A/N: Thanks to all of my readers and reviewers! That's all I've got to say for now! And some of the pictures for this chapter aren't up, because they're saved on my laptop (which isn't working!) and I'm uploading via my dad's computer. Thank the inventor of flash drives! xoxox, Brody
Come on Get Higher By: Matt Nathanson
I miss the sound of your voice
I miss the rush of your skin
I miss the still of the silence
As you breathe out and I breathe in
If I could walk on water
If I could tell you what's next
Make you believe
Make you forget
Come on get higher
Loosen my lips
Faith and desire
And the swing of your hips
Just pull me down hard
And drown me in love
"For everything you have missed, you have gained something else; and for everything you gain, you lose something" - Ralph Waldo Emerson
It had been just a matter of hours since Maddie first found out her best friend was missing, but to Jacob it seemed like years. They had just boarded their flight to Wisconsin when the entirety of the situation finally managed to weigh on Jacob. He'd seen enough TV shows and watched enough movies to know that young girls who go missing… Don't usually come home. And if they do, it's only because they're being carried via body bag.
Already, Maddie had shown severe signs of what this situation was doing to her. She looked ghostly from her lack of sleep she'd gotten the night before. Her usually electric blue eyes now appeared dull and lifeless. They were sunken in and framed by big dark circles. Jacob hadn't slept much the previous night either, but he was used to that. But the exhaustion Maddie was facing somehow rubbed off onto Jacob. Maybe it was just because he was so worried about her. All she'd done the night before was toss and turn in bed. She'd wake up crying at random hours of the night and not be able to sleep.
On top of that, she refused to eat. And when she did eat anything, she'd become highly nauseous and immediately throw it up. This was something everyone had learned the hard way that morning, when she'd tried to stomach two granola bars.
And yet, neither of those were the worst effects. It was her complete and utter silence that bothered Jacob. Or perhaps it was the fact that she couldn't stand being closer than two feet to anyone. There'd been the situation earlier that morning when Bella attempted to pat her arm, only to have Maddie jump about a foot backwards and nearly into some bushes. Maddie wouldn't even let Jake hold her hand. If Jacob said something to her she'd simply nod her head, or worse sometimes she wouldn't respond at all. Instead, she'd just stare hollowly off into the distance.
The plane ride was no exception. She'd made her way onto the relatively empty airplane in front of Jacob, made her way to their row and slid all the way over to the window seat. Jake looked around, and saw that the plane had hardly had any passengers. He figured it was a pretty safe bet to guess that they'd be the only ones in their row, so he opted for the aisle seat, giving Maddie her much needed space.
The plane took off a few minutes later, with Maddie staring out the window. Jacob wasn't exactly sure after how long, but eventually Maddie fell asleep. Jake was able to close his eyes as well, but sleep didn't come for him. Instead, he lulled on the edge of consciousness and dreaming, to the point where he was just daydreaming. After what felt like forever, the pilot announced that they'd be making their descent, and urged all passengers and flight attendants to return to their seats.
Jacob was surprised that by the time the plane landed, Maddie still had not woken up. He leaned over towards her, putting his hand on her arm. "Maddie," he whispered. "Babe it's time to go, we're here." Just those few words were enough to wake Maddie from her not-so-deep slumber.
"Thanks," she mumbled tiredly as she tried rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. While not many people would have thought much about that murmured, barely audible, one syllable word, it mean so much to Jacob. It was the first thing she'd said to anyone since the night before.
"Did you misplace something?" Asked a pesky flight attendant standing behind Jake. He stood up, only to find the plane practically deserted. He didn't realize that with just a few passengers is wouldn't take very long to de-board.
"Um no, we're good thanks," he said slightly annoyed. Maddie glared at the stewardess with nothing more than pure annoyance, causing the phrase 'if looks could kill' to run through Jacobs mind. He had to try hard to hold in the chuckle that threatened to escape.
Jacob was so surprised by what happened next, he almost jumped of joy. Maddie held out her hand to him, allowing him to take it. Jacob led Maddie down the aisle of the plane with a smile on his face. When they finally made their way to the exit terminal, Jacob stopped dead in his tracks, turned around, and embraced Maddie in a much needed hug.
It was then, surrounded by quite a few curious and slightly confused faces, that Maddie broke down for what she thought was the thousandth time. Finally, after some amount of time had passed, her tears stopped and she was able to look up into Jacob's eyes.
"Thank you Jacob Black," she said with a weary voice. Jacob just grabbed Maddie's hand once again, and led her towards the baggage claim carousel to collect their luggage.
While Jake waited to grab the bags, Maddie called their ride to see if he was at the airport yet. Catelyn's older brother, Blaine, picked up on the second ring.
"Maddie," said a tired voice from the other end of the line. If Maddie had not been expecting something similar to a worn out voice of exhaustion, she wouldn't have recognized it.
"Blaine," she said struggling to fight back tears again. It seemed like that's all she'd been doing for the past 24 hours. "We're at baggage claim 4," she stated while looking at the sign.
"Okay," he said with a sigh, "I've just got to pull around, so come outside." Maddie nodded for a second before she realized that he had no way of seeing it.
"Alright," she said in a whisper, not trusting her traitor voice, knowing that just one crack would be all it took to start the endless waterfall of tears. She quickly hung up the phone, just as Jacob appeared in front of her, effortlessly carrying a duffle bag in each hand.
"This way," she informed him as she led him towards the door. In any other situation, she would have been able to walk that airport blindfolded, because it was familiar. But that day everything just seemed so new, frightening and confusing.
Maddie and Jacob's flight had been long, and it was already getting dark outside.
Once outside, Maddie easily spotted the familiar silver Suburban waiting along the curb. Blaine was leaning against the hood of the car. He was wearing a pair of Ray-Ban aviators, dressed in black Puma sweatpants, a black zip-up hoodie and plain white shoes. When he saw Maddie approach, he easily embraced her in a huge hug. (A/N: Picture of Blaine on profile…)
If this had been any other situation, Jake would have been immensely jealous. But due to obvious reasons, he didn't care much.
"Jake, this is Blaine, Blaine this is my boyfriend, Jacob," Maddie said introducing the two. Jacob and Blaine shook hands.
"I guess I'll just take you guys back to your house," Blaine said to Maddie. "They call off the search when the sun sets," he further explained, looking down. "Then you could just come out first thing in the morning."
"Alright," Maddie replied simply. The drive to Maddie's house wasn't long, but it felt like it took forever. The car was silent the entire time, with Maddie sitting in back, Jacob in the passenger seat and Blaine driving.
Jacob was just taking in the surroundings of an unfamiliar place. He noted that while it wasn't quite as green as Forks or La Push, the woods were just as dense. In fact, the whole ride he looked out the window, staring into nothing but forest preserves and cornfields.
She could be anywhere, Jake thought to himself. Then he realized that he hadn't seen any houses since he'd been there, a thought that was quickly replaced with where the hell are we going, when Blaine turned into a barely visible driveway. Had Jacob been driving, there was no way he would have even noticed the lengthy driveway.
At the end of the driveway sat the biggest house he had ever seen in his entire life. It was easily at least twice the of the Cullen's mansion… And that was saying something. The house looked gorgeous from the outside, and as Blaine parked by the front door, Jake could only imagine what the inside looked like. Surely it would be as stunning as the outside.
Jacob and Blaine got out of the truck first, followed by a very quiet Maddie. Jacob was surprised that she hadn't asked more about how Catelyn went missing. But as Jacob went to get their bags from the trunk, he saw Maddie and Blaine hug each other again, and both of them were crying. Jacob decided to give them a minute, so he brought the bags to the front door.
"I'll call you guys in the morning," Jacob could hear Blaine tell Maddie.
"Blaine, are you sure you don't just want to spend the night here?" Maddie replied. "We've got plenty of room."
"No," Blaine politely refused. "I really should get home to my mom," he explained. Maddie wiped away some of the tears that had continued to fall.
"Tell her I love her, and I'll see her soon," Maddie told him. Blaine simply nodded his head and gave Maddie another hug.
"It was nice meeting you," he said to Jacob as he got in his truck and drove off.
Once Blaine's car was out of sight, Maddie walked over the front door of her house, pulling a key from her pocket. She unlocked and opened the door, which caused a security alarm to go off. Maddie walked over to the keypad and punched in the 4 digit code while Jake set down the bags and looked around.
The foyer they were standing in was huge. Jacob felt like he had just walked into a scene from a movie, or the pages of a magazine.
"Welcome to my house," Maddie said, trying to smile despite the fact that she was still sniffling from crying.
"It's beautiful," Jake said honestly.
"I want to show you something," Maddie said grabbing Jake's hand. "Here this way," she led him through the kitchen (which Jacob noted was enormous, like every other room in the house) and to a set of sliding glass doors. Maddie took Jacob outside and led him down to the lake.
They walked across the white pier that was connected to a path from her backyard. Maddie and Jacob passed several boatlifts before they finally made it to the end of the dock, where there were a few wooden benches. Maddie released Jacob's hand, but instead of sitting on one of the benches, she sat at the end of the pier with her feet dangling over.
Jacob did the same, and he was lucky that the water level was low enough he didn't have to get his shoes or pants wet. They looked out across the beautiful lake to where the sun hung low, reflecting astounding pink, orange and yellow splashes of color across the lake. It looked like it would be the picture on a postcard.
"It's amazing," Jacob said, knowing that amazing didn't even begin to cover the gorgeous sunset that was laid out in front of them.
"This is my favorite place ever," Maddie said thinking back to the first day Jacob had brought Maddie to the tree house in the woods. They sat in silence for a few seconds, before Jacob looked at Maddie, surprised to find tears streaming down her face.
"Oh Maddie," he said embracing her in a hug. "I wish there was something I could do for you, I feel so helpless seeing you like this," he admitted.
"You're here with me Jake, that's more than I could ever ask from you," she told him, wiping away the tears.
"You can't hold it in," he replied. "You've got to tell me what's going on inside that head of yours." Maddie sniffled, and looked out across the water. The sun was now at its lowest part in the sky, and the light was beginning to fade.
That lake brought back so many memories from when Maddie was younger. Memories of Catelyn. It had been where they'd spent most of their time together. The endless summers they spent just floating close to the dock on rafts, and the countless times they'd walk along the sandy beaches collecting seashells.
Maddie's thoughts continued to drift to happier times with Catelyn, and eventually the tears stopped. But Maddie continued to look out on the lake.
"I'm scared," she finally admitted.
"You have every right to be," Jacob reasoned. "It's only human of you to be scared in a situation like this."
"Everyone always says that their best friends are like their family, but Cate really is like a sister to me. Her family was the closest thing to a real family I'd ever had. I loved my dad and he loved me, but Catelyn's parents treat me like their daughter."
Jacob didn't know what to say, so he just pulled Maddie's hand into his own, letting her continue.
"I've known Blaine since he was 10," Maddie said. "And never once in the 13 years that I've known him have I ever seen him cry." Maddie was crying now. "Not even when their dad died four years ago. And that scares me, because it makes me think that everyone knows she's not coming back."
"She will come back, we're going to help bring her back," Jacob told Maddie, knowing that the chances of finding Catelyn at all, let alone finding her alive, were very slim.
"But what if we don't?" Maddie asked. "What if we never find her, and she's gone forever. What am I going to do without her?"
"You can't think like that," he told her. "You've got to keep yourself going and don't give up. But most importantly remember that no matter what happens you're not alone. I will always be here for you." Jacob said honestly, tears now forming in his own eyes.
"But I miss her so much already," Maddie sobbed. Jacob just wrapped his arms around her and whispered soothingly into her ear.
"I know babe, and you've got to keep thinking positive. Nothing's for sure until it happens." Maddie and Jacob sat out on the pier for quite a while longer, until the cold of the night became unbearable for Maddie, even when she was safe in Jacob's arms.
Morning came quickly, Maddie and Jacob both so exhausted they actually slept through the entire night, but woke up pretty early, around 7 am. The weather outside was mostly foggy, with a chance of rain showers later in the day. The weatherman claimed they'd be 'light' showers, but the clouds looked more dangerous than just a few rain showers.
There wasn't much in the house, so Maddie and Jake just ate some pop tarts from the pantry. It was about 8 am when Maddie's phone rang. It was Blaine, calling to tell them they should be at the Peters' house in 20 minutes. Maddie went to the bathroom to brush her teeth, while Jacob went to grab some clothes to wear. About 5 minutes later, they were both ready and standing at the front door.
"Ready?" Jacob asked Maddie as she approached him.
"Ready as I'll ever be," she replied. Sometime last night, after she had talked with Jacob, Maddie made the decision that if she wanted to help find Catelyn, then she'd have to stay strong. She wasn't going to be of much help if she broke down in hysterics every 10 minutes.
"You can drive my car," Maddie told Jacob as she held out a set of keys.
"You have a car?" Jake asked, slightly amused. "But you don't even have a license yet." Maddie just shrugged and walked to the door.
"My dad was worried that I'd ruin one of his, so he got me one so I could learn to drive," she explained. Jacob just laughed a little and followed Maddie outside.
They went around to the side of the house, and much to Jacob's surprise, there was a bunch of garages. In total, there had to be at least 10, but it was probably closer to 11 or 12. Maddie walked over to the first garage and punched in the code. The door went up, revealing a very nice looking black Cadillac Escalade EXT. (A/N: Picture on profile)
No way, Jacob thought to himself. "This is your car?" He asked incredulously. Maddie was already at the passenger door, and looked back to Jacob.
"Yeah, why?" She asked slightly oblivious.
"No reason… Just wow.." Jacob said, heading towards the driver's door. "I like it," he finally said while getting in.
About five minutes later, after Maddie had easily directed Jacob, telling him where to turn, Jacob and Maddie pulled up to the Peters' house. While it was way more extravagant than any house he'd seen, it still was nothing compared to Maddie's.
The driveway was filled with a large number of other people and cars. There were a few white tents set up throughout the front yard, and Maddie noticed about 5 or 6 police cruisers parked on the grass. Everyone was so busy with whatever they were doing, that no one noticed when Maddie and Jacob pulled up.
Maddie got out of the car, and walked towards the house with Jake in tow. She walked right inside, and was not surprised to see a bunch of people who were also inside as well. When they made it to the kitchen, Maddie noticed tons of sympathy food people must have dropped off lined along the counter and table.
"Madeline?!" A shocked voice asked from somewhere behind Jake and Maddie. They both turned around to face a very tired looking woman.
"Oh Maddie," the woman said coming forward to embrace her in a hug. The woman began crying, and Maddie patted her back in a comforting way.
"We'll find her," Maddie said, sounding sure. The woman just continued to cry for a few more moments, before pulling away, when she finally noticed Jacob.
"This is my boyfriend Jacob," Maddie said, "Jacob this is Catelyn's mom, Mrs. Peters."
"Oh do forgive me," Catelyn's mom replied blotting her eyes. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she said walking forward to shake Jacob's hand.
"What happened?" Maddie questioned, asking for the full story for the first time since she heard her best friend had gone missing.
"It was after school on Thursday," Mrs. Peters began, "Catie came home right after school and told me that she was going to go for a run downtown, and that she'd be back before dinner. But she never came home," somehow Mrs. Peters had managed to hold back the tears she had forming in her eyes. "There's no suspects yet," she added, "but they're still looking."
"I'm going to do whatever I can to help," Maddie vowed.
"Everyone's out back, they're just getting ready to set up the search teams for the day," Mrs. Peters added. "Why don't you two go out there and see what needs to be done. (A/N Picture of Catelyn's mom on profile)
Jacob and Maddie followed their orders, and went to the back of the house. They were amazed by the hundreds of people who were assembled on the Peters' backyard. There were a few policemen in charge, who were directing people into groups.
A couple of teenagers standing near the door recognized Maddie and came forward, storming her. And as a result, Maddie was forced to greet about half of her old school. She stuck near some of her better friends, who she introduced Jacob too.
"You guys can come with us," said Joss, one of the people Jake had just been introduced to. "We're going downtown to do flyers." Joss motioned to stacks of hundreds and hundreds of flyers that were lined up on the patio deck, each pile held down with a large stone.
"Just take a stack and a staple gun and head downtown. See if there are telephone poles you can put them on, or ask stores if you can put them in their windows," added some girl, who's name Jacob couldn't remember.
"That sounds good," Maddie said walking over to where an elderly woman was handing out staple guns from a plastic box.
Maddie got the staple gun and a roll of tape while Jacob grabbed a stack of flyers. Together they walked back to the car. Jacob got in, putting the flyers next to him, while Maddie entered through her door. She looked down to the stack of papers, and couldn't hold back her tears any longer.
The flyers varied with different titles and pictures, but they all conveyed the same message. They were your typical 'HAVE YOU SEEN ME?' posters that gave all of Catelyn's information, as well as who to contact with tips.
"I… ca-can't do… this," Maddie managed between sobs. Jacob put his hand on her back and rubbed it comfortingly.
"It's okay, everything is going to be okay," Jacob said, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself than Maddie. Maybe it was because he was trying to convince himself that it would all be fine. As much as he wanted to, he just couldn't get himself to believe that.
Being there in Wisconsin made the whole tragedy seem more realistic than ever before. When they were in Forks, it all just felt pseudo. Like it was happening, but not happening at the same time. But being there in the center of the storm made him realize that he wasn't imagining anything. The nightmare he was experiencing was more believable. That's because it was more than a nightmare, it was reality.
A/N: There you go guys! Hope you like it so far. I'm going out of town until the 18th, so no updates for a little. But that's about all. Remember… Review! Thanks for being such amazing readers. Take care, Bam.