"Everly! Everly! Everly!" I was frantically searching, raising the alarm for the missing child to all of the people around me. On human instinct, they started searching too. Strangers all pulling together to find my child.
River was using his phone to call somebody, I'm assuming the police. Everything was happening so fast, or perhaps the adrenaline and chaos just made it seem fast. Though strangely, the minutes spent away from my child felt far too long, like an eternity passing me by.
My legs gave out beneath me, the reality of the situation crushing down on me like a boulder. They took her. They took my sweet little Everly. My teeth chattered together with my crying and my whole body trembled from the shock.
"We'll find her." Rivers calm voice spoke behind me and my watery eyes darted in his direction. How the fuck was he so calm?
"You." I sobbed, wiping my tears away as I tried to clear the lump in my throat so I could at least form a comprehensible sentence. "You told me we were safe. You said you were tracking him."
"I am. I was. Its not Leighton." He turned his phone screen to me, showing CCTV from the town bank. "This is footage from twenty minutes ago, he couldn't have gotten here in twenty minutes."
As I blinked more tears fell, silent ones and the conclusion sketched itself into my mind.
"What if he tampered with the cameras knowing you were watching. I've seen movies, what if he recorded a loop of him just sitting there?"
"No Millie." River shook his head at me softly. "I tracked his licence plate to the bank, watched him on town CCTV leave his car, watched him on the banks security and then got alerted that he had taken money from his account. Leighton doesn't have her."
I hated how calm he was being, I don't know if it was intentionally to try and soothe my anxiety and fear or if he genuinely didn't care enough to be upset. Either way, I hated it.
I needed him to fall apart, with me.
I didn't care if he hadn't known her as long as me. I didn't care if the bond wasn't as strong. I just needed to not feel so alone. She was our daughter. I needed him to be just as frantic.
"So then it's Hendrix." I pointed out, once again clearing the tears from my face. "Leighton planted Hendrix in my tracks. He hired Hendrix to kill her all for your stupid company. You entangled us up in this, do you even care about that?"
His calmness was angering me to exploding lengths and I was about to irrationally take it all out on him. Blame him for everything. Release that anger in the worst way imaginable on someone least deserving, but I couldn't stop myself. There was no filter holding me back. My fear, my upset, my anger, my regret, it was all about to come pouring out of me in the moment.
"I'm well aware of the facts Millie but she's my daughter, she was always going to be entangled up in my mess. I warned you, I've only ever been honest with you. I'm not safe to be around. That's why I left in the first place. But of course I care, how can you even question that? If I start panicking nothing will get done. I need to keep a rational mind. I promise you, I will find her. I have to."
I shoved my palms hard into his chest and his calmness faltered a little so I did again, knowing I was achieving the exact reaction I wanted.
"This is your fault." I did it again, shoving my hands into him until he grabbed my wrists and held them so fucking tightly. His breathing increased, anger displayed all of over his face.
I thought he was going to punch me but instead we looked at one another, so deeply and emotionally, both so hurt it was consuming us.
After a beat he grabbed me and pulled me into his chest, holding my head against his rapidly beating heart so I could sob it all out into his T-shirt. His fingers raked through my hair gently, consoling me after I just intentionally hurt him.
