Alexa’s brows furrowed a bit in curiosity over what it could be, though once an idea popped into her head, her eyes trailed down to her sister’s stomach before moving back to the girl’s face. “You’re pregnant?” Alexa guessed, not hating the idea by any means.
“Oh my god, no!” Callie exclaimed, reaching over and pushing her sister softly. “Not at least until after law school,” she reassured her sister, though it was more for herself, as Alexa didn’t seem all too bothered by the prospect. “No, um,” Callie tried to consider how to do this, before remembering she had the ring in her jacket pocket. She reached into the pocket and pulled out the ring, trying to keep it out of sight for a moment before the big reveal. “Say hello to the future Mrs. Micah Kelly,” she announced, sliding the ring onto her left ring finger and revealing it happily to her sister.
Alexa sighed, not having much to say– which was a bit weird for when she was around Callie. Though she desperately wanted her mind to be distracted in the moment, not having to think about the past month. “How’s Micah?” She asked, figuring that would be an easy conversation.
Callie couldn’t help the smile that slipped onto her lips at the mention of Micah. She turned her head to look at her sister, revealing a guilty look on her face. “Okay, so I have something to tell you, and I was gonna wait but I feel like I’m gonna burst,” she confessed.
Konrad: so me and this guy are very exclusive and like essentially dating but we havent labeled it and I have no idea how to go about labeling it but I want to label it
Callie: have you tried..... talking to him about it?
Alexa’s smile held as she nodded softly, just glad to be with Callie– she was just glad to be home and feel safe around her siblings again. Squeezing Callie’s hand before flopping down on the bed next to her, Alexa sighed. “Me too.” She agreed. “I missed you.” She added, though a small smile on her face.
Callie’s smile faltered slightly. She hated thinking about what her sister had been through this past month, but it was hard not to. Even if Callie’s worst fears hadn’t been realized, somehow this was almost worst. Alexa was here, but now she had to live with what had happened to her. “Missed you too,” she responded softly, squeezing her sister’s hand right back.
Alexa smiled for perhaps the first genuine time all day when she saw the person knocking had been Callie. “Hi.” She greeted softly, her eyes watching her sister sit next to her. “Tired.” Alexa answered after a moment, honestly. “Really tired.” She repeated, pausing again. “What about you?”
Callie let out a huff of air at the girl’s response. “I bet,” she scrunched up her face a little. “Hey, say the word, and I will bar any further visitors from this room pending approval ahead of time from you,” she promised as she laid back on the bed. “Exhausted,” she responded right back, though there was a smile on her face as she said it. She reached out and grabbed her sister’s hand. “Better now that you’re here.”
Alexa was fine. She assured everyone of that on the ambulance ride to the hospital. She assured them all at the hospital. As she was checked out and on the car ride home, she assured them. Even after hearing everything that had happened when she as gone, she still assured them. Alexa was fine. Or so she wanted everyone to think. Maybe it was just easier if she was fine. The body guards outside her entire lake house seemed to tell a different story. Alexa sat inside her room, sitting with her thoughts for the first real time alone since she had been found. She was almost in a dazed state, not wanting to think about what had really happened to her. However, her thoughts were interrupted with a sudden knock on the door. “Come in.” She called, not thinking much about who it was, though making she to hide any pain she was feeling in her voice.
It was late by the time Callie actually got the chance to see her sister again. The younger girl had been overrun with visitors basically since the moment she got home and Callie was sure she was overwhelmed from it all. “Hey,” she said softly when she came into the room, closing the door quietly behind her and crawling onto her sister’s bed. “How are you?” she questioned.
Christmas was only days away, but with all that had happened, especially Alexa’s disappearance, Grant had no intention to celebrate or be around anyone. He just desired to disappear forever. Not that he had not tried it before, but he was never strong enough to go through with it. As he laid on his bed with his eyes closed, tears filled Grant’s hues. It should have been him. With a small knock on the door, Grant made no movements but remained still. “ Go away” He spoke in an unsteady voice.
“It’s me,” Callie said softly in response to her brother. She opened his bedroom door despite his protest and slipped inside, closing the door behind her. She didn’t really need to say anything. She never did with Grant, and instead she just walked in and laid down on the bed next to him.
Up until yesterday, Callie had genuinely managed to keep her mind from wandering too far into the Worst Case Scenario in all of this. It had been hard enough for her when Ryleigh went missing. They may have ended their friendship, and not on the best of terms, but Ryleigh had, for a long time, been Callie’s number one person and confidant. Having her go missing felt like a punch in the gut. But Alexa? Not having Alexa around for any reason felt like something had gone missing from Callie, but having Alexa really, truly missing like this; it felt like there was a void deep in Callie’s heart that couldn’t be filled.
The medical examiner had called before they released the statement, requesting that a family member come down to identify the body. As much as Callie was terrified to do it, she would rather it be her than any of her other siblings. She felt the need to shoulder this particular burden herself. Callie had . brought Micah with her down to the police station, not daring to be alone right now, but they wouldn’t let him down to the morgue with her and the officer who escorted her.
It was cold down here. That was all she could think, all she could allow herself to think. She hated the thought. Especially as the medical examiner pulled out one of the drawers, the form of a body distinctly visible within the body bag laid out there. She felt sick to her stomach at the sight, the mere thought of her baby sister zipped up in a bag and shut in a drawer in this cold, dark room.
She looked away as the medical examiner unzipped the bag, sure she wasn’t ready for this, though she probably never would be. The medical examiner was saying something but she couldn’t for the life of her tell what it was, every noise just sounding like buzzing somewhere in the distance.
Slowly, she turned her head to look at the body laid out before her, a sharp intake of breath as she took in what she was looking at, though there was no way of fully processing this. What she was looking at right now didn’t even look like a person, not really, especially not her sister. She had never seen a body like this, weeks into decomposition. The sick feeling in her stomach only grew. How was she supposed to tell if this was her sister? She wanted to reach out and touch her, but something kept her arm glued to her side as her eyes scanned the girl on the table up and down. She had to remind herself that this body was a person, and she was here for a reason.
“Did your sister have any distinguishing marks that might help you identify her?” the voice still sounded distant but not as much as before, and Callie felt like she was snapping out of some kind of trance. “Birth marks, tattoos?” the medical examiner continued as Callie stared wide eyed at him.
Finally she turned her attention back to the table, building up the courage to reach out one hand to the body before her, fingers finding the girl’s wrist and slowly turning it to face up, as Callie attempted to ignore how cold her skin was.
A wave of deep relief swept through her as her eyes focused on the blank wrist of the girl in front of her. Not Alexa, her mind told her as she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. She shook her head softly, swallowing hard.
There was something wrong here. This wasn’t Alexa, but it was someone, and Callie couldn’t tear her eyes away.
“Is it your sister?” the voice says, sounding distant again.
Callie shakes her head softly, still holding onto the girl’s wrist. She knows this body. She’s sure of it. Her eyes travel back up the body, landing finally on a small but distinct pink spot on the girl’s ribs. A sharp intake of break as Callie pulls her hand away from the girl, raising her hand instead to her mouth as she lets out a sob.
The officer rushes to her side. “Is it--”
But Callie doesn’t let them finish. “Ryleigh,” she manages between sobs. “It’s -- Ryleigh.”
