He Is Gone

He Is Gone
Emilia's POV

Aaron pulled into a motel almost twenty minutes later. Sebastian's eyes kept darting at the lights, the electric bulbs, the architecture of the modern world, the dresses of people around us, and even the designs of the place.
He was like a child, asking so many questions, and I was happy to engage him, answering his questions as much as I could. The more he was engaged, the less likely he was to slip into his mad mumbling state again.
Aaron talked to the chatty receptionist, and he got us a room upstairs. He kept staring at the lights in the reception room, the overhead lamps, and the painted walls, his feet dragging reluctantly on the floor as I pulled him with me for our room.
“Let's go, Sebastain.” I chuckled, watching him, and I pulled at his arm. He staggered gently after me. He stared at the winding metal stairs that led to the top floor like it was something out of a dream, counting the metal plates of the stairs as it led us up.
Brian just kept sniffing giggles behind us, Nathan hissed, unamused, and Aaron just concentrated on leading us to the door.
He pushed the door, and we stepped into a quite modest room. “We would have to leave now, Emilia,” Aaron said. He grabbed my shoulder, and when I turned to him, he threw his big arms around me, and he hugged me tight, pressing me to his bigger body. “Stay safe, baby sis,” he whispered in my ear.
I submitted myself to the love and warmth of his hug, as his big body didn't let me get much chance to hug him back. He finally pulled away. I looked to his face to find his brows strung tight. He looked as though he was about to lose me.
I still don't know what I will do about Sebastian, but one thing I can promise him is that I am not going to die. I rubbed my palms on the sides of his big arms gently. “I will be fine, Aaron. Don't worry yourself about me.” I told him.
He looked from me to Sebastian, and his lips dissolved into a false smile. “Okay, baby Sis. We will be seeing tomorrow then.”
He turned around then, and he handed the room’s key to Nathan. “Keep her safe.” He told Nathan, an edge to his voice. For the first time, he spoke with the authority of being the eldest of us.
“Sure, Aaron!” He said. “I'll keep her more than safe.”
Aaron looked from me to Sebastian again, and then he walked out slowly. Brian walked into the room then, grinning with a bit of his face. He covered me in a tight hug, and he kissed me by the neck.
I grunted, my jaw tightening as I realized he was being naughty again. I pushed him off me. “Get out, Brian.” I snapped jokingly at him.
“That’s no way to talk to your elder brother, little one.” He grinned, his lips stretching wide over his head. He grabbed my hair then and tousled it, scattering it over my head.
I grunted louder, and I lunged for him with my claws, but he avoided my attack, swaying his body out of reach of my hands. He chuckled as he ran for the door then, knowing I was vicious enough to chase him. “Goodbye, little one.” He called over his shoulder as he descended the steel stairs with Aaron.
“Stop calling me that,” I snapped at him, yelling loudly at the top of my voice.
“I won't,” he responded.
I wanted to yell at him again, but he had already dropped from view, and Nathan was closing the door shut against the night. I just grunted, venting my fury in the air as I watched the door shut close. I made a promise to break his arm next time after I see him for calling me that, and I turned around to Sebastian, flashing him my warmest smile.
But he wasn't looking at me; his eyes were concentrated over my head, staring blankly at space. Cold tremors drilled through me as I watched him submit to that madness inside of him again. I leaned closer to him, reaching fast to cup his face in my hands and bring him back. I was just halfway to reaching his face when his fingers shut fast on my throat.
My breath caught for that moment, and moving as fast as I could, I moved out of the way of his claws. I tried not to make any noise and tried not to let Nathan suspect what was happening. Because then he wouldn't let me be with Sebastian anymore.
But just as I cupped his face in my hands, staring into his eyes, his fingers came for my neck again. This time I couldn't avoid it, and they clasped tight against my neck. And even though he choked me, strangling me so that my eyes bulged fat out of their sockets, blood pumping fast to my head, I refused to groan or whimper and let Nathan suspect he was standing.
I blocked off his hands on my neck with my body so Nathan wouldn't see him strangling me from where he stood, and at the same time I rubbed my palm against Sebastian's cheeks, hoping and wishing he would remember me soon before his fingers sucked life completely out of me.
I sighed heavily, echoing out every bit of air in my lungs when his fingers eventually relaxed on my neck. My blood circulating back to the rest of my body, my eyes calming and easing back into their sockets.
Life crawled back to his eyes, and they narrowed, restless, blinding all around their sockets; they ran over my face. “Did I just hurt you, wife? Did I?” I covered his lips fast with my palm.
“What is it?” Nathan demanded. “What happened?” I heard him stumping down for us.
“Nothing.” Though my throat hurt like hell, throbbing and sore, I managed to speak, using all my strength to sound firm and loud. “Just leave us alone, Nathan; we are fine.” I said.
There was a moment of hesitation; I heard his feet scratching the tiles, and then he turned back from us. I released another hard sigh, and I collapsed against Sebastian's chest.
He was smart to know not to make another panic cry. He said nothing as he lifted me into his arms, in bridal style, laying me gently on the bed and lying beside me.
Nathan looked sharply at us, watching and studying us, but since I didn't groan or whimper in pain, he couldn't prove a thing. Though my whole body was a conduit of agony, my veins heated and throbbing, burning, but not as hot as my throat, which felt like a furnace of its own. My body was weak, and my whole head felt heavy against my neck.
Sebastian leaned over me on the bed, his brows wrinkled tight on his forehead, his watery gaze hanging over me like a haze. His lips moved at first but closed shut and tight, then they parted and he muttered. “I am sorry for—”
I pressed my thumb on his lips to silence him. “Don't apologize, Sebastian; it isn't your fault.” I told him. “Just gather me in your arms and let me know that you love me, Sebastian.” I told him.
“Sure, wife.” He forced a hard smile, which dented his tight worried face a little, and he pulled me into his arms on the bed, wrapping me in the warmth of his body, letting me feel every bit of his love. His arms and body were the best cushion I could ever dream of—hard and tender, soothing and comfortable, and most importantly, stacked with love. The warmth and comfort of his body and his love all lulled me to sleep faster than I would have expected. 
I woke up the next morning, the sunlight from the open windows beating into my eyes, and I squirmed, tossing and turning gently on the bed while my eyes opened slowly to the world, my senses capturing everything around me gradually.
I felt the bed gently as I turned on it, but my hands touched nothing. Cold chills washed down my core, and I jolted, starting on the bed, my eyes snapping open, every remnant of sleep chased from my eyes. I stared around at the room, spinning on the bed to let my eyes wander to every corner, but it was all empty—no Nathan, no Sebastian, just empty space and then me.
The cold chills spread fast to my veins, moving like an icy web, claiming every cell in me as I jumped down from the bed. My heart thrashed hard against my chest, screaming an ominous rhythm in my chest as I ran for the door. I pulled it open, stepping outside, but there was no Nathan, no Sebastian. Except for the receptionist standing by the side of a little garden, no one was around; no one even walked the street beyond the motel. It was as if the world had been suddenly emptied.
My feet still bare, I walked down the winding metal stairs to the group; the steel warmed by the morning sun equally warmed the soles of my feet. I strolled down the asphalt concrete path for the receptionist.
He was a middle-aged man with an unusual accent and a face trapped in a perpetual smile. He raised his head to me from the flowers he was tending. “Morning, miss,” he smiled.
I stared into his smiling face for a moment, then I cleared my throat to speak, swallowing hard. Even though I did, my voice came out as strained as ever, as if I was forcing each word out of my throat. “Have you seen my people? The people I came with yesterday,” I asked.
His smile built up more to reach his eyes. “The other gentleman, the one who paid for the room, came back with his car three hours ago, just a few minutes before dawn. He came with a very fat girl just about your age. They picked up the other guy and the weirdly dressed guy and then left.” He said.
Colder chills poured into my veins, and I staggered on the spot, my eyes swirling just like my mind did. But I shook my head hard and tried to shake off the thoughts building in me. The thought that Sebastian was gone. It was never possible. Aaron, Nathan, and Brian wouldn't betray me. Sebastian wouldn't leave me again. He wouldn't go back and leave me alone to deal with a completely shattered heart.
Tears burned behind my eyes, prickling my orbs like hot needles.I tried to fight, tried to chase it back, but it only burned harder and hotter, coating my vision.
“What did you just say?” I demanded, almost snapping at the receptionist. “Are you sure they really left, that they left with Sebastian?” I demanded.
His brows were wrung tight on his forehead, and he squinted his gaze at me, hands frozen on the watering can he owned. “Is there something wrong you are—” The rest of his words died to a couple of low, inaudible mutterings. He turned back at the sound of the car, just as I looked past his head to it.
Aaron's car pulled up into the small driveway of the motel, and then they all dropped down: Aaron, Nathan, Brian, and Gabby. My chest ached hard, as my heart slammed harder and harder against it, so all I felt was pain—hard, intense pain, claiming all of my chest. A soreness claimed my throat, and I watched for Sebastian, but he didn't come down with them. He didn't. He was gone.