Page 61 of Fighting the Darkness

Tears slip free as I close my eyes, accepting that it’s just too late. I waited too late to start fighting.

I send up a prayer for my loved ones—a hope that they’ll be okay.

“I’m so sorry,” I murmur as my hand slips for the last time.

Chapter Twenty-seven

Wilder

It’sbeenweekssinceI’ve seen Freya, and yet, she’s still all I think about. It’s pathetic really.

I thought hiding away would help me. That if I didn’t see her every day I would be able to go back to repressing these feelings that continue to bloom within me.

Unsurprisingly, it’s been a failure.

I know that I’ll have to face life again soon—face her again—but I’m just not ready.

That’s why I’ve continued to ignore my phone even though it’s been blowing up for the last hour, but I can’t take it anymore. Soren and Griffin have been calling and texting me non-stop. I don’t listen to or read any of their messages because none of it matters. Nothing matters.

“Why the fuck can’t you leave me alone?” I bark into the phone as soon as I accept the call.

“Fucking finally,” Griffin growls into the phone. “Do you think we’d keep calling and texting if it wasn’t an emergency?”

I scoff. “There’s no emergency that you would need me—“

“Freya is missing,” he says, cutting me off.

Fear and guilt settle heavily into my stomach. “What do you mean, she’s missing?”

“What the fuck do you think missing means, jackass?” Griffin takes an audible breath. “Something happened. She ran. Soren and I have been looking for her for hours, but she hasn’t been home and she’s not answering her phone. I called Cook. Her mom tried tracking her phone, but it seems to be off. Apparently, she’s trying to get the SUV’s GPS tracked. We’re worried. What if she hurt herself?”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

This can’t be happening right now. I promised Freyr I would take care of her, and once again, I’m failing them both. All because I’m in love with Freya.

“I’m heading out right now,” I tell him as I throw on a shirt, not caring that I haven’t showered in a week. “I’ll call Liv as soon as I’m on my bike. As soon as she has the location, I’ll get there.”

“We’re going to keep looking. We have to. Wilder, if something happened to her...”

“No,” I growl, throwing my leg over my bike. “She’s alright. She has to be. We can’t think about any other outcome.”

I disconnect the call, unable to have that conversation with him right now. If something happened to Freya while I was hiding like a coward, that’ll be it for me. I won’t be able to live with myself for failing my best friend. I grab my helmet, connect the Bluetooth and call Liv.

“Wilder?” Liv sounds like she’s on the verge of a breakdown.

Taking a deep breath as I pull away from my house, revving the engine before I can stop myself. “I heard Freya’s missing and that you’re tracking the car’s GPS. Do you have anything yet?”

“Yes. They just sent me the location, and I’ve passed it along to the police. They say they’re on their way to check it out, but they aren’t acting like it’s an emergency.” Liv sobs. “I’m worried, Wilder. She’s in the middle of nowhere. She has no reason to be out there. What if—“

“No, Liv. You can’t go there. Send the coordinates to my phone. I’ll find her, and I’ll bring her home.”

I hear a ping on my phone before Liv sighs. “Thank you, Wilder. Find my baby for me.”

“I will.”

Ending the call, I command my phone to direct me to the coordinates, and Liv is right. It is in the middle of nowhere.

As much as I’d love to pretend otherwise, I’m also scared. No, I’m not just scared. I’m terrified—petrified.

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