Where oh where did you go, my darling? I paced the spacious living room of the middle-class home, the sound of children playing upstairs irritating my senses.
I hated it. Hate. Hate.
Not at the university.
No explanation.
Not at her home.
I’d watched it for the entire day, hidden deep in the hills, half frozen in the snow, my sleeping bag stolen from its hiding place, my brain driven by despair.
At least she wasn’t with the lumbering oaf of her neighbour. He’d come and gone with his brat, frowning as if the world had offended him. He’d spent a lot of time out on rescues. I chuckled at the memory of watching him storm about, ordering his troops.
Distracting him was easy. Soon enough, I’d deal with him more thoroughly.
Later.
A night in the cold hadn’t fixed his attitude. Worse storms were coming, and it was only a matter of time before he made a mistake and vanished off in one.
Cait wouldn’t miss him. I’d make sure of it.
She’d have more interesting things to think about.
For the fiftieth time, I snatched my phone and went through my list of her contacts, checking their social media. She rarely posted, the fucking bitch. Didn’t she know how worried I’d be?
Darkness swept over my mind.
Cait would pay for this. If I couldn’t find her, then it would be by proxy. Her mother, maybe, who drove in and out of the main road into the estate, singing and not paying attention to her surroundings.
Or the little girl she seemed so fond of.
In time, she’d learn not to defy me. I should come first in all things.
I’d been too nice.
Cait would learn the hard way.
