33. Hazel
THIRTY-THREE
Hazel
Easton has been playing phone tag with the police for several minutes now. Right now, he’s on the phone with the local sheriff to see what options they have in terms of a manhunt.
It feels so weird to even think those words, but that's the point we're at.
We have to find Neil, who's kidnapped poor Jade, and we have to find him as quickly as possible because I know exactly what he plans to do to her.
I remember what it feels like to be in her shoes, and I cannot let that happen to that poor, innocent kid.
This is all my fault, and I'm the only one to blame for something happening to Easton's niece. So, I won't let it go any further.
“Yeah, okay, I can give you everything I have about what she wore to bed last night and all that stuff. Um, yeah, hold on, let me go grab some things.”
Easton's voice drifts across the living room, and every word hits me in the chest like a punch.
What she was wearing last night. What she was wearing last night…because we need to find Jade because Neil took her.
The guilt and the pain and the memory is too much for me right now, but there's one thing that I can do to make this all better.
So, while he's digging in some box for something to give the local sheriff, a picture of Jade most likely, I sneak to the back of house, go through the sliding glass door, and into the backyard.
Holding my phone clutched in my hands, I look down at the screen. Right now, the lock screen is a picture of me and Jade, a goofy one where she's sticking out her tongue and crossing her eyes, and I'm pulling my cheeks apart with my fingers.
She forced me to put it as my phone background.
I choke on a sob, but then I swipe my phone open, and I go to the recent numbers.
Neil called me on a different phone line when he made that threat the other day, and I didn't tell Easton, but I didn't block it right away.
I didn't know if I would need it. It turns out I was right.
Sucking in a deep breath, the smell of hot summer air and plants and pool water nearly suffocates me under the weight of all the things that are adding up one after the other.
But I have to do this. I have to do whatever it takes to get Jade back.
I steady myself—as best as I can anyway—my fingers are still shaking, and I swipe open my phone and go to that number again.
And I click it.
It only takes three rings for the line to pick up.
“Well, well, well, look who's decided to finally give me a call.”
From Neil’s tone at the get-go of this phone call, I have to wonder if this wasn't his plan all along, to take Jade to taunt me into calling him, to taunt me into giving him something else that he really wants—me.
I'm the one that fucked up his whole life. I'm the one that forced him to spend years in jail. Not Jade.
If he wants to hurt anyone, I'm sure it's me.
“If you return Jade, you can have me. Just make sure she gets back home safe and sound, not a scratch on her, and I will do whatever you want.”
I know I sound desperate, and it's not like I have any leverage to use against him. But maybe the promise of getting what he wants will be enough.
“And how do I know this isn't a trap, sweet Hazel girl? You seem to have a lot of powerful friends in high places. You hear those sirens in the distance. I know I can, and I'm over here.”
I don't know what Neil is getting at, but I do hear the sirens in the distance.
I know that police are coming to the house because they need to check out the scene of the crime where he broke into the circuit box, where he took Jade from her bed, and left her window open.
Is he close by? Is he just hearing this through the phone line? Is he just taunting me?
I always feel like I'm five steps behind him. He knows all the moves, and he's playing a different game of chess than I am, and I've never been very good at that game anyway.
My heart is beating furiously against my ribs, and my voice cracks when I try to speak again.
“I promise. I promise this isn't some kind of trap. I just want Jade safe. She's what matters. Please don't hurt her.”
A menacing chuckle rings through the line, and I can hear how very proud of himself he is. Neil was always a huge fan of gloating, of showing you just how much he has and how little you have.
He always struck me as the type of person who cared about power more than anything else.
Sure, there was the fleeting joy of getting to assault young, beautiful women. Still, it always felt like the thing that he really got off on was how much of a power difference there was between us, how much he could do to us without us being able to retaliate.
This feels exactly the same.
He knows he can hurt me. He knows he can say whatever he wants right now because I have nothing in my power to stop him.
“You sound so broken up, Hazel. Maybe now you see how serious this all is, how you can't just go around messing with people's lives, getting them thrown into jail when they're just trying to make a buck.
All right. I'll hear you out for now, but if I see anything, just know that I have no problem killing the girl.”
I suck in a breath, nearly vomiting at the sound of that. But he's going to do it. He's going to hear me out, at least for now, and I have no choice but to do as he says.
“I promise I won't bring anybody with me. Just tell me where to go. You can text it, and I'll write it down on my hand, and I'll delete the message. I promise I won't bring anybody else with me.”
“All right, Hazel girl, you meet me at midnight at the address I'm texting you right now.
Don't bring anybody with you, don't tell the police, and just know that I have connections that can see Jade shipped across the country, across the globe, and you'll never see her again. I feel like that might be a much worse fate than just snapping her little neck.”
I choke on a sob that I won't let break free, nodding to myself too much.
“I promise, I promise, I promise. I-I won't tell the police. I'll be there. I'll be there at midnight. Please don't hurt Jade. Please .” The need to know if she’s even still alive bubbles up. “Can I talk to her? Can you tell her that it's Hazel? Can I?—"
Click.
The line goes dead. Neil’s hung up on me.
I still don't know if she's alright. I don't know if he's already moved her across the country, across the globe.
But I have to go on faith that getting me is more important to him than keeping Jade. So, I tuck my phone away in my pocket, vowing to write down the address on my hand and then delete the message.
I'm trembling as I walk back inside the house. Easton is just getting off the phone as I look into the living room, and he looks up at me, his eyes wide, his hair frazzled.
We both look like a complete mess right now, and I don't blame either of us for that.
“Okay, great. Uh, yes, I will await your officers here. Thank you.”
Easton hangs up, sets his phone down on the kitchen island, and walks closer towards me.
“Hey, are you okay? You’re white as a sheet, and you're trembling.”
I look down at my hands, trying to shake away the fidgeting. “Yes, I'm just really nervous about Jade and everything. I tried to get some fresh air, but it didn't really work.”
He sighs, pulling me into his arms for a hug. The way he squeezes me tries to ground me in my body, but there's nothing that can make me feel better right now except getting Jade back.
“We'll get her back, Hazel, I promise. The police are coming. They're working with us. They already have people out with the pictures I sent. We'll get her back.”
I feel terrible that he's trying to make me feel better when it's his niece that's gone missing. I know how much he loves her.
Even if he feels like he's not doing a great job at this whole dad thing, he's actually a natural. He’s been there for Jade, a steady, constant shoulder for her to lean on since the beginning.
And he's still trying to protect me from the weight of all of this.
Easton’s trying to make me feel better, and I can't stand it.
This is my fault. I don't deserve to feel better.
I don't let him notice that. I give him a hug back, I squeeze him tight, and I suck in a deep breath of his scent, and then I lean back with a sad smile.
“I know. I hear you. It's just gonna be hard until she's home again, you know?”
Easton nods. “Of course. Of course, I know. Yes, it's gonna be awful until I have that little girl back in my arms, and then I'm never letting her out of my sight again.”
I almost laugh at that because it's so ridiculous. Obviously, he can't protect Jade from everything, but I understand the desire to want to protect her from everything.
I swallow down the lump in my throat, and we go about the rest of the day talking with cops, giving more pictures, describing what she was wearing, and telling them everything there is to know about Neil.
I still try to be as useful as possible with them. I do want Neil caught. I just don't think they stand a chance.
They spent this long looking for him, and they haven't been able to identify him in the crowd or catch him on the road. Despite spending so much time on this, the police have been entirely unsuccessful.
So, I'm not going to hold my breath.
After a while, the two of us are exhausted and it's evening. Neither of us can bring ourselves to eat, and we call it an early night, both of us tucking up into bed and falling asleep in each other's arms.
But I have an alarm set to vibrate on my phone for eleven-thirty. When it goes off, I sneak out of bed, put on clothes that I know I can move in, and a pair of sneakers.
I go down to the kitchen as quietly as I can, and I find a permanent marker. I write the address that Neil is sending me to on my hand and then delete the message from my phone.
I slip it into my back pocket just in case. Who knows what the situation is going to bring?
And then I look back up the stairs towards the room where I know Easton is sleeping.
If everything goes according to plan, this will be the last time I ever see him.
My heart crumbles to dust at the thought of never seeing that wonderful man again.
And even though he can't hear me, even though he'll never hear the words, I let the tears fall down my cheeks as I whisper up towards the stairs, “I love you.”