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Oblivion:You’re even more of one if you have to ask.
Oblivion: What have you been getting yourself into? It has been a while, hasn’t it?
Okay, good, that was good. Ease him in nice and slow there. I waited, but nothing came, and eventually, I got bored, so I clicked on the next screen, my mouse hovering over the confirm button.
Did I want to violate my friends' privacy more? It wasn’t so much I wanted to violate them, but the need to know how they were doing was thumping at my brain, desperate to know. At this point, the pain reminded me I was still vital, important to them. It was selfish to use their suffering to validate my own need to feel important, but it was what it was, and I couldn’t stop myself now.
Besides, I was too much of a chicken to actually look at the one person I wanted to know the most about—Asa. Instead, I would vicariously feed off the others like a parasite, hoping to glean some knowledge to whet my curiosity.
Pushing the button, I didn’t find anyone in the living room or the boardroom, so I clicked on the kitchen, hoping I’d find someone. I’d only put them in a few areas, not wanting to accidentally stumble across something I didn’t want to see. Not that these areas were completely safe, so I shut my eyes, listening first before I peeked out.
When I only heard voices talking, I was glad to find they were clothed. Sawyer and my brother sat on the stools at the island, talking with Samson, Sawyer’s dad.
“How could she just disappear with no trail?” Sawyer asked, hurt laced in her voice. “There’s really nothing?”
“As of now, no. She covered her tracks well enough that we haven’t been able to pick up any leads on what direction she was headed. We see her walk down the driveway, but once she’s at a certain distance, it’s like she just vanished. We’ve checked all the traffic cams and hotels within 100 miles and are still coming up short. We have to sit tight and wait for her to make a move.”
“I think we should just let her be,” my brother said, finally looking up. He had dark circles under his eyes, and I hated how much I seemed to be stressing him out.
“How can you say that?” Sawyer asked, gasping.
“Fin has been struggling for a while. She apparently needs to do this. Until then, she’s not going to let herself be found. Not by us, at least. If we keep searching for her, we’re only going to push her further underground, and then she might never return. At least this way, she has the chance to do what she needs without worrying we’re going to send in the calvary.”
“No. I disagree,” Sawyer said, shaking her head. “I can’t let her go off on her own. She’s my best friend. I need to know she’s safe.”
My brother picked up her hand, smoothing his thumb over the top. “I know, Smalls. But you didn’t see her after you were gone. She went to some dark places, did some things she regrets. I don’t know everything that happened, but I do know I don’t want my sister to feel she has to push everyone away forever. So, I’ll give her some time to figure things out. I promise, I’m not letting her just ride off and fight her battles alone. I refuse to lose my sister, but for now, we let her. We need to focus on training and our competition. She wouldn’t want us to lose focus. So, she’s got a month, and then I’ll go and kick her butt.”
Sawyer nodded, tears running down her face, and my brother pulled her into his arms. When he looked up to where I placed the camera, I jumped, feeling like he’d caught me. But he couldn’t know? Could he?
Either way, I quickly exited, shoving my computer off my lap like that made a difference. At least I’d learned I had a couple of weeks to make some plays before they came for me. It was more than I thought I’d get. The urge to not let them down filled me, and I jumped off the bed, putting the few items I had spread out around the room back into my bag. I picked up my trash and straightened the bed a little.
Grabbing my computer to put it in my bag, I opened it up to check one last thing and found that Blackhawk had responded.
Blackhawk: Oh, this and that. Just keeping things in order. You know how it is.
Blackhawk:Hey, listen, I actually have a job I could use your help on. Interested?
Seemed my luck was finally turning. Before I slipped the laptop back into the case, I replied, feeling a piece of the puzzle click into place. Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I dumped out the envelope that had been shoved under the door, picking up the car keys and putting them in my pocket. A fake ID and prepaid debit card laid on the bed, warming my heart at Milo’s thoughtfulness. He truly was so much more than his lineage.
Pocketing them as well, I crumpled the envelope and tossed it into the trash before glancing around, taking in my surroundings once last time. This was it. The moment I stepped out of this room, I was no longer Finley Amelia Reyes but Oblivion. I couldn’t stop until I took Blackhawk down, and only then could I return to being the woman I wanted to be.
Oblivion:Depends. Will you be there? I’m heading to a new location, so I’ll be off the grid for a day. Send me the details, and I’ll look them over. XOXO
Five
ASA
The waves crashedagainst the shore, not bringing me the sense of calm they typically did. I’d been sitting in the sand, staring out into the ocean, trying to figure out what to do. In the past, I’d come out here when I had a hard decision to make, and the sounds of the waves as I surfed soothed me, bringing what I needed to do to the surface, casting all the other junk away.
But today was the same as yesterday, which was the same as the days before. It had been one week since I’d found Fin’s letter and had my heart ripped out of my chest. One week since we’d joined our bodies together, consummating our love for one another in a way we hadn’t before. One week since I’d felt like I no longer had a direction to go in. One week since my world had stopped.
What I hated the most was how I hadn’t realized how much I loved her until it happened. We’d exchanged “I love you” before, but for some reason, I hadn’t known what that truly felt like until it was gone. A gaping hole sat in my chest now, and I didn’t know how to fill it so I could be whole again without her.
Giving up on the ocean being a mind whisperer, I fell back onto the sand, staring up at the darkening sky. When my phone buzzed in my pocket, I pulled it out, hoping it would be her. Sighing at the screen, I answered it as I stared off.
“Hey, Mom.”
“How you doing, hun?”
