Page 57 of Frat Row
He drops his rag from cleaning up the bar, getting ready for it to open, lets out an irritated sigh, and finally gives the picture his full attention, fed up with me.
“No, I haven’t seen her man. Check the other bars around campus,” he tells me, and gets back to his task.
“But I have checked over twenty bars in this area, and they’ve said the same thing,” I grumble, more so to myself because theman has gone back to acting like I don’t exist, wanting me to leave as soon as possible.
Storming out of the bar, I slam the door in frustration and make my way to my car parked out front.
I jump in and let out a yell, consumed with defeat, and bang on the steering wheel.
Everywhere. I have checked everywhere. Local bars, local hangouts, and other fraternities and sororities.
No one has even seemed to recognize her photo. How does someone just disappear like this without a trace or scrap of something left behind?
I have even posted missing persons posters all over campus, trying to gather any information I can.
I reach for my phone and make my daily call to the person who can relate to what I’m going through right now the most.
It rings, and I wait.
“Nothing today, Tyler,” Blair says cryptically.
“You already checked in with Lillian?” I ask hopefully.
“Yes, you know I call her every morning, and nothing has changed in the investigation. The police have no leads. It is as if she vanished into thin air,” she tells me in an exasperated tone.
“That isn’t possible!” I yell, shaking my head in disbelief.
“Apparently so,” she says on the verge of tears.
“I’m sorry, Blair, I didn’t mean to upset you. I know you are hurting too and are desperate for answers,” I say soothingly.
She sighs. “It is ok. I am barely making it through each day. I had to drop some of my classes because I just can't pull myself out of bed most days.”
“She wouldn’t want to see you like this, Blair; you have to keep fighting.”
“I’m fighting to hold on, and it's barely by a thread,” She cries.
I recoil, knowing how she must feel.
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” I tell her, and she just ends the call.
I have managed to keep my grades up and stick with my routine, but my mental health is at an all-time low. This obsession with trying to find Cassidy has consumed any extra spare moment I have.
From the moment I met her, I knew she was going to put a lasting imprint on me, but this was the last thing I expected to happen.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Groggily blinking my eyes, barely opening them, not wanting to adjust to the bright lights yet, I take in the soreness of my body. Every day is a new ache, bruise, laceration, or exhaustion.
Before I am even able to move my body to get out of bed, my throat is seized, and I am wrenched from my cot and thrown up against the concrete wall.
My brain has not even registered what is fully happening. My head hits the wall with a loud smack, and my vision is instantaneously foggy.
I open my eyes to see who is cutting off my oxygen—Rio.
His nose is touching mine as he roars, “How did you pull this off, you fucking cunt!?”
I scratch at his wrist that is holding my throat, trying to get any air, and failing, but he tightens his grip, lifting me off the ground. “Your new master is demanding to have his property now, and I’m not quite through with you yet.”
