Page 50 of One Last Regret

“Stop,” he says, gently but firmly. “You’re beating yourself up far too much.”

“Am I? It doesn’t feel like it.”

“Of course it doesn’t. You’re upset now. You feel bad for the children, and I don’t blame you. This will be hard for them. But you’re doing the right thing. I’m not going to call you all the terrible names you’ve just called yourself, but I agree that you need to come home and get yourself away from this situation. Honestly, when you told me you had to go to New Orleans because of that old playbill, I feared you were putting yourself at risk. I should have said something then, but I didn’t want to hurt you. I don’t want you to think I believe you’re insane. You’re not. But that was selfish of me.”

I sniff and wipe tears from my eyes. “Oh. So it’syourfault. You bastard.”

He laughs loudly, and I smile and chuckle along with him. “That’s what I get for falling for your bloody gray eyes.”

“I thought it was my godlike physique you fell in love with.”

“That too. I hope you’ve kept in shape for me because I’ll be home within twelve hours.”

“Ooh, Mary. Please, let’s keep this conversation appropriate for all audiences. What if the children hear?”

I chuckle again and wipe more tears from my eyes. “As long as you promise to hold me, I don’t really care what we do or don’t do. I just need to feel safe again.”

“Mmm, nah. I don’t think so.”

I roll my eyes, “Oh, go stuff yourself.”

“I’d rather stuff you.”

I gasp, “Sean! What happened to appropriate for all audiences?”

"There's no children here." In a tender voice, he adds, "Travel safe, my love. I'll make you a lovely dinner, and we'll stay up late watching those boring old movies you love for reasons I can't possibly understand."

“That sounds lovely.”

“Goodbye, Mary.”

“Goodbye.”

We hang up, and I feel a little better. It’s so wonderful to have someone to come home to. I don’t know how I’d survive the guilt to come without him.

But I must get through the hard part first. I’m packed and dressed. All that remains is to say goodbye to the family one final time, then leave them to their fate. I can only hope that salvation will find them through some other means.

I call a rideshare, then gather my luggage and leave the room. No sooner do I open the door than I run headlong into Amelia. She is weeping, and fresh tears come to my eyes when I see her.

I smile at her and say, “I’m so sorry, Amelia. I wish I could stay. I’ll tell you what, though. I’ll give you my phone number and my address. You can call—”

“Mary, Gabriel’s missing again.”

My smile fades.Oh God no. Please not again.“What? You’re sure?”

“I’m sure. He’s nowhere to be found.”

“Have you talked to your father or your grandmother?”

She shakes her head. “He’s not with them. They left an hour ago. I know they didn’t take him because we were both in his room. He said he wanted to watch a movie and asked me to get snacks, so I went to the kitchen, but when I came back up, he was gone.”

My knees began to tremble. He sent her away. He wanted to run, so he sent her away to give himself time.

“I looked everywhere. I checked the garden, the garage, the attic… everywhere. He’s gone.”

“All right. Okay. It’s all right, Amelia. Hold on. I’ll call the police and—”

And my phone’s out of battery. Again. Of course. Because why wouldone bloody thinggo right for me?

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