fire?” Liam asks calmly, and I take a deep breath to calm down because this isn’t his fault, and snapping at him won’t help anyone.
“Fuck, sorry. Is Adonis with you?” My breath stops again, waiting for another answer.
“No, why?” And again, it’s a fucking NO!
“Come home and hurry up. I think we have a problem.”
“What do you mean?” He asks, but even if I wanted to, I can’t tell him over the phone.
“Just hurry up!” And I hang up.
“Can you explain what’s happening?” His voice hides the same fears that haunt me.
“Adonis’s car is in the garage.”
“So, it’s supposed to be somewhere else?” he asks, and I almost blow up because it drives me fucking crazy. Denial is not what I need right now. He knows damn well why I’m panicking and what this means.
“Yes! With him, goddamnit! Mom said that when she last saw him, he told her he was going to LUX. But his car is here. He’s not in his office or his bedroom. Now, do the math!” He doesn’t say anything else; it’s like he needed to hear it from me to be sure.
I call Fabian again, hoping he got lucky.
“Are you there yet?” I ask as soon as he answers the phone.”
“I’m just parking the car.”
“Okay, I’ll wait on the phone.”
“I’m in the club. I can’t see him yet,” he says louder to cover the music.
“Go to VIP lounges, the bar, and the dancefloor.”
“You know that he doesn’t dance in clubs,” he comments, and I blow up again.
“I don’t give a fuck! Just do as I say!”
“Okay... okay...” he says hesitantly, and I exhale sharply. After several painful minutes, he starts speaking again.
“He’s not here. I’ve checked everywhere twice.”
“Come home.” I hang up and toss the phone onto the table.
FUCK!
"Mom, Dad, go look again in his office, his bedroom, and everywhere else. I’ll check the garden.” I go to the garden and turn all the lights on. I look behind every tree, bench, bush, and flower, but he’s nowhere to be found.
“Where the fuck are you, Adonis?” I talk to myself as I walk back inside the house.
As I walk dejected, I look down and see a phone.
It looks like his phone. I try to unlock it, but I don’t know the password. I go back inside and hear the front door opening, and a small hope blooms in my chest.
“Adonis?!” I ask, hoping that I’ll hear a fucking YES for a change.
“No, it’s me. Now tell me what’s wrong!” I never thought that the day I’d hear Liam’s voice would nearly bring me to tears of frustration and sadness, but it did.
Maria runs to me, and I pick her up and hug her.
“Hi, baby girl. Did you have fun?” I fake a smile and kiss her chocolate-covered cheeks.
“Yeah, I had lots of ice cream.” She smiles big, and I bump her nose, making her giggle.
“I can see that," I say, putting her down before walking over to hug Camilla and whispering in her ear.
"Take her to her room and get her to sleep."
“Okay, I won’t be long.” She takes Maria into her room, leaving Liam and me alone.
“Talk,” Liam says after the girls leave, and both our fake smiles disappear from our faces.
“Adonis is missing,” I say, and he looks at me as if I just told him that Santa Claus exists.
“What do you mean by missing?” I flip.
“How many fucking meanings does the word MISSING have? He’s not here. We can’t reach him. Clear enough?” I’m not sure how much longer I can hold myself back from punching them all!
“What do you know, and what do you have?” I take a few deep breaths to calm myself before I tell him the whole story. I show him the phone, he takes it from me, types the password, and it unlocks.
“It’s his! We have to make a plan!” he says, and I roll my eyes in exasperation.
“No shit, Sherlock! You’re a fucking genius! What the fuck would the world do without you?!” He gives me a death glare and opens his mouth to say something, but Dad’s voice stops him.
“Now it’s not the time to fight. Let’s just make a plan.” Dad squeezes my shoulder reassuringly, but it only helps so much.
“Sorry, I’m just stressed, my head is exploding. It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t left him, I’d be at home with him,” I say it all to myself, the frustration and guilt eating me alive.
Why the fuck did I leave?
“It’s not your fault. If we’re right and he’s missing, that means someone wanted him, and if they hadn’t taken him today, they would’ve done it tomorrow.” Dad makes sense, but I still feel guilty.
Mom enters the dining room, and I don’t even have to ask anything. The tears on her face tell me all I need to know. She didn’t find him, either.
“First of all, we don’t tell anyone that he’s missing. I stay here and call everyone I know who might help. Liam, go to that club and talk to the boss, ask him to give you the video surveillance to see if he was there tonight. I don’t know if they will give it to you, but it’s worth a try.” Dad takes control, and right now, I’m grateful because I can hardly think; all I want is to see Adonis.
“I won’t leave that place without watching those tapes. That’s for damn sure!” Liam says firmly, and I get the feeling he’s willing to do whatever it takes to see those videos.
“I’ll go to the casinos. And when Fabian comes home, explain to him what happened and tell him to cover the hotels,” I say, and Dad nods.
“If any of you finds something, we call each other. Yes?” Dad asks us as we head to our cars.
“Yes!”
“Yes!” Liam and I both answered at the same time.
“God, please, I know we didn’t talk in a while, but if you help me find my brother alive, I swear I’ll be a better man. Please keep him safe.” I pray to God as I ignite the engine and start driving.
It’s strange how we turn to God only when we have problems… only when we need something.