Chapter three is now up! Thanks for all the positive reviews. I really appreciate it. This chapter turned out a bit different than I had originally planned, but I think it turned out okay. I hope you like it and please review!
Kidnapped. The word makes my stomach turn, makes my heart speed up. Hearing it come from my own mouth, with Logan's name in the same sentence, is almost too much to bear. Speaking with the police has been difficult. I can barely get my words out, so Kendall and Carlos have been doing most of the talking, but it was only a matter of time before the two officers turned their attention to me. I'm just so exhausted and emotionally drained, and all I want is to curl up in a ball on the floor and forget about everything that's happened.
"So, you got to the hospital, and the person in the room wasn't your...uh, boyfriend?" one of the police officers asks, and I hate the way he says "boyfriend," as if he can't really believe that I'm gay. I sigh, tired of repeating myself, but I guess I can't really blame them for making sure they've got their facts straight.
"Yes," I answer simply, placing my head in my hands and taking a seat at the kitchen table. Ms. Knight places a hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently for a moment before pulling away, wrapping her arms around Katie.
"And you came home and found this note?" He holds up the neon pink envelope with the letter, and I nod. "And you have no idea who this man is?"
"No," I choke out, pressing my palms into my eyes so I won't cry again. The second officer speaks up.
"And you expect us to believe this?" I look up at him in shock, my mouth dropping open as I take in the look on his face. His eyes are narrowed, frowning slightly in disapproval.
"It's the truth," I say softly, my eyes pleading with him to believe me, to understand, but I can tell he doesn't.
"Hospitals don't work like that. They don't just bring in an unidentified body and ask around for people who know them," he says, stepping towards me. "And that note could have been written by anybody. The envelope is pink. Why would a kidnapper go through the trouble of getting pink envelopes?" I don't know what to say, but luckily, Kendall does.
"How the hell should we know?" he practically snarls, clearly angry. "It's your job to find out why the hospital listened to some stranger. And why does it matter what color the envelope is? Our friend is missing!"
"Is he?" the officer counters, staring Kendall down. "This just doesn't make sense." The other officer, the nicer one, pulls his partner away from me, looking at me apologetically.
"Maybe we should question the hospital," he suggests, turning his attention to his partner. "We can't accuse them of lying until we've questioned everyone involved."
"We're not lying!" I insist, standing up and stepping towards them, my body shaking. "You need to find him! Please."
"We'll do what we can," the nice officer says before pulling the other officer towards the door. "We'll call you if we learn anything." And then they're gone, and my stomach sinks. The slight hope I had disappears, and I sink to the ground, staring at the door in disbelief. How could he not believe us? Why would we lie about something like this?
"Don't worry, James. They'll find him," Kendall says, but I don't acknowledge him. A burning rage is building in the pit of my stomach, my eyes filling with angry tears. They don't believe me. They're not going to find Logan. My anger grows, and grows, and I'm on my feet in an instant, hands clenched into fists.
"Stop saying that!" I snap, turning towards Kendall. "You heard them. They don't believe us! The only way we're going to find Logan is if we look for him ourselves!" I spin around and hurry out the door, ignoring the calls of my name. They all think everything will be fine because the police are involved, but I know better. The way that one officer looked at me... They probably won't even bother going to the hospital. I decide on taking the stairs, taking them two at a time in my rush. I come close to twisting my ankle several times, but I don't slow my pace. By the time I reach the lobby I'm running, ignoring Bitters as he yells at me to slow down. I won't be here long, anyway. I push past the front doors, heart pounding. I know what I'm doing may be stupid, and probably won't make a difference, but it's almost as if something is pulling me to do this. I have to look for him.
"Don't worry, Logan," I whisper to myself. "I'll find you." But I'm mostly saying it to keep myself from breaking down in sobs. Deep in my heart I know here's nothing I can do. I have no idea who kidnapped him, or where he is, and even if I did, I would probably just end up getting myself kidnapped as well. With a heavy sigh, I stop running, closing my eyes tightly. I won't cry, not now. I need to be strong. I need to find him. I take a shaky breath and open my eyes, looking around at my surroundings. I'm at the park, which isn't exactly the best place to look. Shaking my head to clear it, I try to calm down and think about where Logan could be. LA is just so huge, though... I sigh again before walking, heading in a random direction. Logan had left a couple hours ago, leaving plenty of time for the kidnapper to get away. My heart sinks, and my throat gets tight, but I keep my head up, searching the people I see for Logan. I can only hope that he's still in LA and not stuck in a car on his way out of the city, or worse, the state.
Desperation kicks in after almost three hours. The sun is starting to go down, and the people beginning to head home. Of course there's still a ton if traffic, but that just makes it hard to get from one place to another. My boyfriend could be in any one of those cars. He's probably so scared and worried.
"Logan!" I scream, hoping that he'll answer my call and I can save him and everything will be okay. But all I hear is almost complete silence. "Logan!" Is he hurt? Does he miss me? Is he even alive? "Logan!" A few people give me weird looks, but I just ignore them, continuing to scream Logan's name as I walk. Soon the sun is behind the trees, and it's too dark to keep searching. The bars and clubs are starting to fill up, and it's loud. Even if Logan was near-by, I doubt he could hear me. I walk for a few more minutes before turning back, my eyes glued to the ground. The walk back to the Palm Woods is long and agonizing. I've failed Logan, and now he's left to fend for himself tonight. My eyes burn, but I refuse to let the tears fall. I don't deserve to cry. I'm pathetic. I couldn't even find my own boyfriend, the guy I love more than anything in the world. I wasn't even worried when he was late getting home from the grocery store. Maybe if I wasn't so self-centered I would have known something was wrong. I could have at least called him to make sure he was okay... Called him... My eyes widen as I pull out my cellphone, dialing his number and almost bouncing in anticipation as I hear it ring. Why didn't I think of this before? I hear a click and the ringing ends, and my breath gets caught in my throat.
"Logan?" I breathe, heart pounding. "Is that you, babe?"
"Guess again," a voice answers, and I swear my heart skips a beat.
"Where's Logan you asshole?" I growl, eyes narrowing. "Let him go!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that."
"Let him go!" I scream, tears pooling in my eyes. My voice turns to a choked whisper. "Please let him go." The man laughs, a cold, evil sound that brings goosebumps to my arms.
"Never," he breathes, and then he hangs up, and I'm running again, tears blurring my vision. I redial the number, praying he'll answer again, but of course he doesn't. I was stupid to think he would have let Logan keep his phone.
By the time I reach the Palm Woods, it's late. The lobby is empty, the pool is closed, and most of the lights are off. The elevator is shut down for the night, so I'm forced to take the stairs. Normally I wouldn't care, but my legs are sore from walking/running so long, and my head is spinning with all the different ways Logan's kidnapper could be hurting him. My tears have slowly stopped, but I'm sure my eyes are still red. Thankfully everyone in 2J should be asleep, so I can just sneak in and go to bed without people questioning me. Unfortunately, today is just not my day. Kendall is sitting at the kitchen table when I enter the apartment, obviously waiting for me. We stare at each other silently for a moment.
"The police called," he says finally, and I stare down at my feet. "Logan's their top priority. They have people out looking for him right now." I choose to stay silent, keeping my eyes on the floor as I slowly walk in the direction of Logan and I's bedroom. "James, wait!" I stop and look back at him. He opens his mouth as if he's about to say something, and then closes it again, giving me a sympathetic look. I stare at him a moment longer before turning and walking more quickly to my room. As soon as the door is closed behind me I slump against it, closing my eyes and breathing deeply. Everyone just wants to help, but they're just making this harder on me. I can't take all their sympathetic looks, their reassurances, their optimism. Logan's not okay. He's not safe. The police will never find him, and I'll never see him again. I force myself away from the door and collapse onto Logan's bed, which he only really uses to take naps. We both sleep in my bed at night. His scent fills my nose, and I will myself to sleep, needing to escape all this pain. I know I'm going to end up dreaming about him, and I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Probably a bit of both.
"Goodnight, Logie," I whisper, wishing he was here with me. The silence that follows kills me. Right about now he would be answering with a sleepy "Goodnight, Jamie," and I would peacefully drift asleep with him beside me. But the spot at my side where he usually sleeps is cold, like my now-broken heart, and I'm starting to realize just how much I can't live without him. I need him, more than I've ever needed something before. He's my lifeline, my rock. Without him, I'm nothing. Without him, I'm not even James Diamond.