Ciel's Perspective
But I can't stop. How easy it would be to just nurse my broken heart with booze and time, but no amount of either would erase him from my memories. My soul has been completely engraved by him that if I were to give him up, I would die. And it is not dramatics that made that statement ring true; it is the absolute, treacherous truth. I could not be without him. So even though the curses spilled from my mouth, even as tears pour from my eyes, even as my breath kept playing an elusive game with my lungs, even as my brain begs for me to leave, my heart pulls me around, searching for his phone, for any sign of him.
After the broken plate in the sink, I find something off in the hallway that leads to the front entrance. The photos on the table are either facedown or not in the right, impeccable order that I remember them to be in. I usually have an eye for detail due to my job, so I am positive that this table is not right. Something is wrong here.
With a pensive feeling, I head back to the kitchen. I dry my eyes which have stopped, at the moment, from releasing tears, and I look a bit closer to the broken plate in the sink. Sebastian would never leave it. Not because he is a clean freak, although, he is not a slob either. It is because he would not risk harming anyone, especially his family, through recklessness. He would make sure every shard had been removed so no one would cut themselves. I know this about him. So why are the pieces of the plate still lying there?
My response to thinking that Sebastian has left me dissipates. I am thinking and behaving more calmly. I am under control. I look around the kitchen, but everything looks ordinary. The island in the middle is clear of any indication of Sebastian. The counters are neat. It is just that broken plate that is unusual.
Phone. I have to find it. He never goes without it. I know that. If it is here, if I can find it, it must mean something. I begin frantically scavenging the place, high and low, for it.
As I am bent on my knees looking under the homey couch, I hear the front door slam. I jump up, thinking that is Sebastian. I open my mouth to give him a piece of my mind, but it is Bard. He is breathing hard as if he had run here.
"Bard? What are-" I begin.
"Shuddap!" He cuts me off with his accented order. He has his phone in his hand.
"It won't work. I tried calling him. It's off or something. I didn't hear it ring." I insist, and he ignores me. He walks around the room. He walks the first floor and then the second to no avail. He doesn't hear Sebastian's phone.
Bard's Perspective
After Ciel ends the call with me, I am on alert. Where is Sebastian? He would never leave Ciel's side, especially from what I heard from Dimitri about the new changed status between the two.
I rush over to the Michelais' residence, surpassing as many speed limits I could while being efficient and safe. I call James, Sebastian's driver, on the way to ask him if he had taken Sebastian somewhere, but he answers that he had not received any calls. As James inquires if anything is wrong, I pull up to the townhouse. I grunt a no and run inside.
Ciel starts to say something, but I don't have the patience to answer him. I need to find Sebastian's phone.
I didn't expect a phone to ring. Why would I? Sebastian could not hear it, so he didn't have a ringer. Rather, it was set to vibrations. He could feel it if he received a phone call or a message. So I strained my ears to hear his phone vibrating against something. Because if the track said his phone was here, Sebastian would have to be in the house. Sebastian never parted from his phone. He always had it in his pocket or hand. Otherwise, he would not be able to feel the pulse of the phone coming to life.
I comb through every room, but I don't hear the telling rumble of his phone. I take the stairs two-at-a-time to reach the first floor where Ciel stood. I keep redialing him as I ask, "What happened here?"
"I don't know! He said he would be downstairs preparing the food, but when I came down after my shower, he was gone. I called him, but I got no answer." Ciel explains.
This did not make sense! I grind my teeth as I try to think of something that would help me solve the mystery of where Sebastian was. I didn't lie to Ciel when I said Sebastian was like family to me. Sebastian and I were not just like brothers. We really were. I had no family. My parents died in my early twenties, and I had no blood siblings or close relatives. Sebastian and his family were all I had. And the thought that Sebastian is missing had me frightened. I couldn't handle anything happening to him.
I call him again and again. I won't give up.
Ciel's Perspective
Bard stands in front of me. He shoulders shake while his head faces down, blocking my eyes from seeing his expression. But I knew what he is hiding: his vulnerability.
"Maybe he drove somewhere and didn't tell me?" I interject, trying to comfort him. But this only upsets Bard. His head snaps up.
"He can't drive! So where would he be? His driver hadn't heard from 'im, either!" He huffs. He heads to the door with his phone out and his thumb hovering over the screen. I follow him closely.
"Where are you going?! And what do you mean he can't drive? He can." Bard throws the door open and steps outside. I catch his arm. "Answer me!"
"I'm tryin' to find 'im!" He breathes out harshly as he snatches his arm away. I open my mouth to tell him that he didn't answer my other question, but I hear something. I hear a subdued rustling in the rose bushes that border the walkway. I push past Bard and follow the sound. I reach a bush, and without thought, I reach in. Thorns prick at my hand and arm, but I push further towards the sound. My fingertips brush up against glass. I grab at it and retract my hand. It's Sebastian's phone.
"I found it!" I rejoice, and I look up with a smile, expecting Bard to return it. But he doesn't. And the blood that leaks from my wounds that the thorns caused turns ice cold as Bard pales.
Bard's Perspective
Maybe I was hoping that my tracker was wrong. If I didn't find his phone at his place, that would have meant that Sebastian had it. Maybe Sebastian had it off or on complete silence. Maybe he was screening our calls. Maybe he was safe. I could live with that. Maybe he needed space, but with his phone in Ciel's damaged hand, I knew my suspicions were justified. I knew something was wrong. I know something happened to him.