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She didn’t want to be anywhere near me.
She either showered or she lay in the room that I brought her to after I found her. The door stayed closed and locked.
I would knock to tell her I left food by the door, but I would come back hours later and the food remained on the ground untouched. The days went by like that with no change, no progress, nothing. I went to sleep every night praying that she would come to me, that she would crawl into my bed and let me hold her. Let me tell her how much I loved her and how sorry I was. How I would spend the rest of my life making it up to her. I held onto the hope that after some time she would let me back in. I barely slept, waking up in pure panic every night remembering how I found her lifeless and everything that happened after. Her dead eyes and broken body was the only image I saw of her now.
My girl was gone.
I woke up one morning, groggy as hell and looked over at the clock. It read almost noon. I shook off the sleep, surprised that I even slept in that late. The sleepless nights and overwhelming days must have caught up with me. I sat at the edge of the bed, leaning forward to place my elbows on my knees. I ran my fingers through my hair, pulling it away from my face and holding it at the nook of my neck.
I sat there contemplating and racking my brain for what I could do that day to make it different than the last. I gave up trying after a few minutes. I threw on some gym shorts and made my way to the kitchen to make us some breakfast, even though I already knew Aubrey wasn’t going to eat it. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw that her bedroom door was open. I immediately ran toward it in hopes that she would let me see her.
That she was waiting for me.
When I reached the room it was empty, her bed untouched like she hadn’t even been sleeping in it. I opened the bathroom door, and she was nowhere in sight.
“Aubrey?” I called out into the house to no avail. “What the fuck?”
I walked outside and peered around, calling out her name some more. The rental car still securely parked in the grass. I went back into her room and that’s when I noticed her suitcase was gone. I opened the drawers and all her clothes had disappeared, too. I turned in a circle searching for something, anything, raking my hands through my hair, ready to pull it out.
“Jesus Christ,” I muttered to myself.
She left without saying goodbye.
I called her cell phone and it went straight to voicemail. I texted her a few times and got no response. I waited for hours, worried sick. How could she do this, after everything? Our flight was supposed to leave the very next afternoon, but she couldn’t even wait one more damn day to get away from me. I spent the entire day trying to call her and text her again and again, finally giving up around nine.
I called her mom.
“Hey, honey,” she answered. “Are you as exhausted as Aubrey?”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Something like that.”
She laughed. “You kids had a good time, huh? Aubrey looks like she hasn’t slept in days.”
I nodded even though she couldn’t see me.
“That was quite a fall though. I wish one of you had told me. I’m not very happy about being left in the dark.”
“Fall?” I asked, confused. I had to sit down to hear this.
“Aubrey told me about you guys running through the trails and her sliding down a hill into a valley. She looks so beat up, Dylan, but she told me you took good care of her and she went to a clinic to get looked at. I understand that you guys didn’t want me to worry.”
I was instantly sick to my fucking stomach.
“Dylan? Honey, are you there?”
“Yeah, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, ma’am.” I cleared my throat, my voice breaking.
“Oh, it’s okay. I know you would never let anything happen to our girl. I know she’s safe with you. I understand accidents happen, just next time please let me know, so I’m not surprised when I see my daughter walk in with bruises and cuts on her body.”
“Mmm hmm…” Was all I could manage to get out.
“Are you alright? Aubrey said she wasn’t feeling good. She’s been in her room all day in bed. She barely touched her lunch and dinner. You guys coming down with something?”
“Maybe,” I simply stated.
“Well, get better, okay? I know Aubrey can’t go more than a few hours without seeing you,” she laughed.
“Yes, ma’am.”
