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I shouldn’t have left, that’s the main conclusion that I can come to. I shouldn’t have gone out of her house however much she wanted me to. That’s the moment when everything went wrong and I lost her. That’s why I have absolutely no idea where she is now. She seemed so panicked, so stressed, I thought that having me around was making her worse because obviously I have been the one that the press follows, but now I think I should have stayed behind. She was in a state and she needed someone. Why didn’t I fight it?
Now, she won’t answer her cell phone, her house seems oddly empty, and she isn’t at work. I don’t want to conclude that she’s run away once more, but that’s exactly how it seems…
“Oh wait.” Just as I’m about to give up and leave the bar, the worker grabs my attention once more. “Here is a note from the manager on the schedule. She’s off for the week. Gone back home. Will be back after that.”
A week… I can wait a week, can’t I? Give Millie the time and space that she so clearly needs, then allow her to come back to me when she’s ready to face it, when she’s comfortable once to deal with everything.
“Yeah, sure…” I answer distractedly as I make my way out of the bar. “A week, good.”
But I’ve spent such a long time on the Internet, ever since I first saw this story about Millie, and I know that she wasn’t treated well in her home town. I know that she was villainized badly despite the fact that she was a victim of Dante as well, so I don’t know if I can imagine her going back. Why head right in to the mouth of the lion? Things are bad enough everywhere else so why make it worse? It doesn’t make a scrap of sense to me. I don’t get it. Then again, people do the strangest things when they are in the middle of a panic.
I need to speak to someone; I tell myself decidedly as I make my way home. I have to.
All of my brothers have been trying to get hold of me over the last few days, ever since this all spilled out and became intertwined with me and my name, but I haven’t given them much back. Maybe it’s time that I do so. It isn’t easy to get all of my brothers at once, but I’m going to attempt a six-way conference video call just in case. Then, whoever I get, I will ask them what I should do and take their much-needed advice…
It seems to take forever for anyone top pick up. I sit at my breakfast bar and stare at the ringing blank screen for what feels like a life time with my foot anxiously tapping the floor. Irritation circles through me, I find it really challenging to keep my head screwed on while waiting but I just about manage it.
“Hey, bro.” Tim answers first, which is a surprise since he’s usually the hardest to get hold of. On his travels around the country, he often lets his cell phone run out of battery which makes me worry. But I’m glad that I can talk to him because he’s just a little bit older than me and we have always been close. “How are you?”
“Er, yeah, okay.” I nod a few times. “I think. I just need some advice from the Wilson clan…”
On cue, my next brother answers. Artie, in his biker leathers. “What’s happening? Everything okay? It isn’t like you to try and contact us all the same time. Has the media explosion gotten worse?”
Before I can answer, my oldest brother Ryan picks up, looking grim, I assume on my behalf. But he doesn’t get a moment to say anything either because Daniel starts talking over him, trying to get my focus. Ben comes next, and I can hear the sympathy rolling off of his tongue immediately. Maybe this was a mistake. It easy for me to forget how full on all of my brothers can be at once. Especially since I’m the youngest. I should have gone one at a time, that would have been better. But then I suppose it would have been conflicting and complex.
“Guys,” I say firmly, trying to take control of the situation. “Guys, I need to talk to you.”
“What’s going on?” Ryan answers. “Well, we know a bit of what’s going on, but what’s happening?”
“So, Millie,” I begin, her name on my tongue making my heart race faster. “You know about Millie.”
“We don’t know much about Millie,” Ben informs me with a reassuring smile. “We have only seen what’s been written online, but I’m pretty sure that every single one of us understand how wrong that can be. So, we don’t know anything about her. Clearly, she had a bad ex and he got himself in trouble which affected her.”
