False hope for the missing one.
Both Feliciano and Antonio didn't want to call for assistance let alone reporting Lovino missing. Both frantically brainstormed possibilities of where the elder Italian may have gone.
Feliciano looked over at his brother's battered communication device and then sudden idea had popped into his head.
"Antonio, did you find Lovi's' phone in the backyard?"
Antonio looked over to the younger Italian quizzically and replied with an affirmative answer.
Feliciano then paced towards the laundry.
"Feli, wait up!" Antonio yelled out as he followed in a frantic jog.
The backdoor was unlocked and pulled wide open, allowing a blinding light and a wind of fresh air to flood into the stagnant house. The sun had begun to set, which had bought on a direct blinding hit to both males upon opening the door.
The two stepped outside shielding their eyes. Feliciano had refocussed his eyes to have a better look at the backyard.
It was pretty bare with a poor lawn and a rusty old spinning clothesline. Beyond that was a waist-high metal mesh fence, which sat between two 1.8m high Colourbond cream coloured fences, that formed the closing of the backyard area.
The forest that lay beyond made Feliciano panic even more so as he mumbled a prayer in his native tongue. Antonio looked over with even more concern between the panicking Italian and the backyard, trying to piece how the backyard had relevance to Lovino's disappearance.
"I think we might have to call for help..." Feliciano said in a slightly quivering voice as he looked over to Antonio.
Emergency rescue crew and police had blockaded the house and lighting sources were being brought into the backyard. The emergency crew were huddled around a makeshift desk, discussing their operation plans. There were some paramedics on the scene gearing up to assist with the search and another group of rescue crew turned up with some dogs.
Ludwig, the Italian's' boyfriend, had made his way over to Lovino's place straight away from work not too long ago. And now here he stood, on the porch of Lovino's house, with his boyfriend clinging to him and head buried in his chest, feeling his stomach churn.
He never did get along with his lovers ' sibling so why was he feeling like it was his brother who was missing? It was a very uneasy feeling! He looked over to the Spaniard, who looked just as uneasy but even more so like he wanted to bolt and search for his 'lover' desperately.
Feliciano had explained to him earlier after they had called for help and reported Lovino missing, that it was likely that Lovino may have entered the forest beyond the backyard.
His intuition was telling him that though but his nightmares of his brother disappearing into a void, for the past few nights, and a caution that the previous owner of the house had left behind was enough to convince him either way.
Though intuition alone wouldn't be enough to be convincing to someone else, either way, Antonio and Ludwig chose to believe in Feliciano's gut feeling.
The sun had now disappeared, taking the remaining afternoon warmth with it, not that it provided so much relief from the cold anyways. Cold stars painted the night sky and the moon was nowhere to be found.
Ludwig held his boyfriend close as the cold began to bite. Antonio became too anxious to stand still and he wanted a volunteer to help with the search party but was denied for he seemed emotionally unstable. Gilbert and Frances had dropped by to comfort the distressed Spaniard but wound up having to hold him back from trying to join the search himself. The police on the scene looked like they were about to arrest him for being a nuisance.
Gilbert and Frances had dragged the restless man off the scene and out towards the front of the house.
"Hold it together for god sake, Antonio! We know how you feel but the way you're thrashing about...its just making the current situation worse than it already is!" Gilbert yelled at Antonio as he pinned the Spaniard against his car.
Antonio pushed the other off him. But before he could rebut back, he could hear the hysterical cry of Feliciano.
"They found Lovi!" Antonio mumbled. The three then made a dash towards the back of the house.
To be continued...
Next chapter is the search.
Thank you for reading so far and please hang on for the upcoming updates.