by Aven Jayce
“Enough. I know you’re trying to help...”
“The police are on their way.” Jules ends the call and takes my hand as Cove stumbles up to us.
“I can’t find him anywhere,” he says out of breath.
“We called the cops,” Sophia whimpers and reaches out for him. They embrace and I’m lost as to what to do. Kids do nothing but confuse the hell out of me. I have one, but my wife was the one who raised him. They’re whiny, upchucking, money-eating, weasels. But, my heart will split in two if something happens to him. It will also be the end of Cove. He won’t be able to handle life anymore if his son doesn’t come home, Sophia too.
“Can I ride in the police car?”
“No,” I whisper, still watching my deeply pained family.
“Don’t mention Mera when the cops get here,” I say.
“What?” Cove releases his wife and they stare at me with tearful eyes, in disbelief that I would say such a thing. He steps forward, looking at his son then back at me.
“If they ask you,” I say slowly, trying not to sound too much like a dick, “if we’ve seen any suspicious people or are aware of...”
And that was enough for a fist to swing, only to be caught by my hand.
“Goddammit!” I shout, pushing him against a tree.
“Stop it!” Sophia yells, while Xavier screams.
“Mark, don’t!” Jules shouts.
“You listen to me.” I press a finger into his chest and get in his face, trying to speak in a calm whisper so his son doesn’t hear. “We can’t explain why Mera’s here. Think about it. She came with Dayne, right? And where is he? They’ll want to know.” I look back at Xavier who’s talking into his watch, telling his brother there’s a fight. “Don’t fuck this up. If the cops search for her, you know...”
I spy the cop car pulling up the hotel drive from the corner of my eye. I release him and fix his sweatshirt, turning back to my sister so she can hear my final words before they arrive.
“He’s in these woods, not with her. If the cops get a whiff of Mera, they’ll search for Dayne, and they’ll trace things back here...” I turn to Cove. “If anything comes up, we’re talking death penalty. Do you hear me? Dax is coming back, but you need to be here for him when he does, not in some prison cell. You understand?” I turn and point to my sister. “And do you understand?” Then I eye Jules as well. “You all better fucking be aware of what we’re dealing with here.”
Cove brushes against me on his way to meet the cops. “Yeah, my son,” he seethes. “This is why I hate you, Mark. Those would’ve been your father’s exact words.”
“You don’t hate me.”
“Shut up!” Sophia bursts into tears. “I can’t believe this is happening and the two of you are arguing. Stop it! My son is missing!”
I exhale and nod in agreement with my sister. “Jules, take Xavier and stand under the awning by the side door. Get him out of the rain and away from the cops.”
“I need to be able to see him,” Sophia says. “Stay outside, I don’t want him out of my sight.”
“I’m cold,” he complains, following Jules to the overhang.
“Stay where I can see you!” she calls after them.
The cops park and we introduce ourselves before explaining the situation. They ask Cove and Sophia some routine questions.
Name? Date of birth? Height? Weight? Other identifiers? When did you notice he was missing? What was he wearing?
Sophia calls Xavier over and explains that they’re identical twins. They study my nephew while taking notes and listening to Xav explain clothing details.
“He’s wearing his jeans and a blue hoodie, like me.”
“And they have the same sneakers.” Sophia points to her son’s feet. “Anything else, Xavier?”
“His Cardinals baseball cap, the red one.”
The younger officer begins flashing a light into each vehicle in my lot. Checking to see if he’s hiding out.
“Did you check the closets in the room you’re staying in? Or other areas of the hotel? How about under the beds?”
“He’s out here, not inside,” I cut in. “I already viewed the security footage. My nephew walked into the woods but never came out.”
The officer nods then notices my injured head and gives me a suspicious look.
“And what happened to you?”
I place my hand over the bump and come up with a quick lie. “I fell down the last couple of stairs leading to my garage and landed smack dab on my head.”
He seems satisfied with that response and then speaks into his push-to-talk headset. “We need a search dog brought out to the Jameson Hotel, North, off of Route 50.”
“What?” Sophia gasps. “Is that good or bad?”
“It’s good,” Cove says. “The dogs will track his scent.”
“But it’s raining,” she whispers, looking back into the woods.
“They still might be able to pick it up,” I say, reassuringly.
“Are there any other relatives on the premises or in the area?”
“No,” she says.
“Did he ever mention running away or was there a recent argument that would cause him to—”
“No,” Cove interjects. “He didn’t run away.”
The officer who was searching the cars shines his flashlight into the woods.
“Check for footprints!” the cop next to us shouts.
“There’re a lot of them!” he yells back.
The officer looks at us and Cove nods. “My son Xavier and I were already in there, searching.”
“Okay,” he sighs while putting his pen away. “You should also report this to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and we’ll contact the FBI. Standard procedures. I’ll head in and see if I can follow any tracks. Let the dog team know what’s going on when they arrive... and if I were you, I’d also check inside. Kids can be stealthy.”
“And then what?” Sophia cries. “What if we can’t find him?”
I walk up to my sister and offer the only comforting words I can gather.
“Then we keep looking.”
HOLLOW
THERE’S NO OTHER WAY to explain how I feel at this moment, except to say that I’m hollow. It’s five in the morning and we’re in the west end suite, the dinner carts from last night are still in the dining room, and three empty bottles of wine are on the kitchen counter. Xavier’s in bed, Sophia’s sobbing on the kitchen floor, Julia is by her side, Cove’s pacing with a drink in hand, and I’m vacant.
Daxton Everton is nowhere to be found.
We had a brief moment of hope when I remembered the tracking devices in our watches. We picked up a signal that was coming from their suite and thought he was hiding out, only to be saddened when we found the watch on top of the bathroom counter. Cove said his sons usually take them off before they go to bed, and since they were tucked in at ten and then sneaked out later; it’s not unusual for him to not have it on.
And the dog was useless. It didn’t pick up any scent of Dax. After two hours of trying to search in the pitch-black night, the cops said they’d be back at daybreak and that we shouldn’t disturb the area.
Fuck.
“I want my son!” Sophia’s head rests on the floor. “Where is he?” she cries.
“We need to do something, now,” Cove snaps. “I can’t be in this place any longer, just waiting. Give me your truck keys.”
“No.” I shake my head. “You’re fucking tanked off your ass. Besides, where the hell are you gonna go?”
“We should be checking on Mera. What motel is she in?”
“Uhhh,” I exhale. “No one’s that stupid. She doesn’t have him,” I say, unsure if that’s true, but not letting on that it’s crossed my mind a number of times over the past five hours.
“We’ve got until six before the police return, just fucking drive me around town until then so we’re doing something.
I’m going to explode if we don’t look for him. What if he’s out on the road?”
“Someone would see him.”
“Mark, give me your goddamn keys!”
“Alright,” I mumble. “We’ll go, but I’m gonna drive since you can hardly keep your balance. Jules, stay here with my sister.”
“Okay. I’ll make some coffee.”
“What the hell’s that going to do?” Cove mutters.
“Thanks,” I say to her, pushing him out the door. “She’s trying to help. Treat her like shit again and you’ll be flat on your ass.”
He’s silent the rest of the way to my suite, down the stairwell, and into the garage. He slides into my truck then stares at the area where Dayne once laid as I start the engine and pull out.
“I can’t believe this shit is happening to us again,” he whispers, running a hand through his hair. “You bring nothing but evil into our lives.”
“What the fuck did I do?” I ask, looking directly at him.
He exhales and shakes his head. “You did everything... everything Paul told you to and now that he’s gone you expect everyone to worship your every move. You’re the next in command, right? Well, I’m not following your orders like my wife does.”
“I know what I’m doing. Trust me.”
“Oh yeah. You don’t know shit.”
I slam on the brakes and his body rocks back then juts forward.
“I understand now why my father always talked about wanting to put a bullet in that tiny brain of yours.”
I step out of the truck and plod around to his side, opening the passenger door and pulling him out.
“All you ever fucking do is bitch and moan when you’re drunk, like a woman on the rag. Now hit me.”
“I’m not as drunk as you think... exhaustion’s affecting my body more than the liquor.”
“Hit me.”
“What?”
“I said fucking hit me!” I shout and his fist smashes into my jaw like a bolt of lightning. My head is forced to the side in a quick jerk and my immediate reaction is to set a hand over the aching spot. I didn’t think he had it in him. I know he’s got a lot of booze in his system, but he is sober enough to take a swing.
“Fuck, hit me again.” I lower my hand with a grin and he does, nailing my nose next. Blood drips down and lands at my feet. Damn, it feels good. The pain is so much better than thinking about my nephew.
But then Cove attacks. I thought two swings would be enough to satisfy his anger and frustration, both for his kid and me, but the fucker starts wailing at my face. In a second, I hit the ground from another hard blow and he’s circling my body like a shark.
“Alright!” I put up my hand. “Enough! I’m not going to strike you back, so let up!”
“Why not? You want to do this? Because I’m ready, asshole.”
“I wanted you to get some of that pent up rage out of your system!” I yell, wiping the blood from my nose as I stand. He takes another swing and I duck, plowing head first into his stomach to take him to the ground. He swings heatedly and we grunt like wild animals. I try to defend without hitting him back. I’m in shock when he overpowers me, tossing me on my back where I’m vulnerable and being smothered by his weight.
“I thought you wanted to fight, Mark. No one can see us over here and Sophia’s not around to stop us, so get on your feet and let’s do this!”
“Don’t treat me like garbage after all I’ve done for you and your kids!”
A second punch to my nose sends a splatter of blood onto my truck tire. Fuck, that one really hurt.
“Fuck!”
My hand grips his neck, turning his head toward the bloody rim. He catches a glimpse of his reflection in the truck and a low groan emerges.
“Pure evil. That’s what you are and what I’ve now become, pure evil,” he whispers. “Goddammit, where’s my son?” He stands and kicks my leg. “Stand up and drive!”
“Get in the truck,” I say, rolling to my knees and holding my shirt over my nose.
We’re both out of breath dipshits. Nothing more. Just two grown men acting like boys.
I put the truck back in gear and hit the gas. “My sister deserves better,” I say, giving him a monstrous look. “She should leave your ass.”
He lets out a short laugh.
“You’ll regret laughing once you sober up and see my nose all bloody and swollen, if you ever get sober. You stopped drinking for a year once, you can do it again. Your sons deserve better, not just Sophia. They’re going to pick up your bad habits.”
“Yeah, you’re living proof of a son who’s picked up bad habits.”
“Fuck off, Cove,” I exhale, pulling onto the main road from my hotel drive. “You’re a bastard.”
“Not always.”
“I hope you feel better after pummeling my nose.”
“A lot, actually.”
“Good. Me too, for some odd reason.”
He finally did it. I’m so proud of the guy. Damn, that was fun.
“So why are you such a dick to me all the time? I know you get this way after you toss back a few, but it’s been non-stop lately.”
He picks at the plastic armrest, ignoring my words. Cove can be a brat, yet I know for a fact he’s wonderful to my sister. I get annoyed and say stupid shit to him, like Sophia should leave your ass, except I don’t mean it. I know he’s a different person when I’m not around. I’ve watched them on my security cam. A few days ago the two of them were slow dancing in the living room after their sons fell asleep. He’s good to her, but a total ass to me.
“I can be your best friend and protector, or your worst nightmare.”
“You’ve been my worst nightmare since the day we met,” he says.
“That’s bullshit.”
“Yeah? You think I wanted you and all those guys to fuck me?”
Ohhh. Here we go.
“Are you gonna start this shit again? Whenever you’re drunk and under stress this is all you talk about, like it was yesterday. It was years ago, buddy. There’s nothing you or I could’ve done back then... look, you’ve got to stop killing yourself with those memories. You’ll end up with one foot in the grave if you don’t,” I say hypocritically.
“Fuck, I’m already neck deep in.” He breathes heavily while staring out the window.
The road is empty this time of the morning and the roads are dark. At least the rain has stopped and it will be easier for the search team to find him today, and they will find him. I know it.
“Do you?” he asks softly.
“What?”
“Have those memories all the time?”
“Anyone would.”
“But do you?”
I turn the radio on and he turns it off.
“I’ve talked to people,” he says. “I’ve seen shrinks. That doesn’t do shit for me.”
“I know,” I sigh, suddenly realizing why those memories are really in his head. “We’re going to find your son, Cove. He wasn’t taken by anyone like you were. This is a totally different situation. Just try to keep your shit together, do it for Sophia and Xavier.”
“I can’t take one more day here,” he whispers. “I’ve been in that suite for too long. And then I just about lost my mind watching you gut Dayne. How can you push a blade inside someone and not break down? I’d kill a guy if I had to, but fuck; I wouldn’t be able to walk away like it was nothing, unlike you. Your cold eyes, steady hands, and that calm voice of yours when you were speaking to him... everything about you that night was heartless. Killing him didn’t upset you at all?”
“It was Dayne Rosen, need I say more?”
“And now my son is missing. I’ll never be able to sleep again without a drink. This can’t be real. I’m either dreaming or losing my shit like the guy in The Shining. Your hotel is just as sickening as that place. Another day it will start to snow and then we’ll all be trapped here for the winter.”
&
nbsp; “Look, I understand none of this is easy for you, but it’s time for you to step away from the booze, you miserable drunk.”
“It’s better than being a violent drunk. At least I’d never beat the shit out of Sophia and the kids like Paul did to me whenever he got wasted. You know,” he says, “your fucking father...”
Hell, he rambles on and on about Vegas, always reminding me of my biggest regret in life—that I turned my head whenever he was abused and I never stood up to my father. Fuck, that right there is enough reason for him to hate me, but no one helped me either. “Cove, get your head out of your ass, sit up, and look for your kid... and don’t compare my place to that hotel in The Shining. I know you’re a city boy, but I happen to enjoy being in these woods. This is a classy resort town bustling with tourists.”
“Bustling? The road’s empty.”
“People do sleep.”
“What if Mera has him?” he asks.
“I think your son would kick her ass, that’s what if.”
Ah-ha, laughter. Yes, he laughed. That’s what he needed to hear; a little humor about Dax.
“Can you imagine?” I say, dabbing my bloody nose with my shirt. “Daxton’s the type of kid who would bite her wrists, kick her shins, then pull her hair out, all while screaming that she’s a bitch.”
He smiles and nods with brighter eyes.
We drive through town, past the park, and along the main street. I take him by the motel Dayne and Mera were staying at, but the Datsun’s not there. We drive a few miles west of the hotel, further into the mountains, and see nothing but an empty road cutting through a drenched landscape.
I know we won’t come across him this way, but Cove was right, we needed to get out and do something, anything, if nothing else but to pass the time.
“If, by chance, she is involved in this, then there’s nothing to worry about.”
He turns, surprised that I would say such a thing.
“Cove, she’d use him as leverage to find out where Dayne is, nothing more. I can pay her off and we’ll do a quick exchange.”
“My son’s not some bartering tool,” he says with disdain.
“It’d be easy and he’d come home safe and sound.”