Brave (New Earth Saga)

Ch. 34

I answered my phone relieved to hear the giant on the other end of the line. Trent. It had only been a day since I last spoke to Trent, but man what a difference a day could make. Trent fussed over my health for the first 10 minutes of our conversation, even joking about how he was still not over the fact that I had broken my hand punching Aaron. Hopefully my hand would fully heal by the time my stitches fully dissolved.

Next, I filled Trent in on what I could on the Joe front. Joe had been charged for trespassing (passing the border into a human neighborhood without a permit), assault (grabbing a human. Aka ME, without their consent) and resisting arrest (ignoring the humans officer trying to put Joe under arrest during the whole altercation). Luckily, Joe has a number of lawyers on retainer (perks of being a Fuse CEO) who were able to get ALL of the charges dropped. I mean, it didn't hurt that the police department had royally screwed up by firing at a human teenage girl... They apparently seemed to not want to draw anymore high-profile attention to this incident. As of right now, Joe was on his way home! In the meantime, I'd been here waiting anxiously with Gram.

The tired tone of Trent's voice on the other line reminded me that not all of us had such wins to celebrate. Trent's sister, River was still missing. I should have asked about that right away... why had I babbled on and on about myself without checking in?

"Trent, are you okay? I can't imagine how it's going with the search for River. Has there been any leads?"

"Well... I'm okay. I mean, I kind of feel like it was all a dream. Like at any moment she'll jump out and prove it was all just an elaborate game of hide and seek."

"We'll find her. She will be found. I just know it," I replied, hoping I sounded more confident than I felt about the topic. I mean statistically speaking... every second that passes with River still missing, the chances of a safe return decrease.

"Thanks. I guess to a certain extent that's all we can do. Both the investigators Joe provided and the police believe she was kidnapped based on the human sized hole you found. They're looking into a larger scale of human trafficking of this nature that has some routes that may take us to some leads."

"T-that's good. She's got to be out there. We'll find her!" I replied before Trent had to get off the phone so he could help make dinner. Apparently Trent had been helping out a lot around the house since River had gone missing. While River's disappearance was hard for everyone, it was seemingly hardest for Trent's mother, Blue. According to Trent, Blue was barely functioning while the search for River continued. This whole situation was nothing but a nightmare! A nightmare we all desperately needed to wake up from.

Every minute of the evening seemed to drag as Gram and I waited in anticipation of Joe's return. I didn't even know what to say to him. Somehow "sorry" just didn't seem like a strong enough phrase to encompass the guilt I was hoarding. I had been so dumb. I'd snuck out of the house, put myself in a dangerous situation, and even caused Joe to end up in jail of all places. At no point from my time in the hospital to now had I even spoken to Joe on the phone. I know he'd spoken to Gram, but definitely not to me. In fact, he probably didn't even want to speak to me.

When I tried to hide away in my room to avoid facing Joe upon his return, Gram refused to let me tuck tail and hide. Gram always insisted it was better to face your problems head on verses running from them. I was finally about to face my anxiety head on as the front door opened and in walked Joe, slower than normal, seeming to dread returning home. After a brief embrace between Gram and Joe, Joe's eyes found me sat in the living room silently staring at him and Gram. When our eyes met I instantly looked away. Ugh, why did I do that? I literally can't face him! After a long moment of silence in the room I heard Joe ask Gram to give us some time alone. Hearing this really made me want to evaporate. At least if Gram was in the room I could cast my guilty gaze her way instead of only having Joe to face. Mother earth! Why am I such a mess?!