AN: Yes, another new story (I will finish Introducing Me). I've had the idea for this one in my head a while and wanted to get the first chapter out there to see what people thought. Please let me know if you think this is a story worth working on. And no, I don't own a thing.
It had been all over the press for days. Shane Grey, top pop superstar and one third of Connect 3, was missing. No one could work out how it was possible, it wasn't like he had a face that no one would notice. But he hadn't been seen for almost a week and the police had no leads as to where he could be.
Mitchie paced round the room. It was the last place she had seen him and something about what he said and how he acted made her worry that this disappearance may have been deliberate.
"Stop over thinking it Mitch. Everything will be fine, don't worry." For someone whose brother was missing, Nate seemed able to stay surprisingly calm. He hadn't let any of this get to him, constantly reassuring the others everything would be back to normal soon. But under the facade they were all starting to see the cracks. He too was beginning to lose faith.
Mitchie collapsed onto the sofa, exhausted. She'd barely slept since Shane had gone missing, trying to spend every moment she could helping to find him.
"Get some rest tonight Mitch, there's nothing more you can do." Nate advised as he watched her yawn for the third time in the last minute.
"I'll try." Mitchie replied, curling into a ball on the sofa. Nate watched as she finally let sleep over power her, but not before letting another tear drop from her eyes. He'd never seen anyone cry so much in such a short space of time. He moved over, wrapping his arm around her. If his brother couldn't be there to comfort her, Nate decided he would have to do his best to fill in.
There they slept, curled up together in dreamless sleeps, until the next day when an early morning doorbell ring woke them.
Tyler Byrant drove through New York, the sun shining down on his brand new Mercedes, radio playing a mix of classic pop songs. As he turned down his usual short cut the song changed.
This has, been no walk in the park
I feel like we have
Fallen apart.
His hand reached over instinctively, turning the radio off before he could hear anymore of the song. It had been a long time since he had last willingly listened to a Connect 3 song and at the age of twenty-five he thought he had a right to never have to again, especially when it had been five years since the band split.
He pulled into the car park of his office, glancing in the wing mirror to ensure his dirty blond hair was still perfectly styled. Once sure he looked suitable he climbed from that car and entered the building in which he spent most of his time.
"Good morning, Boxer and Long publishing? One moment please." Sarah, your typical smiley receptionist, was already at her desk, beating Tyler to work for once. As she saw him approach she put the call she was dealing with on hold, just so she could greet him.
"Morning Mr Byrant, I've put your mail on your desk and Richard James called, I told him you'd phone him back as soon as you get the opportunity." Sarah was desperate to impress him, that was obvious. Tyler just gave a smile and a nod in response before retreating to his office. He'd seen and known many girls like Sarah in the past and was well aware how easy it was to lead them on, so he made every effort to make no moves which could give her the wrong impression.
Entering his office he sighed at the pile of papers sitting on his desk. In amongst the junk mail and letters begging him to give the writers a job, was a stack of manuscripts which he was already meant to have read and reported back on. He took a seat in his plush leather chair and picked up the first piece of mail his hand fell on, another week of work underway.
"What was that?" Mitchie sprung awake at the loud ring of the bell. Nate stretched, removing his arm from around her. It was only 8am and it was a Saturday, he couldn't imagine who would come that early.
"Stay here, just in case it's the press." Paparazzi had been following them constantly since news of Shane's disappearance had gotten out. No matter how often they asked them just to allow them some privacy at this difficult time, the press never listened. A new article about Shane or Connect 3 had appeared online every day, their faces covered all the magazines and it was getting tiring. Nate didn't think allowing the press to know Mitchie had stayed the night at his apartment, when Shane wasn't around, would help their situation very much.
He opened the door, only to find himself face to face with the two policemen he'd come to know too well over the last week. Their presence on his doorstop worried him. When they'd left the day before they told him they'd only come back if there was a major development. His heartbeat sped up in anticipation of what he was about to be told.
"Good morning Mr Grey, may we come in?" Nate nodded and stepped aside as the policemen made their way to the lounge where Mitchie was still curled up on the sofa.
"Oh good, Miss Torres you're here to." Detective Kline said, glad that was one less visit they would have to make this morning. Nate joined them and took a seat, sensing whatever they were here to tell him wouldn't be good. He took Mitchie's hand and gripped it tightly; well aware she would be the one who needed more comforting in this situation.
"At six this morning a discovery was made in the case involving your brother." The policeman looked at the youngsters who he was about to devastate with a few words. It was moments like this he regretted choosing this career.
"We were alerted to a location on the beach where items of clothing and other possession bearing similar descriptions to those Shane was wearing on the day of his disappearance had been found. After further investigation a note was discovered with the other items, the hand writing matching that of Shane's." Mitchie and Nate were shocked. Without having to say the exact words, the policeman had given then a strong idea of what had happened to Shane. But Nate couldn't believe it until he heard the words.
"What exactly are you telling us?"
"Mr Grey, Miss Torres." Mitchie hated how formal they all were when talking to her or any of the others, it made it all worse. "We don't believe this to be a case of kidnap or missing person. We believe that Shane Grey committed suicide."
From his desk Tyler had the perfect view of the office. The glass wall that divided him from reception allowed him to see everyone who came and left the office.
He'd spent the last three hours reading through yet another manuscript which had no hope of being published. But whilst the other people at the company would always complain that junior office members should be responsible for filtering the good from the rubbish, Tyler actually enjoyed reading the bad ones. It was a truly awful novel that had gotten him into this career in the first place, so he always refused to just skim them, giving them as much attention as he could, ensuring to always reply with any advice he had.
As he sat there, his brain a million miles away, filled with thoughts, he stared out into reception. His boss had come in earlier, bragging to him that a new rising writing talent was coming in today. Why he was being told, Tyler didn't know, but he'd spent the rest of the morning trying to figure out who, of the many people who had entered the office that day, it was.
The latest candidate entered. She walked confidently up to Sarah's desk, obviously registering her arrival. This was the one, Tyler was certain of it. It had to be, she had the typical aspect of people who would succeed in the industry: A mixture of confidence and casual-ness. At least that's what Tyler had come to notice many of their companies' most successful writers were like. Plus Sarah's reaction was a little too enthusiastic, a key clue.
Tyler watched as the mystery girl took a seat, waiting to be met. Something about her seemed strangely familiar but Tyler couldn't figure out why.
The girl took her glasses off and glanced around the office, getting her bearings. Tyler was, in an instant, relived that the glass window was only one way, that she couldn't see him staring at her, because as her eyes looked directly at him, he realised where he knew her from and he couldn't believe it. Five years had passed but she really hadn't changed.
AN: So this was just a taster of this story. Im going to be writing it slowly over summer, a new chapter every two weeks or so depending on what else I have to do, as long as there is enough interest in it. Please review and let me know what you think!