Living A Lie (Completed)

Chapter 12. 2

Genevieve

I left Asher to process my words. I basically gave him an ultimatum. Either he realizes that Audrey will always see Anthony as her father; or he won't be apart of her life. Its tough love. He has to take responsibility for all that he's done and hope that she forgives him. We're all trying to do it. We were all apart of the attack- one way or another- and because of that, Audrey suffered several losses.

Walking into the forest, I followed Audrey's scent. I found her sitting against a tree. Her knees were pulled up to her chest; her head was resting on her knees; and her arms were wrapped around her legs. She looked so broken as her body shook from the sobs. I didn't know what to say; so I just sat next to her and gently pulled her to me.

She hiccuped and buried her face in my shirt. My heart broke with every sob that escaped her lips. I know that I can't make it better. I can't bring back her friends or Anthony. All I can do is hold her, give her some type of comfort. I wonder if this is what Jordyn felt like whenever I cried about my parents or about Audrey. There was nothing she could do, but rub my back and coax me not to cry.

I went through grief when I was Audrey's age. I lost my parents- she lost her father. But I don't want her to go down the same road that I did. I turned off my emotions and shut everyone out, twice. I hurt everyone around me. I don't want that to happen to Audrey. She has so many people who care about her. I can't let her push them away. I can't let her end up like me.

*FLASHBACK*

Its been exactly a year since Audrey was taken. A year. 12 months. 52 weeks. 365 days. And we have no leads. We have almost every pack looking for her. We've visited every single pack; trying to get some kind of information. And there's nothing.

Every day that passes by, diminishes the chances of finding her. I failed my daughter. She was taken; and only the Goddess knows what that man could be doing to her right now. I can't take it. I can't take the hurt anymore.

I was sitting in my office when I did it. I closed my eyes and flipped the switch. Just like last time, I felt everything just lift off of my chest. I was empty. And I embraced the emptiness. I succumbed in the emptiness. I welcomed it.

A small smile made its way onto my face. I didn't have a care in the world. I sat at my desk and grabbed a bunch of the notes that we made about the possible locations of Audrey. I started folding them into paper airplanes and threw them around my office.

There were so many notes. I would fold one up, throw it, then do the next one. It was like never ending. Until my mate comes into my office. "Hello, Asher" I greeted him before throwing the next airplane.

"What are you doing?" he asked, confused. I shrugged as I finished throwing the next plane. It blew with the fan and my mate caught it before it hit him. "Are these the notes?" he questioned after unfolding the paper.

I nodded in confirmation and started folding the next plane. "Stop that" he demanded. I simply ignored him and continued my plane-throwing/folding. "Eve" he said sternly. The paper crinkled as I did the last fold. "What the hell is your problem?!" he yelled as I threw the next plane.

He slammed his hand down on the notes, stopping me from making another plane. I sighed and looked up at him. "I don't have a problem. I'm completely content with life, at the moment" I answered while looking straight into his eyes.

When he registered what I've done, he slowly backed away from me. "Why would you do this?" he asked quietly. I didn't answer him, but I continued to stare at him. "You're not the only one that's hurting!" I flinched at the sudden change of his voice. "This is selfish! You've been down this road before! You've put everyone through this before! Did you even think about anyone else?!" he shouted.