(Zack P.O.V)
So I called the police the next day, still not having heard anything from Maya. They spent a good hour interviewing me about what had happened and if I knew any place she might have gone. Then they moved on to Cody and Bailey to ask them the same thing. Within a few hours, they were beginning their search. I dropped Reed and Jaeden off at the Tipton and went back to work as I'd been told to do. Basically, the police told me I had to go on with my life as normal so that once Maya came back, it would be an easy transition into normal life for her.
"Zack, we need the reports on last week's game ASAP." My secretary Josiah said, poking his head in the door.
"Sure thing. I'm just finishing them off and I'll print them to your printer in a moment." I told him, not looking up from my computer screen.
"Great. I think that's all that's on the agenda for the day so feel free to head home when you're done. I'll finish putting everything away." He said, referring to the boardroom where we'd had a fairly intense meeting a while ago. There was still papers and coffee mugs littered around the room. I hadn't been in the mood to do a clean-up then, opting to finish off the game reports from the previous week's game instead.
"Thant's okay, I'll go clean it up." I said, finally pressing print on the file. Those damn reports took so long. "I've just sent those files to the printer for you." He nodded and disappeared. Sighing, I began to pack up my desk, pausing for a second to look at the photo frame on my desk. It was one Maya had given me a while ago with a picture of the two of us and Reed. In the edge of the frame, I'd wedged a small image of Maya holding Jaeden in the hospital. Smiling slightly, I held on to the hope that the police would soon find her and bring her back to me. Once I'd packed up my belongings, I headed out to the board room and set to work straightening it out. It didn't actually take that long and before I knew it, I was on the road towards the Tipton to pick up Reed and Jaeden.
"How was your day?" Mom asked after I'd hugged her hello.
"Alright. Nothing really special." I said shrugging.
"Daddy!" Reed appeared out of nowhere, launching himself at me. I barely had time to react to catch him.
"I suddenly have a new appreciation for you raising Cody and I." I said to mom who just grinned. "Hey little buddy. Have you been a good boy for Grammy?"
"Yeah! We made cookies!" He said, wriggling out of my grip and rushing over to the plate of cookies on the bench. To be honest, they didn't look all that enticing, each one was a different color and they didn't look completely cooked. I raised an eyebrow at my mother as I took one, holding it with two hands for fear of it falling to the ground and staining the carpet.
"These look great Reed." I said, taking a bite. It actually didn't taste all that bad but I wondered just how much sugar was in them and how hyped Reed would be that evening.
"We got to put colours in them daddy. See? They're rainbow." Reed told me excitedly.
"Mom, how much sugar is in these?" I asked, kind of ignoring my son's comment. She just laughed and I groaned. "Great."
"What's wrong daddy?" Reed asked.
"Nothing, buddy. Why don't you go pack your bag and get ready to go home? We'll be going in a bit, okay?" He nodded and ran off, dumping the plate on the kitchen bench.
"Hey, I'm the grandmother. I fill them up with sugar and hand them back to you and you can deal with the consequences." Mom said, still laughing.
"Okay that respect from before has gone down."
"I had to deal with you and your brother for so many years, I think a little bit of payback is in order, don't you?" She said. I have to admit, it did seem fair after everything Cody and I did when we were younger.
"Whatever. Where's Jaeden?"
"He's in the bedroom, sleeping."
"Of course. I made my way over to the bedroom and picked up my second son, being careful not to wake him. Back in the main room, mom was helping Reed put his backpack on and putting Jaeden's diaper bag by the door.
"Okay, are you ready to go, little man?" I asked Reed.
"Yes daddy. Bye Grammy. I had fun today."
"Anytime, pumpkin. Maybe next time we can make chocolate cake." She told him with a wink. I rolled my eyes and made a mental note to make sure Reed didn't have much sugar before he came over next time. Shifting Jaeden to one side, I slug the diaper bag over my shoulder and took hold of Reed's hand.
"Bye mom. Thanks for having the boys." I said, leading Reed out the door.
"You're welcome. And you know they're welcome to stay here anytime if you need some time alone." She reminded me.
"Of course." Reed waved to her and we made our way down the hall to the elevator. The whole way home, Reed chattered about his day and I listened, partly. On the way, I decided that I couldn't be bothered making dinner that night so we stopped at McDonalds and grabbed some take away. After that, Reed was quiet, eating his chicken nuggets in the backseat.
(Maya P.O.V)
The days joined into a blur and I literally spent hours staring at the walls of my motel room. I'd had dozens of flashbacks and I was still no closer to being ready to go back. It felt like I was dying inside over not being with my family and friends, leading a normal life. Images of Phoebe on that day were permanently dancing in front of my eyes and every time that moment that I'd found her played over in my head, I felt the same familiar stab of pain in my chest and I couldn't breathe. I'm pretty sure the people in the rooms beside me couldn't get much sleep with the amount of times I would wake up screaming, remembering Phoebe and the day she'd died. I hated that I couldn't keep myself in control enough to be around the ones I loved and I knew that I was hurting them by doing this but I also knew that being around them would hurt them even more.
(Zack P.O.V)
Arriving home, I parked the car and turned around to look at Reed.
"Okay little man. It's bedtime. When we get inside, I want you to go upstairs and put your jammies on and I'll come and help you brush your teeth in a little bit."
"Yes Daddy." He smiled at me and climbed out of the car, rushing to into the house. I pulled Jaeden out and took him up to the nursery, quickly getting him into his pajamas and putting him to sleep in his bed. Once that was done, I went into the bathroom across the hall to find Reed standing on his little stool, trying to see in the mirror to brush his teeth. It wasn't working very well so I went over and took the brush from him, finishing the job myself. We finished in the bathroom and I tucked him into his bed, and read him a quick Dr Deus story.
"Goodnight, Reed." I said from the door as I switched off the light.
"Daddy?"
"Yes buddy?"
"When's mommy coming home?" He sounded so innocent. I felt like crying again as I answered his question.
"I don't know. She didn't tell me. But I do know that she will come home because she loves you and me and your brother very much."
"And Grammy? Does she love Grammy too?"
"Yes. She loves your Grammy. And she'll come home. I know she will."
"Okay. Goodnight daddy." I smiled at him and shut the door. Going down the stairs, I went into the study to pack away the things from my briefcase that I wouldn't need the next day. I finished quickly and went up to bed, to emotionally drained to do anything else. It felt wrong getting into bed without Maya beside me but I held on to the hope that it wouldn't be long before she was back by my side.
Preview: Still no news is delivered on Maya a week after the police are called in and Zack is beginning to become depressed himself. Cody and Bailey do everything they can to help him. Meanwhile, Maya is still struggling in Virginia and takes a big step backwards before making a decision.
A/N: Another short chapter but a few significant moments as well as a cute fluffy moment between Zack and Reed at the end. Again, thanks for all the reviews, you guys make it worth writing.