Page 45 of The Hand That Holds Me
We both heard the ringing coming from the living room and I fought to hold the bile in my stomach. She left her phone and ran.
Where was she? How would we find her? Who was she with?
We walked in and found her phone with a note underneath addressed to Caroline.
Caroline,
I am going away for a while. I left my phone so no one will be able to reach me. I have been betrayed by the people closet to me and I’m not sure who I can trust anymore. I will let you know when I am ready to talk.
Maddie
With pure rage in her eyes, Caroline swung around and shoved me away from her. “What the HELL did you do? Explain this note to me and what you did to make my sister run! Did you cheat on her?”
“Its not what you think Caroline. She came to the office today while I was in a meeting and may have overheard something that made her run. I need to find her and make this right.” I tried to explain. I had to get Caroline on my side or there was no way to salvage any part of this relationship with Maddie.
“What did she overhear Lucas?”
“I have been keeping something from Maddie. I was tasked to find her a few years ago.”
“Tasked? By whom?”
“Jason Merrick”
“Holy shit! You bastard! You used her to reconcile her relationship with Jason? Get out! I have to find her.”
“I’m not leaving until I know where she is so I can talk to her. Make her understand that what she thinks isn’t the whole truth. I need to make her understand that I love her.”
“If she found out you know Jason, she probably thinks you used her and I can’t say I disagree.”
“I swear to you Caroline. The first night I talked to her at the bar, was purely fate. I saw y’all walking into the bar and I was compelled to follow her. There was this invisible force pulling me toward her. Nothing I have said to her is a lie. Yes, I tried to guide her to a reunion with Jason but I never pushed her into anything. I only wanted to give her back a part of herself she was missing. She has a father that loves her and has been searching for her for years. I found out how amazing she is and I fell head over heels in love with her. She is my everything.” I said, trying and failing, to keep the emotion out of my voice.
I sank down onto the couch and put my head in my hands, tears gathering in my eyes. Maddie was gone and I felt hollow inside.
Caroline sat down and tried to give me some comfort but I could tell she was still pissed at me.
“Let’s call my parents and see if they’ve heard from her. If she took off, she probably went home.”
“Thank you, Caroline. For believing me.”
“I didn’t say I believed you but my fist priority of finding Maddie.”
She dialed her mom and let her know what had happened, resulting in me getting yelled at by Lisa and Joe. They’d warned me to be honest with Maddie and my stupid pride wouldn’t listen. They hadn’t heard from her and she had officially been missing six hours.
Caroline was angry I had met with her parents and they hadn’t told her. I could see the hurt in her eyes and it was all my fault. I was tearing this family apart with my need for Maddie. My omissions had destroyed everything we had built together.
“Do you know where else she may have gone? If she doesn’t want to talk to me, that’s fine. I just need to know she is okay.” I said to the entire family, hoping for a miracle.
“Let’s all make a few calls to ask around. I’ll call you back, mom.” Caroline hung up without another word to her parents.
She dialed a few numbers, asking the same question each time. “Have you seen or heard from Maddie today?” with the same response coming each time.No
“There are only a few more people I can call before we are out of luck. If she wants to stay hidden, she has the knowledge to do it.”
“What about Josh?” I swallowed my pride and asked her.
“What about him?”
“He texted her when we were at the lake house this weekend. She told me about theirrelationship.Would he know where she is?” At this point I was desperate to find her.
