Page 57 of Needing More
"Where is Sapphire?" Vic asked, cutting Hayden off.
Hayden's crazed eyes widened at that.
"I'll kill you," Hayden reached for him again, his violent intent clear even as Joel grabbed him from behind.
"Wait, just wait," Joel cursed as he tried to wrestle the bigger man back.
Vic ignored them both and turned back around. Opening the front door, he called out Sapphire's name.
Nothing.
No sound from anywhere in the house and the truck was still outside where she parked it earlier.
"I think we should just-" Joel tried to cut in, positioning himself between Hayden and Vic, but Vic cut him off.
"Look, you can hate me all you want," he said looking back at Hayden, "but don’t blame her. Sapphire didn’t do anything. She wanted me to stop each time, but I knew deep down underneath her fight that she felt what I felt, too. So, I kept pushing."
His words only seemed to spur Hayden's anger further. His stormy eyes practically glowed with rage. Barreling past Joel with a hearty shove, which caused the other man to let out a string of curses as he hit the wall behind him, Hayden came for Vic.
Seeing Hayden's clenched fist Vic held up his hands. "Goddammit man, just pause. Where is she?" he yelled. Seeing Hayden blink in realization, Vic continued. "Last I saw her she was standing in the foyer with you, looking like a ghost."
Stepping forward, Joel frowned and shook his head. He stepped around Vic and further into the house calling out her name. "Sapphire, where are you?" Hearing nothing in reply, he turned to Vic with a deep frown. "She was here a moment ago."
Hayden looked as if he wanted to continue arguing. Scrubbing his face with both hands, he forcibly pulled himself back to the present issue at hand and looked around the large front yard, and called out her name.
"Sapphire?!"
A sense of urgency silently descended over them as each man spread out looking into each room and calling out her name over and over again. Vic nearly skidded to a halt as he passed by the open door to his bedroom.
Sitting facing the bathroom door, Krrsantan stared at the door whimpering.
"Sapphire!?" Vic yelled, moving to the door and trying the handle. It was locked. "Sapphire, answer me!" he shouted.
There was nothing. Nothing but an eerie silence that fed the sense of wrong wrapping itself tighter and tighter around his heart.
"What is it?" Hayden came into the bedroom followed by Joel.
"Is she in there?" Joel shoved past Hayden and stood next to Vic by the bathroom door and tried the handle.
Dropping down low, Vic lowered himself on the floor while Joel banged on the door. With his cheek on the ground, Vic looked under the door and felt his heart stop. He could see gold and brown curls laying on the floor next to an unmoving hand.
"Oh God," he whispered, jumping back up to standing. "She's on the floor directly in front of the door not moving." Each word felt like a hollowing of his gut.
Joel stared back at him with confused horror as if what he was saying couldn't be true.
"No," Hayden shook his head and ran from the room. A second later they heard the back door slam open and then shut.
Blinking, Vic looked at Joel in confusion before understanding dawned over him. "He's going to the window."
Nodding, Joel took off after Hayden.
Dropping back down to the floor, Vic reached his fingers as far as he could until they grazed Sapphire's hand. "Sapphire, honey, wake up," he began but as she continued to lay there unflinching his words turned into a desperate shout. "Sapphire!"
She still didn’t stir.
Standing up, Vic heard the rustling and banging on the outside of the house and ran outside circling the house until he came across the scene of Hayden and Joel trying to open the small window. Quickly his mind worked.
"Break it," he commanded. "I'll get some crowbars. We'll take it off its frame so Joel can climb through."
