Chapter 6

Nick's pov

Morning came quickly just as Monroe had said it would. The slowly growing sun was just beginning to peak its way through the tightly drawn curtains. I closed my eyes tighter, trying to seal off any bits of sunshine that managed to make its way into the room. With my face firmly pressed against the pillow I slowly began to remember what day it was. My body jolted upright as I bounded out of bed, my feet instantly feeling the wood floor beneath me. I quickly threw on a clean shirt, pants, and socks as I remembered that Juliette had already been missing a day. My dark hair weakly clung to my forehead from sweating, probably from all of the nightmares I had experienced last night. I grabbed my phone and gun and threw open my bedroom door and made my way to the stairs. Once I reached the bottom I grabbed a pair of shoes and was just about to yank my leather jacket from the coat rack when I heard a voice speak up from behind me.

"Leaving so soon?" the person asked.

I turned my head to see my mother sitting comfortably at my kitchen table with a steaming cup of tea wrapped around her fingers. The morning newspaper sat open as well as she continued to browse through the captivating titles.

"Yah, sorry about that. I really wish I could stay but I really have to get out of here," I said.

As much as I wanted to get to know my not dead and entirely alive mother, now wasn't the time. Hoping that this was the end of our very brief conversation I slipped on my jacket and made for the door. She however, had other plans in mind.

"We still need to talk, Nicky. You can't keep running away from me forever. I know I'm tired of running," she said as she turned in her chair to look me in the eyes.

"It's not that I'm trying to run away from you, Mom," I started, "But I've got a lot of things I'm trying to figure out right now."

"I know. You didn't think that I wouldn't hear you screaming to nobody at that hour of the morning, did you?" she questioned.

I could suddenly feel my face ignite like a blazing fire from the embarrassment. My head snapped to the side, choosing to stare out the window as opposed to my mother. She had heard me last night, screaming at a person who was never even there to begin with. Sure, that doesn't worry someone that you could in fact be possibly crazy.

"Are you sure you're alright?" she asked.

"I'll need to get back to you on that one," I said, sticking my hands into my jacket pockets to find my car keys still securely placed there.

"Are you finally ready to tell me what happened at the hospital last night?"

I exhaled a giant breath upon hearing her question. Somehow I knew she was going to ask me this sooner or later. Now I just had to choose whether to answer her now or later. I chose now.

"Juliette was in trouble," I stated simply, not wishing to dive too far into the details.

"Who in the world is that?" she questioned, probably waiting for me to get to the point.

I was just about to reply when I felt my phone buzz from inside my pocket.

"Burkhardt," I answered.

"Nick, it's Monroe. I'm with Rosalee, are you ready?"

"Yah, I'm on my way. Where do we start?"

"Head to the park. We'll meet up there."

"See you there," I finished as I hit the end button.

After securely placing my phone back in my pocket I noticed my mom still staring at me and waiting patiently. She still wanted to know who Juliette was.

"Look, Mom, can we talk about this later? I really need to get out of here," I asked.

"You're still running away from my questions," she stated almost angrily.

"I'm not running away! There are just some things that are higher on my priority list right now!"

"Yah, like saving this Juliette girl," she said bitterly under her breath.

"You just wouldn't understand," I said as I ran out to my car and headed through the now awakening city to the town park.

Still Nick's pov

The drive to the park had been rather quick and quiet. People were beginning to leave their houses for their long days of work while others just gathered up their morning news. As I ran through the park my eyes scanned every inch not to miss them. My eyes skimmed over the minimal clusters of people until they landed on Monroe and Rosalee, sitting side by side as they occupied one of the many benches, sipping their coffee, obviously waiting for me.

"Nick, you finally made it," Monroe said jokingly as he handed me the extra coffee.

Leave it to Monroe to take a crisis and somehow attempt to lighten the mood. Rosalee just smiled from her seat as she watched us take over the situation.

"So, I was thinking that we should start on the south end of the park in order to widen the search; cover more grounds?" Monroe asked.

"Sounds good. I would like to cover as much ground as-," I said as I was interrupted by the constant vibrations coming from my phone in my pocket.

"Burkhardt," I spoke through the phone.

"Nick, where are you man?" the familiar voice asked.

"Hank?" I clarified.

"Of course it's Hank! Who else would it be?" he questioned.

"Sorry. What's up?" I asked as I took a big gulp of my coffee.

"What's up? Where in the world are you?"

"What do you mean?"

Where Hank was going with this I had no clue. The constant questions? The angry tone? He usually seemed pretty relaxed which is why we work so well together as partners. I heard his voice slowly begin to calm down over the phone as he continued.

"Where are you now?"

"I'm taking care of some personal issues," I stated, only giving him enough to get him off of my back.

"Well, the case we just finished, the one that involved the death of you parents, the Captain's re- opened it and he wants everybody here. He's been looking all over for you; wondering where you've been."

"Alright, I'll handle it. Thanks," I said as I hung up the phone.

Monroe and Rosalee just stared at me, waiting patiently for what I was about to say. The last time I had put so much faith in Monroe's hands was when I was attacked by that crazy ogre. Thankfully Juliette was there to save me. Juliette... So here I was, once again hoping that Monroe would pull through.

"I need to head down to the station. I'll be back soon. Can I count on you to keep up the search?" I asked hopefully.

"Nick, even though we barely know her, she's practically family," Monroe said causing me to smile.

"Don't worry, Nick. You can count on us. Go on; do you what you have to do. We've got it covered," Rosalee said as she looked to Monroe.

So I gave them my thanks and ran for my car, ready to head to work as quickly as possible. The faster I'm out of there the faster I can get back to searching for Juliette. So when I reached my car I punched the gas pedal as hard as I could, zooming out of the parking space and onto the more populated roadway, heading directly for the station leaving Monroe and Rosalee with nothing but their thoughts and each other.

Hey everyone! Chapter 6! I hope you guys liked it... some suspense is on the way. And don't worry for those who want some info on the captain, he will be up soon! Thanks for reading!