Chapter 37—Raine

I heard raised voices in the back yard. But I couldn’t make out what was being said. Then I heard the back door slam. Mom and I look at each other shocked. I don’t know if I should go and talk to Jade or let her have some privacy. Mom takes my hand. “Raine, let them deal with it, baby. Sleep in here with me tonight okay?” “What if she needs me?” I ask. “Then she will come to you. But she may need to deal with this on her own. Jonah too. I'm not planning on going out there right now either.” She assures me. About half an hour passes and I get a text from her. “It didn’t go well”. That’s it. I hear Johan go into his room. But I don’t hear Jade. Maybe she is in her studio painting. She does that when she needs time to think.

Mom gets in bed. I just lay on top of the covers with my clothes on. Thinking. I can’t sleep. What happened out there? Could he really be that upset? How could he say that he loves Mom and I and still not want Jade to be with me? Does he think I'm not good enough for her? Does he think I won’t treat her right? But he knows me. He knows I would never do anything to hurt someone I love. Maybe he doesn’t believe we love each other. Maybe he thinks we are just messing around. Certainly, Jade told him that I love her too. I don’t know. This is a mess. I should have trusted that she wasn’t ready to tell him. She knows her dad better than I do. But I thought I knew the man.

I sleep restlessly on and off throughout the night. Its five a.m. and I'm wide awake. I'm worried that if he told her he didn’t approve, then we won’t be together ever. Maybe I should go back to my house. Maybe his problem is with me being here so close to her. That could be. Perhaps he just wants us to wait until we’re older. I would wait for her. She will be eighteen in a couple months. But I would wait years for Jade if I had to. I texted her last night and asked what she meant by her last text. But I haven’t heard back. Maybe she is just getting some sleep and we will talk in the morning. But I never heard the bathroom door.

Now I'm just losing my mind. I decide to get up and go to the bathroom. Then I go to the kitchen and get some water. I look outside and see that Jades Jeep is gone. Now that I didn’t expect. I get my phone and call her. It goes right to voice mail. She must be with Skye. That’s the only place she would go. I have to call her. I know it’s really early, but this can’t wait. Skye answers her cell phone after five rings like she just woke up. “What are you talking about? I haven’t seen Jade in a week. I thought she was with you playing sick.” Now I really do feel sick. Where could she be. “Jade told her Dad about us last night and he didn’t take it well. Her car is gone, and I haven’t heard from her. I assumed she was with you.” I tell her franticly. “No, Raine, I'm sorry. I haven’t heard from her. I will call some other people she knows. But I can’t think of anyone she would run to. Maybe she went down to the beach for a walk.” She suggests. “Thanks Skye, I will keep it touch.”

Don’t freak out. She probably is down at the beach. Maybe she’s painting down there. Or taking a walk. I decide to wake Mom and let her know I'm going to go looking for her. “Mom, I think Jade is missing. Her Jeep is gone, and she isn’t with Skye.” “Maybe she told Jonah she was leaving. Let me go wake him and see.” She goes to his door and knocks gently. “Yeah? Jade, is that you sweetie, come in,” he says half asleep. “No honey, it’s me Hope. I was just wondering if you know where Jade went.” She asks hesitantly. I hear him rush to the door and yank it open. “What do you mean, where she went? She’s in her room right?” “Well, no Jonah. Raine noticed that her Jeep is gone. So, I went to her room. She isn’t in there or in her studio. Raine called Skye and she hasn’t heard from her either. Her phone is going straight to voice mail. We were hoping you knew where she went.” Mom says with panic in her voice now.

Jonah throws on some jean and tell us to get in the truck with him. We head down to the beach first. She isn’t in any of the places she normally would go. Then we check the coffee shop. Nothing. Jonah calls Detective Bennett and tells him the situation. He assures us that we shouldn’t worry. He says he will do everything he can to help. But I’m not feeling any better. This is not like her at all. Mom said her purse was laying on her bed. Why would she leave without her purse?

Fear and panic are starting to take over. My heart is racing, and I can’t breathe right. Where could she be? “Mom, can you check the boards?” I ask. “Sure baby, I will look right now.” I see her face go pale as she reads. Her mouth is open, but nothing is coming out. “What is it Hope?” Jonah asks quickly. “The last post on the board says “Big Sur. I have your girl.” My stomach drops. He found us. He took Jade. “What time was the post?” I ask. “Midnight” she says dismally.

We head straight to the police station. We show them the post and tell them that Jade has been missing since about ten last night. They said the last post was traced to California. But they can’t pinpoint where. It has to be him. He did this. He took my girl. This can’t be happening. I thought he would try to kill me. I didn’t think he would go after Jade. I should have known he was a twisted psycho. He knew exactly how to hurt me the most. But how?

We sit in the interrogation room again. No one is speaking. Jonah looks like he is about to explode. Cops come in and out asking trivial questions like what was she wearing? What kind of car does she drive? None of this is going to get her back any faster if Ezekiel has her. He’s probably got her down in a dungeon someplace. He undoubtedly wants to make her his next wife. Now my skin is crawling. I can’t stand just sitting here. I need to be out looking for her. Nausea is overtaking me. I try to calm myself. Deep breaths. My skin is sweaty and clammy. How could I put her in this position? She shouldn’t be suffering. That should be me in his clutches. Not my sweet Jade.

Jonah starts talking. Or confessing is more like it. “I told her that she couldn’t see you Raine. That she didn’t know what love really meant. I told her she didn’t need to be tied down. She was so upset with me. I yelled at her. She yelled back. We have never done that before. I just lost it. I couldn’t handle the thought that I could lose my little baby girl. But now I really have lost her. She would have been safe with you. I know that. She would be happy too. But I couldn’t stand the idea that my baby thought she was in love. That would mean she was growing up. I didn’t want her to grow up Raine.” His face is twisted in pain. I see the tears starting to well up.

“This isn’t your fault,” I tell him. “This is Ezekiel. He did this. Not you. You and Jade would have made up in a few days. She would have come home just as happy as she always is. It’s true, I love her. I have no intention of letting her go. But I don’t blame you for this. This was just the wrong thing at the wrong time.” Mom is holding my hand and his. “But Jonah, I'm sorry for bringing this to your door. I wish this wasn’t affecting you. I would do anything to save Jade. I'm only concerned about her safety right now. Let’s put everything that happed yesterday behind us for now.” He barely manages a small smile. “I would appreciate that Raine. I don’t want you both upset with me today too. I can barely handle this.” He stands up and so do I. He then takes me in a big hug. “I'm so sorry son.”

We sit for about an hour with no news at all. It’s now about eight in the morning, so I call my Dad and tell him what happened. He’s devastated and says he and Dani will come up as soon as they possibly can. I also call Skye and tell her that we can’t find Jade. She doesn’t know about my past yet, so I don’t give her all the details. She just knows Jade’s missing. She is pretty much freaking out. Mom calls her Dad and tells him the news as well. He says he will do everything he can to assist. If there is a ransom involved, he will pay it. I hope it doesn’t come to that. I think he’s looking for revenge, not money.

Detective Bennett comes in and tells us there is a new message on the board. It says, “Give me Raine and Hope. And you can have this pretty girl back.”