29. Camden
CHAPTER 29
Camden
F riday evening
Sitting in the livingroom with Darian next to me playing Call of Duty, and I’m staring at the large screen but not seeing anything. My mind running scenarios of what is happening with our Lexi. Worrying is she okay. Is she hurt or is she trying to get back to us.
I can hear Shayna in the kitchen. When she’s upset she has a tendency to clean or cook and right now she’s doing both. I’m not going to stop her. It helps keep her mind occupied. I can tell she blames herself for Jason coming in here and taking her. No matter how much I try to convince her she’s wrong, nothing but Lexi coming home will help with that.
Darian is usually in his room playing but he’s worried about Lexi, too. The only one in the house that is somewhat oblivious is Landon, but he’s only 7 so we’ve decided not to tell him much. We told Darian because he’s become accustomed to seeing Lexi around she would take him to school and hang out with them occasionally. They have grown very close. I notice how much Darian relies on Lexi for support and guidance.
The house is growing darker and darker from the sun dropping. We don’t keep lights on unless necessary in the house, so once the sun begins to set we can tell by how dark it’s getting. Glancing over at the window at the front of the house, there is a soft glow from the sun setting, giving the illusion of comfortability and solace where in this house there isn’t any.
Reluctantly, I stand from the couch. I can see from my periphery Darian glance up at me. I feel his stare. Looking back down at him once I’m standing to my full height, I give him a small smile. Reaching over I give his shoulder a little squeeze. “Keep playing. I’m just going to check on your mother,” I say, and he gives a little nod but turns back to the game on the screen.
Walking toward the kitchen, I can hear my wife moving around in there. Just before I enter, I hear a loud crash and glass breaking. Turning the corner, I see Shayna leaning against the counter with her head bowed looking into the sink. Walking up behind her, it appears she dropped a plate in the sink which in turn broke a glass. I wrap my arms around her and I feel her jump and tense, then her body begins to shake with sobs.
Reaching around her, I turn off the water in the sink. I grip her hips and turn her around to face me. Her face is streaming with tears as she leans forward resting her forehead against my chest. Gripping my shirt tightly in her fists, she moves into my embrace as I wrap my arms around her.
“Shhhh, baby. I know,” I whisper in her ear. “I miss her too. They will find her. I know they will.”
Lifting her face from my chest she looks at me. I can see the devastation in her face and hear it in her cries. “But… but what if they don’t, Cam. What if she’s gone forever?” she questions.
Taking my hand to cup her cheek, my thumb rubs under her eye wiping the tears rushing down to fall onto her shirt. “Don’t think like that. It’s only been a couple of days,” I try to soothe her. She moves away from me, pushing back to lean against the counter.
“They say the first 48 hours are the most crucial to finding her al–” she cuts herself off. Probably not wanting to think that. She slouches even further against the counter with that thought now prevalent in her mind.
Stepping in front of her, I know I need to take control right now or her thoughts will get the best of her. I lift my hands and cup her cheeks pulling her face up to mine.
“Princess,” I say with a more commanding tone, and her eyes immediately meet mine. “Stop that right now. This is not the time for these thoughts. We will keep faith that the cops will locate her. Got me?”
“Okay. I’m sorry. I’m just worried,” she says nodding.
“I know you are. So am I, but thinking like that will not do anything to help,” I reply.
Leaning down I kiss her forehead softly, letting my lips linger there. I’m worried what is going to happy with Shayna when I have to go back to work on Monday. They gave me the rest of this week off but I have to return next week. I’m terrified to leave Shayna home alone.
Looking over her shoulder into the sink, I see everything was done except that one plate and a glass. Kissing her forehead again, I tell her, “Go sit in the livingroom. I will finish cleaning this up. Then we will head to bed. I think a little sleep will help you.”
She nods, dropping her hands from gripping my shirt and moves around me going to the livingroom. Immediately I begin plucking the broken shards out of the sink of both the plate and cup. As I dump them into the garbage can, I hear something in the front room.
“Dad!” I hear Darian yell loudly. I move quickly with my hands still wet. When I round the corner, I see Shayna on the ground crying, with our son trying to comfort her. I move closer to them and squat down beside them.
“What is it?” I ask, but my wife is inconsolable huddled in a ball hugging her thighs to her chest. Her eyes are pressed into her knees as she cries uncontrollably. I look at her then Darian. Finally, Darian looks up at me.
“I don’t know what happened. She walked to the window,” he says pointing to the main window that faces the driveway, “and then collapsed.” When my eyes go to it, there is a knock on the door. I stare at the door then back to Shayna. Her eyes finally come to meet mine.
“Th-the only t-time they come by in s-situations like ours is with b-bad news,” she splutters out.
“Just a minute,” I yell to the door. Picking Shayna up bridal style, I carry her from the living room. I walk as quickly as possible to our room, laying her on the bed. Kissing her temple, I whisper, “Everything will okay.”
As I’m walking back to the front room, Landon comes out of his room hearing all the commotion. “Dad, what’s going on? Why is Mom crying?” he asks me. Darian is just standing in the same spot staring at the door. There is another knock on the door.
Slowly making my way to the door, I quickly look at Landon. “Bugg, can you go to our room and sit with your mother please?” I say, while reaching for the door handle.
“But–” he starts to argue.
“Now!” I say, in my deep commanding voice. He walks quickly to our room. When I hear the door click shut I open the front door and see a police office in full uniform. The guy has his hand resting on his utility belt. His demeanor does not feel positive. But I can also tell he is very schooled in his facial features. He seems to have done this a lot in the past. His eyes settle on mine then quickly glance behind me, making me turn my head to see Darian still standing there.
I tip my chin up toward our room, instructing my son to go there as well. If this is bad news, I don’t need him here to hear it. He takes a step toward me, eyes holding mine strong. “If it’s about Aunt Lexi, I need to know. I love her too,” he says strongly, yet a slight shake in his voice can be heard. I grip is shoulder giving him a little nod before turning back to the cop standing just outside the door.
“How can I help you officer?” I ask, stepping a bit closer to him crossing my arms over my chest.
“Mr. Lezzaro I presume?” he asks me. He isn’t one of the officers assigned to Lexi’s case, or I would recognize him. But that’s what scares me too. Would they send the ones whom we’ve been working with or someone better equipped to handle grief or whatever they think we will be going through.
“Yeah. That’s me. What can I do for you?” I ask him. I feel Darian step even closer to my side.
“I’m Officer Bailey. How are you doing this evening?” he asks, holding his hand out for me to shake. Which I do unconsciously, but my brow furrows because I’m so confused right now. What’s with the pleasantries?
“Could be better. What’s going on?” I ask, just trying to get him to give me some information. When our hands drop from the hand shake, he looks over his shoulder to where his police cruiser is parked. A female officer steps from the front passenger seat as Officer Bailey steps a bit aside.
The woman takes a few steps and opens the back door to the cruiser and opens it. My heart stops. My blood goes cold yet my entire body feels like it’s heating up. When Lexi steps out of the back seat, my feet feel stuck, rooted to the spot. She looks up at me with a small, warm smile as I eyes lock. I feel a body brush past me and I see Darian jogging toward the edge of the porch and jumping off, over all five of the cement stairs leading up.
He runs directly to her, wrapping his long arms around her shoulders as she wraps hers around his thin waist. He’s tall and thin, but she looks so small next to him. They stand in the middle of the lawn hugging for a few moments, while the female officer stands awkwardly near them.
“Could we come in to talk?” Officer Bailey asks. I move to the side of the door motioning for him to enter, but I don’t take my eyes from Lexi. My fear is this is a dream and if I stop looking, she will disappear again.
Officer Bailey walks in, as Darian and Lexi finally break apart. He slings his arm over her shoulder the way he always does and she loops her arm around his waist, as they walk up the walkway and then the stairs. The smile on my son’s face is priceless.
Reaching the top of the steps, Darian releases her and walks directly to me. “Should I tell mom?” he asks me, but I shake my head but my eyes still never leave the gorgeous girl standing on the porch.
“Not yet. Once we’re all seated I will go tell her,” I say. “Can you show Officer Bailey and his partner to the front room please?” I instruct Darian and he nods.
I take few steps toward Lexi as she does the same. I’m sure the officers went inside, but I’m oblivious to everyone and everything around me right now. She’s home. She’s safe.
We stand there staring at each other for what feels like hours, when I know it’s only been seconds. My eyes roam her face trying to memorize everything about her. Making sure she’s okay. I know she’s not, but physically outward, she doesn’t seem to be too harmed.
“Hey,” she whispers almost shyly. I don’t speak or reply. My hands lift to cup her face, my thumbs gently rubbing the swells of cheeks. Just feeling her soft skin again under my touch makes my cock twitch. “I’m so sor–” she goes to say but I cut her off with my mouth crashing down on hers. I don’t want to hear apologies from her. I don’t want to hear anything right now. I just want to feel her, taste her, look at her.
My tongue dips into her mouth, and she melts into me immediately. I love that I have this effect on this confident, strong woman. This independent woman who doesn’t need a man but allows me to care for her. I deepen the kiss for just a moment, but when I pull back, her eyes stay closed and her mouth seems to chase mine for more, making me chuckle.
“Come on, sweet girl. Let’s get you inside where you belong. Shayna is going to be excited to see you,” I saw taking a step back, pulling her inside with me. We walk into the front room where the officers are sitting on two different chairs. I pull Lexi over and sit her on the center of the couch, knowing that Shayna will want to sit next to her. But I also know, right this moment I don’t want to be too far from her.
Sitting on the coffee table directly in front of her, I clasp the nape of her neck pulling her close. “I’m just going to the room to grab Shayna. I will only be a few minutes,” I say. Standing up, I look at Darian who moves to sit on the floor right next to Lexi’s legs as she leans back getting comfortable in the couch.
The hallway to our room seems quiet so I think Shayna has hopefully stopped crying. I open the door and see Landon sitting cross legged on the bed watching his mother. “Everything is good, Bugg. I need you to go to your room, okay?” I say and he nods and jumps from the bed running to the other hall, into his room.
I sit on the bed next to my wife and begin rubbing her back. Her cries have quieted, but the tears are still moving slowly down her face and pooling on the pillow beneath her head. Curled up on the bed with her knees pulled close to her. Leaning over, I kiss her temple. “Baby,” I whisper against her skin, making her sniffle a bit. Looking up at me, the tears start to fall all over again. “I thought you wanted to see Lexi?” I say with a crooked smile.
Sitting up quickly, she almost head butts me. “What do you mean?” she asks, scooting off the end of the couch. “Is she here? She’s okay?” she asks running out of the room.
I quickly get up and walk behind her, but she’s practically running. I hear crying and mumbling as I walk into the livingroom. They are in a hug sitting on the couch. I move to sit on Lexi’s other side throwing my arm over the back of the couch behind my girls.
“Shay, you two can have your little reunion after these officers leave. They need to talk to us right now,” I say, in my deep commanding voice.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she says as she pulls out of Lexi’s embrace. But she grabs Lexi’s hand and holds it in her lap smiling. “Thank you by the way, for finding her. We’ve been worried sick,” Shayna says and looks back over at Lexi.
Lexi is sitting back on the couch. She almost looks like if she could disappear she would. I can read her body language. Something happened that she doesn’t want us to know about.
“Well, we didn’t really find her. She found us. She was able to get away for a bit and had a young girl come find us,” Officer Bailey states. Shayna is still sitting up close to the edge of the couch, I’m sure because of all her nervous energy. I shift a little closer to Lexi on the couch and she leans her head on my shoulder, which make my heart beat erratically. Leaning down, I kiss the crown of her head softly.
“Were you able to arrest the asshole who took her?” I ask sternly, making both cops look at each other, but Lexi doesn’t move from her spot on my shoulder. I look down at her and her eyes are closed. I’m sure she’s tired. Shayna keeps her hand in her lap as she watches and listens to the police officers speak.
“We detained him at the airport, which is where we found Lexi. However, an incident happened…” the female officer states but her voice trails off as she looks at Officer Bailey. My eyes bounce from one to the other.
“An incident?” I ask, keeping my voice low and even. I can feel Lexi’s body sinking more against me. I have a feeling she’s falling asleep, and I don’t want to disturb her.
Officer Bailey looks at Lexi for a moment, then his own lap contemplating whether to say what happened. He heaves a big sigh and looks back at me.
“After he was detained, he and Lexi had… words,” he says the last word after thinking about it. “The suspect threatened her and attacked two other officers trying to follow through with the threat. He aquired one of the officer’s weapons, and pointed it at Lexi. I had no choice but to shoot him. I was aiming for the arm holding the gun, but…” his voice tapers off as he takes a deep breath. Leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, he shakes his head before finishing. “But, I hit his upper chest area. He was rushed to the hospital into surgery, but never made it off the table.”
The room is quiet. Both Shayna and I look at each other, then back to the officers. They both seem to be gauging our reaction.
“So he’s dead then?” I ask the obvious, and Officer Bailey nods. “Well, I hope you’re not expecting me to feel bad, because after what he did to my wife and Lexi, I don’t.”
“I understand. And trust me, I did what I had to do. I do recommend that she finds a therapist to talk to. With everything that she told us in her statement, she’s going to need it,” he says, leaning on his thighs to stand up, followed by the female cop.
“Wait. What did she say happened?” Shayna asks, letting her eyes flit between everyone in the room.
“That’s not my story to tell. Hopefully, she will talk to you guys at the very least if she doesn’t want to see a therapist. Everything she went through…” he shakes his head releasing a burst of air. “No woman should have to go through that. That’s all I’m going to say.”
Officer Bailey looks down at Lexi cuddled up next to me and gives her a soft smile. She takes that moment to shift in her sleep turning more into my chest, making me kiss the top of her head again.
“I would walk you out, but I don’t want to wake her up. I’m going to try and move her to bed,” I say. Just then, Darian stands from sitting on the floor next to his mother. I had completely forgot he was there.
“I’ll walk the out, Dad,” he says moving toward the front door. I reach my hand out, as do both officers and we shake their hands.
“Thanks again for bringing her home,” I say, and Shayna lets her hand go and stands as well.
“Take good care of her and yourselves,” Officer Bailey says as he and the female cop walk to the door.
With no one here, I lean forward scooping her up into my lap. I sit there for a few minutes just watching her laying there against my chest. I kiss her forehead softly, so I don’t wake her up. A minute or so passes, and Shayna and Darian come back into the livingroom.
“I’m going to go play COD in my room. I’m glad Aunt Lexi is back home safe,” Darian says. He hugs his mother and says his good nights heading to their side of the house.
Shayna stands in front of us looking down at Lexi. “Come on, babe. Let’s take her to bed,” she says.