Repentance - Chapter 30

CHAPTER 30:

Edward kept his promises, both of them. He made sure to make time for Masen and I at least two nights a week and he also called every florist in town trying to find out who sent me the flowers.

I had a sinking feeling that James sent the flowers. I have no idea why he would do that or if he was keeping an eye on me, or what. I have no idea, I just cannot imagine who else could have sent them.

Edward tracked down the flower shop that delivered the flowers but all they could tell him was that the person asked to remain anonymous. Edward made a personal trip to the florist across town to question the lady that took the order. Edward sweet talked the young girl into giving him a description of the guy that purchased the flowers, but all she remembered was that he was tall, attractive and had dark brown hair.

Edward kept up with my every move ever since. I couldn’t help the creepy feeling sometimes that James was keeping an eye on us. I was just grateful that he hadn’t bothered us anymore. Edward drove me nuts about the guy who sent the flowers. He didn’t fit the description of James, but I’m sure James must have put someone up to it. Edward sounded jealous, and I couldn’t help but laugh at him.

“Seriously, Edward? Are we really having this conversation? I am the size of a hot air balloon and you think I have a secret admirer?”

“You are not and I would secretly admire you if I weren’t already publicly admiring you.”

I laughed. “Oh, Edward. You’re so hopeless. I’m sure this is exactly what he wanted to happen. He’s just trying to piss us off. Stop falling for his tricks.”

Edward sighed. “I guess you’re right. I just can’t stand living in the same city as him, knowing that he is out there somewhere.”

“I know, I feel the same way. I really don’t think he will try anything before the trial. He would just be too stupid to get in trouble right now.”

“Yea, but he’s smart enough to get someone to cause trouble in his place. That is what I’m concerned about, like the guy that ran you off the road.”

I took a deep breath. I didn’t like the memories his comment conjured up. “I swear it was him, Edward. I know they said it wasn’t, but I swear it was, unless I’m just completely crazy.”

“I believe you.” Edward leaned down and placed a soft kiss on my lips. “I’ve got to get going. Please let me know if you decide to go somewhere. I worry about you two,” he said as he placed a hand on my stomach.

I sat up from my position on the couch and kissed him again. “I think we may go to the park, but I promise I’ll text you and let you know. Try to get some studying done, don’t worry about us.” Edward was going to the library to work on a paper for class and Masen and I were probably going to go to the park when he got up from his nap. So far, it had been a lazy Saturday morning and I was dying to get out of the apartment.

Edward told me he loved me before he disappeared out the door, books in tow.

I got Masen up from his nap. He threw a small tempter tantrum when he realized Edward was gone. The fact that I told him we were going to the park and playground made up for it though. Rosalie and Emmalie came with us as well. I was glad she agreed to come with us because I didn’t feel like I could keep up with Masen on the playground. I could walk for about ten minutes and feel exhausted.

Rose ran a few laps around the track at the park, as she still felt like she had baby weight on her, but she looked thinner than she did before she was pregnant. While Rose ran, I pushed Masen on the swings as Emmalie slept in her stroller next to me.

By the time Rose came back, I was beat, and Masen was ready to move on to the slides and seesaws.

I decided to keep an eye on Emmalie while I took a break on a nearby bench, while Rose ran around with Masen. I brought a book with me, so I started reading it while the sun washed over me. The sun felt so good on my skin. The weather was perfect. It would’ve been chilly without the warmth of the sun.

I don’t know how long I had been lost in my book. Emmalie started crying at exactly the same time Rose started yelling my name from across the playground.

“Bella!!”

I stood up from the bench so I could see her better. I knew almost instantly something was wrong. She looked panicked. I didn’t see Masen anywhere. I grabbed Emmalie and went over to Rose, she met us half way, out of breath.

“I can’t find him anywhere, Bella!” she breathed. “I’ve looked everywhere, it’s like he just vanished.”

I felt my heart drop into the pit of my stomach and I had to put Emmalie back in her stroller before I dropped her.

Rose kept rambling on about Masen being in line to go down the slide, but he never came down it and she couldn’t find him. I tuned her out. I couldn’t hear anything but the humming noise of children laughing and playing, none of them matching the sound of my sweet boy’s laughter.

The playground was huge, and parts were like a maze. He could be anywhere. Rose was starting to freak out.

“Calm down. Maybe you just over looked him, or he’s hiding,” I tried to reassure her, and myself.

Rose was bent over, her hands resting on her knees, trying to catch her breath. “I’ve looked everywhere, Bella.”

“Well, look again!” I screamed.

I stomped off in the direction of the slide she said he was last at. I looked everywhere. I crawled through every little tunnel, nearly getting myself stuck. I looked inside every tire swing, underneath ever slide or bridge, everywhere. We yelled his name for nearly an hour. We asked every adult on that playground if they had seen him. Finally, we ran into a lady on the other side of the playground that remembered seeing a little boy in a red t-shirt.

“Well he was playing with this little black puppy and the man, I assumed it was his father, took them both back to the car. They got in a gold car, right over there.” She pointed to a nearby parking lot.

“Are you sure it was him? He’s about two and a half years old, he has copper colored hair, and big brown eyes.”

“I’m fairly certain. You don’t see that kind of hair very often, he has beautiful hair, and such a unique color.”

I felt my knees begin to shake, as if she could read my mind, Rose came up behind me to help support me. We sat down on a nearby bench and I completely lost it. I felt like my insides had been ripped out. I could hear Rose on the phone with the police but I just couldn’t comprehend what was happening. All I could think about was the fact that I had to tell Edward I had lost our son.

“Bella, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. The police are on their way. I’m going to catch that lady before she leaves so she can describe the car to the police.”

I nodded my head, not really listening to her. I pulled out my cell phone and called Edward.

He answered quietly on the third ring. “Hi, baby.”

“Edward...” I cried.

I could hear the chair scoot out from under him when he heard my shaking voice.

“What’s wrong? Where are you?”

I couldn’t even speak. I couldn’t make the words come out of my mouth. I cried hysterically. I could hear the sounds of him gathering his things into his bag as he was trying to get out of the library so he could talk.

“Bella, what happened? Where are you?”

“At...at the...at the park,” I said between sobs.

“Bella, calm down, take a deep breath. I’m on my way, what happened? Where is Rose?”

I just continued to cry. I couldn’t get horrible images out of my mind. I couldn’t help but imagine where Masen was and who he was with and what they were doing to him. I heard police sirens in the distance. Edward must have heard them too.

“Bella, what the fuck is going on!” he yelled.

“Masen is gone!” I finally screamed. “Somebody took him! We can’t find him...”

There was silence on the other end of the phone. My sobs grew louder. “I’m sorry,” I cried.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” he said solemnly before the line went dead.

Before Edward arrived at the park, the police and Emmett arrived. Emmett took Emmalie to his mother’s house. Rose was beside herself with guilt, but ultimately it was my fault. He was my son. I should’ve been watching him. The lady that saw him leave in the gold car was a big help. She described everything she saw to the police.

Edward, being as smart as he was, arrived about 15 minutes later. He stopped by the apartment to get a recent photo of Masen to provide to the police. I couldn’t even look at Edward when he arrived. I felt sick to my stomach.

He spoke to Rose instead of me.

“Edward, I’m so sorry. He was there one minute and just gone the next. I was supposed to be watching him, it’s not Bella’s fault.”

Edward dismissed her apology. “Why don’t you take her home, she looks exhausted,” he said, referring to me.

I looked up at them both. “I’m not leaving.”

Edward dismissed us both, knowing he couldn’t win with me, not about this. He went to talk to the officers. They had an amber alert out for Masen and had passed along the description of the vehicle to every officer on duty. They felt certain they would at least be able to locate the vehicle in a couple of hours since they had a good description of it and they got it quickly. They alerted the Washington State Patrol as well, incase they were attempting to leave the state.

“Bella, let’s go home. There’s nothing else we can do here.” Edward said, as he knelt down in front of me, trying to see my face.

I continued to hide from him, unable to look him in the eye. I shook my head no. “I’m not going home without him.”

Edward sighed. “They’re doing everything they can. Whoever took him isn’t just going to bring him back to the park, Bella. He’s not here. He’s not coming back here. Your feet and hands are swollen,” he said as he pulled my hands away from my face and looked at my palms. “You’re dirty, too. When is the last time you ate or had something to drink?”

I glanced down at my hands. I was covered in dirt from running all over the playground looking for Masen. “I had breakfast.”

“It’s almost 5:00 o’ clock, Bella. I know you’re upset, I am too. I’m sick about it, but you can’t neglect one child because you’re worrying about another...”

I burst in to tears when he said that. I just wanted my little boy back. I didn’t care about anything else in the world except seeing his smiling face again, but I was starving. I knew I was. My stomach had been growling loudly for hours now and the baby was kicking up a storm. I didn’t deserve to be a mother. I was obviously terrible at it. Edward pulled me towards him and I buried my face in the crook of his neck and just cried.

I don’t know how long we stayed like that. It felt like a while, until my stomach betrayed me again, growling so loudly even Edward could hear.

“Please, let me take you home. The lead investigating officer has both of our phone numbers and I have his.”

“Okay,” I reluctantly agreed.

Every time my phone would ring, I’d jump and expect it to be an officer calling to tell us something or give us some news, but apparently the word was out about Masen and anyone that ever knew Edward or I was blowing up our phones wanting to know what was going on. It was completely nerve wracking. If I wasn’t pregnant, I would’ve been well through a bottle of wine by now.

Edward got me something to eat on the way back to the apartment. I picked at it in the car as he drove us back across town, but I just felt too sick to eat. I forced a few bites of my sandwich down, more for the baby than for me.

I threw the remains of my sandwich back into the bag. “I just can’t eat right now.”

Edward sighed, but didn’t push me further about it.

We got home and the sun had nearly disappeared from the sky. “I should’ve put a jacket on him this morning, it’s going to be cold tonight.”

Edward helped me out of the car and we rode in silence in the elevator. We stepped out on to our floor and Edward opened the door and went in. I stood in the hallway.

“I can’t,” I said.

“Come on, Bella,” Edward held out his hand to me, so I would come inside.

“I just can’t admit to myself that I’m coming home without him. He’s out there somewhere, he needs us.”

Edward took a deep breath. “Bella, come inside. Whether you are out in the hallway or in here is not going to change the fact that he needs us.”

I sighed and took his hand to go inside. It was quiet in the apartment without him. It just felt empty without him there and not knowing where he was. Edward excused himself to the bathroom and I sat down on the couch to start going through all the missed calls on my phone. My dad had called, as well as Alice and Edward’s parents.

I called my dad back first. I told him everything, but he already seemed aware of most of the details. He was swearing he would kill anyone that laid a hand on Masen when I thought I heard strange sounds from the bathroom.

I pulled the phone away from ear and confirmed my thoughts. It sounded like Edward was throwing up. “Dad, I have to go. I’ll call you back in a minute.”

I dropped the phone and went through our bedroom to the bathroom. Sure enough, Edward was hugging the toilet like it was his best friend.

“Edward?”

Edward flushed the toilet and looked up at me. He looked flushed and pale all at the same time.

“Are you okay?”

Edward began to stand up. “Yea, I’m okay. It’s just my nerves I think.”

Edward rinsed his mouth out at the sink.

“Don’t make yourself sick, trying to be strong for me or nice to me. Yell at me, scream at me...let it out! I lost our son! It’s okay to be mad at me.”

Edward leaned on the bathroom counter for support and hung his head. When he looked back up at me his eyes were red with tears just waiting to pour over the edge and my heart broke for him.

“I’m not mad at you, Bella. It’s not your fault. It’s nobody’s fault. This isn’t some random act. Somebody wanted him, was looking for him. If it wasn’t today, it would’ve been the next day. James is connected to this somehow, he’s trying to get back at us. I just can’t handle the thoughts of what he might do to him. It just makes me sick.”

I pulled Edward to me. “I know,” I tried to fight back the tears that were stinging my eyes. “Edward, I can’t do this. If he doesn’t come home, if I can never see that little face again, I quit. I give up. I can’t live without him. I can’t overcome any more obstacles. I’m not strong enough,” I cried.

“Yes you are. You’re the strongest woman I know.”

I started to disagree with him when we both heard his phone ringing in the living room. Edward was first out of the bathroom to get it and I followed behind him.

He picked his phone up from the coffee table. “Edward Cullen,” he answered. My heart started to race. He only answers the phone like that if he doesn’t recognize the number.

“Yes.” Edward pulled the phone from his ear and put it on speaker phone so I could hear.

“We have him. He’s safe. No word yet on the suspect. We’re still looking for him. We found the car, abandoned, in an industrial park outside of town.”

I felt like I could breathe for the first time in hours.

“Is he okay?” Edward asked.

“He doesn’t have a scratch on him. He was found at Pike’s Place Market, watching the guys throw fish. There is a female officer escorting him to a nearby deli for a snack. She will meet you guys down there. I’ll give you guys some time to catch up and I’ll be back in touch tomorrow with some more details. We are following a couple of strong leads, but it’s a lot to go into right now, so let us do our job and we’ll be in touch.”

“Okay, thank you.”

Edward hung up and I nearly tackled him. “Thank God,” he said. “I don’t understand it, but I don’t care. Let’s go!”

I grabbed Edward’s hand and followed him out of the apartment. He drove like a crazy man and we made it to the market in about ten minutes.

Masen and a few police officers were sitting just outside the deli. Masen looked surprised to see us.

“Mamma! Daddy!” Masen slipped off the bench and ran towards us. I planted myself on the sidewalk and squeezed him until he told me I was hurting him. I ran my hands through his mess of copper hair and kissed him until he told me to stop.

Edward attempted to get more details from the officer but she was pretty tight lipped. She stated he was dropped off at a toy store down the street and that he wandered down to see the fish throwers. One of the employees there called the police since they couldn’t find his parents when they were ready to close.

News crews began to arrive to Pike Place and Edward and I took Masen home. We didn’t want to be on the news. We wanted to remain as low key as possible.

Masen talked about the fish the entire way home. We couldn’t get him to shut up about them.

“Who did you leave the park with?”

“I was helping find puppy dog.”

“You were helping him find his dog? What did you do after that?”

“Went and got happy meal and den we saw the fish! They throw dem really far!”

Edward and I looked at each other. This didn’t make any sense. Who kidnaps a child, takes him to McDonald’s and drops him off at a fish market? Edward and I didn’t get it, but we knew that Masen had quite the adventure and he seemed perfectly happy and unaffected, and for that, we were grateful.


***Author’s Note: Sorry for the delay w/ this update...real life has been crazy hectic! It may seem like the story is sort of going in circles here, but answers are on the way...and they may not be the ones you were expecting. :) Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! If you haven’t already, also check out my newest story - Elusive Reality!

Twitter: @ AllOrNothingKR
Facebook: Allornothingkr at gmail (dot) com

**CHAPTER 31 - CLICK HERE**