Alexis had ignored all attempts at contact. Every form of communication went unanswered and rejected.

Switching into maps, I found her location—undeniably a dick move, but I had no other option.

I should have guessed she was at Mercy Lake. Our lake. The small dot on that map gave me the tiny semblance of hope I required.

That place was special, our haven and safe space where we shared so many memories and countless firsts. A sacred spot that held every significant note in our relationship, that shared in our love.

I parked next to her empty car and rushed down to the water’s edge when a different type of fear began to take root. I couldn’t find her. Alexis was missing.

I soon found her phone and keys on the driver’s seat, abandoned and left behind.

My body began to tremble as my pulse raced faster, the remnants of my previous panic attack threatening to reappear.

Is she hurt? Is she safe? Where is she?

I could only hope that she had reached out to someone for support. Because the sheer thought of Alexis being in pain and alone was unbearable.

Urgency pressed me to go and find her, if only to make sure she was okay and safe.

I had forfeited my right to be her protection. But I needed confirmation that she was taken care of—especially since I was the one solely responsible for destroying any sense of safety that she felt in me.

I screeched to a halt outside my in-laws’ house, barely putting the car in park before I was banging on the door.

A ten-minute drive had turned into five as I thought of Alexis going to her parents. I was almost glad her sister was in town for an extra buffer. Although, Alicia would want to kick my ass.

Another spear pierced my chest at the thought of hurting her family. They loved me, and I them in return. They must want to kill me. And I’d let them if that made Alexis happy. I’d let them do whatever they wanted.

The house, once pervaded in silence, suddenly sparked to life. If I was in my right mind, that would have processed, however, it was safe to say I definitely wasn’t.

“Alright, alright! Pipe down, would ya? I’m coming,” I heard Phil, my father-in-law, call from behind the door.

The porch light switched on, starkly illuminating my ugly, distraught face. Phil paused when he found me on the threshold. Seeing me overtaken with fright, his own features shifted with concern.

“Owen, what’s wrong? Where’s Alexis?”

Oh, no. In my heightened state, I had miscalculated and come up with the incorrect answer.

She isn’t here.

Phil wore simple pyjama pants without a shirt. I had woken him with my aggressive pounding, and now he was waiting for a reply.