River
THE HOUSE IS COMPLETELY dark save the blaring light from the T.V. in front of me. I stand in front of it, watching the woman reporter drone on in a monotone voice. She’s wearing too much make-up.
I correct myself. Ryan always said I wore too much makeup.
She looks pretty. Beautiful.
“Police officials are still investigating the disappearance of Ryan Fitzgerald, a twenty-five-year-old local from North Carolina, who was reported missing on September 8th. If anyone has seen or heard from him, please contact your local police station—"
Contact your local police station? Where do they think he’s run off to? Out of state? Why, he was only in an attic, my dear. Now, there’s nothing left of him to find. Not even if you go looking in pig shit.
A shrill ring snaps my gaze to my blaring cell phone, vibrating on the end table next to me. Julie. I still haven’t spoken to her.
I ignore it and look back to the television. Ryan’s picture is displayed on the screen.
I pinch the skin on the inside of my wrist until I’m hissing in pain. Tears well in my eyes. I sniffle.
“I’ve been a mess, Julie,” I whimper. “I haven’t heard from him and I’m so scared.”
A tear spills over. I fight the urge to wipe it away.
“What if he’s hurting? Or in pain? And I’m not there to help him?!”
Tsk. Too dramatic. I try again.
“I miss him so much, and I just want him home,” I whisper brokenly, my eyes boring into the picture of Ryan on the screen. I sniffle, allowing a few more tears to trail down my pale cheeks.
“I know, Julie, I know. I love him, too. I love him, too…”
“I CAN’T DO THIS, I can’t
do this, I can’t do this…”
“River, listen to me—”
“They’re camping outside of the fucking house, Mako,” I say shakily, my voice ready to fall off its foundation from the tremors. I run a hand through my hair, squeezing at the scalp until I feel sharp prickles of pain dancing across my nerve-endings.
This was not something I anticipated.
Reporters, paparazzi, vans and cameras, constantly in my fucking face every time I leave the house. Matt tried to report Ryan missing Monday morning, but they told him he had to wait up to 72 hours before he could make a missing person’s report. Thursday morning on the dot, he filed. It’s been almost two weeks of them searching for his body, and in that time, the media has blown the story up.
Ryan wasn’t a celebrity for fuck’s sake. But he’s the son of a notorious lawyer, who’s put away more criminals than the number of years he’s been alive. He might as well be a celebrity in our town. Fuck.
Bilby brushes up against my legs, offering a sweet little meow. Sometimes I’m positive he can sense when I’m upset or agitated.
I plop down on the couch, settling my head in my hands. Bilby jumps up next to me and headbutts me. I remove one hand from my head to curl my fingers against the side of his mouth. He uses my fingers as a brush and rubs up against me repeatedly.
“Come to me tonight,” Mako demands tightly. I sigh, weary and drained. It’s a Tuesday night, and I have classes tomorrow. But I think I’m going to be skipping them for the foreseeable future, just as I have since Ryan went missing. I don’t think I can handle the stares from people who are wondering where my boyfriend is.
Ryan deserved every single thing that came his way. I don’t regret doing what I did. I don’t regret liberating myself from an abusive relationship that was surely going to fucking kill me one day. I don’t regret standing up for myself, and I don’t regret getting revenge for all the bullshit I’ve gone through.
But the after effect is draining. I’m still a person of interest in Ryan’s murder as of right now, but they are considering other options. Mako has told his truth—the truth that will ultimately lead to Ryan’s murderer. Ryan figured out who the Ghost Killer was. While he didn’t get the chance to tell Mako who it was, I know for a fact Ryan told somebody.
I remember standing outside Ryan’s office, gearing myself up to ask permission to go to Amelia’s. The phone call I overheard. The utter excitement in his voice as he claims he figured something out. I hadn’t put much thought in it at the time, but now I know that he was talking to someone about the Ghost Killer.
I had relayed that memory to Mako already, which only solidified his story. They’re going through Ryan’s phone records to pin down who he talked to.
There’s also another theory they’re looking into, one that makes me a little nauseous. With Matt’s record of putting criminals away, it’s only logical they look into the fact that he has enemies. Which I’m sure he does. He’s put countless criminals away.