Restless, he called Kara, frustrated when it went straight to voicemail and he had to leave her a message. Hopefully she’d be able to pick him up from Dulles while Finn was in school.
George paced. He couldn’t sleep. He would’ve normally had a drink, but he was worried he wouldn’t wake up for his early flight. He’d called his boss and let him know he was running back to DC for a day or two. He paced some more. Most of all, he tried to convince himself it would be okay; she would be okay, they would be okay. He had a nagging worry in his mind that it wouldn’t be okay and that the best thing that could happen to them, Jamie gone, would be their undoing.
He’d already left Stella a voicemail and a text for her to call him, to please let him know she was okay. Now all he could do was wait. It was torture to endure it, torture knowing she was hurting and he could do nothing.
George’s knee was shaking the two joined together seats on his flight back to DC. He was anxiously waiting for takeoff when he got a text from Millie.
El’s okay, but she’s gone
I’d call you but I’m crying
She left me at your place in the middle of the night
I’ve called Patrick
George sucked in a breath. He was right. She left him. He replied.
What do you mean she’s gone?
Millie responded immediately.
She left me a note
George hung his head.
What kind of note
Thank goodness Millie was an attentive texter.
A sad one
I’ll talk to you when you get here
She loves you
The flight attendant came by and told him to turn his phone off. Fuck.
It was the longest flight of his life and sitting on the tram that moved him from his gate to the main terminal almost made him lose his shit. He’d talked to Patrick, Jesse, and Kara, but Stella still wasn’t answering her phone. Patrick was trying to get a flight from Atlanta to DC today and Jesse said if Patrick couldn’t get one, he’d fly him up to DC himself. He sent her text after text. It made him feel better, because he knew she would get them eventually, and he didn’t trust his voice for Voxer. He just wished she would reply.
Love please answer my calls
Let me know you’re ok
Please
Where are you
When he exited the terminal, Kara was there in her Lexus SUV, waiting for him with a pained expression on her face. He threw his bag into the back and got in the passenger seat.
She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “I’m so sorry, Will.”
“Just get me home.” George called Stella’s number again. “El, please,” his voice cracked, “please don’t do this.”
His sister grabbed his hand. “We can make it through anything. Remember that.”
He wiped a tear from his face and stared out the window. Kara left him alone and turned up the radio. She started to get out when she parked in George’s driveway.
“Thank you, Kara, but I need to be by myself.”
“Will, I think I should come in and make sure you’re okay.”
George shook his head. “No.”
“Will, let me help you,” Kara implored. “There are pictures of her driving away from here in the middle of the night. I think she’s gone.”
“No.” George turned and walked to his front door. He waved without looking back at his sister.
He walked through the foyer and smelled her; her coconut scent lingered everywhere. He set his bag down and took in the den, then the kitchen. His eyes stopped on the piece of paper on the breakfast bar. The ring he’d given her was sitting on top of the paper and he felt his heart rip out of his chest. He’d been in plenty of fights in his life, but he’d never felt pain like this. He picked up the barstool and threw it across the room. He looked at his phone, willing Stella to call him. It was 10:00 am. Where was she? Was she okay? Was she coming back? He called Millie.
“Have you heard from her?” George asked as soon as Millie answered.
“No,” she responded softly. “George, I’m so sorry. You should’ve seen what happened last night. I think she just needed time to think.” Millie sighed. “Do you want to come by?”
“No. I’m going to find her,” he answered, resolved.
“I… I think Patrick is trying to find her, too. He told me last night he was headed back here, but I just got a text that he’s following a hunch.”
“A hunch?” George paced back and forth. “What kind of hunch?”
“That’s all the text says and he won’t answer when I call him.” Millie cleared her throat.
“Mil, she has to come back. I can’t—” George’s voice broke.
“George, she’ll come back. I know her. She loves you. I can’t imagine she would just leave everything.”
“Yes, she would. She has the only thing she wouldn’t leave behind; she doesn’t give a shit about anything else.” His head fell forward, hanging by his neck. “I have to go. I have to try to find her somehow. I can’t just stay here.”
“Where are you going to go, George? What if she comes back and you’re gone? No one has heard from her. Have you talked to her dad?”
“No,” George answered. That was a good idea, though, he should call Frank next. “What happened?” George really wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
Millie let out a long breath. “Well, El and I had drinks and were watching a movie; she was going to spend the night since the boys were out of town. Then we heard something at the front, and you know how paranoid she is, so we were on alert. Then, all of a sudden, Jamie busted in through the back door. He tried to talk her into coming with him. She was so fierce, George. She told him no.” Millie was silent for a beat too long.
“What?”
“Then he picked her up and slammed her down so hard on the coffee table that it busted.” Millie took a deep breath. “She hit him in the face with the wine bottle. He punched her in the face… so hard. And I didn’t do anything. I just watched him. I was frozen. I couldn’t even move. I feel so guilty. I just stood there. I couldn’t do anything.” Her voice cracked. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Millie, it’s not your fault.”
“Then he picked her up and started dragging her toward the front door. She was kicking and screaming, and then there was this explosion. I ducked so I didn’t see anything else, but someone shot Jamie as he was trying to force El out the front door. His face exploded all over her, George. It was horrible. She kept saying that Jamie was all over her. She had to take off all her clothes and leave them with the police. Agent Harris inter—”
“Agent Harris?” he interrupted.
“Yeah, El was surprised too. He said he was in the area and because it was a federal agent that had been killed it was his jurisdiction. He dropped us off at your place last night. I fell asleep in the guest room and she was gone when I woke up. She left me a note. She’s coming back.”
“What did your note say?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“What did it say, Millie?” he implored.
“That she loved me. That she treasured my friendship, but she had to get away for a while. She told me to take care of Patrick and you; to make sure you were all right.”