33 | where you are

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V A U G H N

I'm at the

What the fuck comes after that? She sent me half a text, knowing that it will make me ridiculously worried about her.

The second I got it, my possessiveness took the best of me. I fucking called her and she didn't pick up. I called the driver myself who said that he was a little late to reach the college. I asked him which car did he take and he said he took Jake's because the latter had errands to run and was coming along with him.

No wonder Claire couldn't find her ride.

I haven't seen Jake after he dashed out to meet the Russo brothers to get their signatures on some important documents. He hasn't returned yet and the last time I checked, he said he was still with them.

I tap my fingers on my elbows as I lean with my arms crossed, waiting for Claire by the car with the idiot driver. The students are dispersing and it is nearing sundown. All come and go but there is no sign of Claire.

"You are not suited for this job anymore, Rick. You're fired," I say to the man of short height standing beside me.

He is dressed in his white driver's uniform and sweating nervously.

"Mr. Jackson, I do apologize. It was a genuine error on my part. Do forgive me." His agitated expression gives way to a squeaky voice. "I dropped Mr. Gallagher at the Russo brothers on my way here. He had ordered me last night itself and so...I thought it would be good to take his car since I was late. He allowed me to."

I turn to him, one of my hands reaching to his chest and grabbing a fistful of his shirt. I slam the guy against the car.

"My wife is missing after leaving me a half-typed text all because of your fault," I rage through clenched teeth, aware of the few pairs of eyes watching us cautiously. "If anything happens to her. I'll make sure to sue you, you fucking piece of shit."

He gasps heavily, his chest rising and falling as he looks at me with a horror-struck expression on his face.

"I...I'm sorry, Mr. Jackson. It was indeed...my...my fault," he stammers in a feeble voice, shivering in terror at my venomous look. "But...Mr. Gallagher..."

"Shut the fuck up, okay?" I pull away from him and run my hand through my hair, watching the entrance of the Institute and not seeing Claire yet.

I see a familiar face in the crowd of people, climbing down the stairs alone while she ties her hair in a bun when the sunlight hits her face. She is a pretty girl with dark hair, brown skin, and big eyes who I remember seeing before. I quickly run forward, entering the gates and climbing hurriedly up the stairs to stop in front of her.

She is startled at my sudden appearance and looks at me with blinking eyes.

"Oh my gosh! Vaughn Jackson?" she gasps, putting a hand over her chest.

"You were at my wedding, right?" I ask her, not caring that I have become the center of attention for most people around the campus now.

"Why...yes, of course." She blushes faintly, biting her lip. "I'm Nina Lewis, Claire's friend."

"You've any idea where she is?"

A thoughtful look crosses Nina's face. "No, I'm afraid, I haven't seen her today. We had only one class together and she wasn't there. Why? Is something wrong, Mr. Jackson?"

I grab her wrist, pulling her down the stairs with me. I can't keep talking with all these curious kids staring at us like that. It irritates me when I see their whispering mouths. I guide Nina to the car and make her stand beside the driver.

"She isn't picking up my calls. Can you call her, please?" I ask the girl and she shakes her head.

"I'm sorry...but I lost my phone last night," she says. "I'm just about to buy a new one. Can you please tell me what happened? You're making me nervous."

"I don't know what happened," I sigh, rubbing a palm over my mouth. My tongue feels dry and my head starts to spin with this worrying for Claire. "Claire isn't picking up her phone and she only typed half of a text she sent me."

"Mr. Jackson, your nose!" Nina suddenly lets out, and I pull my hand away from my face to find blood on my fingers.

This blood pressure rise is a cherry on top of my existing troubles. I pull a handkerchief out of my pocket and bow my head as I put it over my nose to stop the flow.

"It's nothing. Can you tell me where she might have gone?" I mumble to Nina.

"Have you checked the coffee shop? She usually goes there with us but she might have gone alone too. Jesse didn't come today."

"My driver did." I straighten my head back and look at her but keep the handkerchief on my nose, pressing hard. "She wasn't there. Any other place?"

Nina looks to the ground, her eyebrows narrowing together and then she lifts her head to look at her surroundings.

"Where might she be..." she muses, scanning the buildings until her gaze lands on the big one-story building beside the campus. "She's probably at the warehouse. We often go there to hang out. She wouldn't go there alone though..."

The rest of her words tune out as I run for the building she pointed out. I hear footsteps following me and know it is her and Rick trailing behind. As I reach near, I spot a tape with a 'DO NOT ENTER' tape and jump over it.

"Mr. Jackson, wait!" Rick shouts. "Here, madam, you go first..."

I enter the warehouse and see curtains tied between two pillars each to form little compartments. Mats peek out from under them. I walk to the first one and snap it open to find a boy and a girl, covered in sweat and smoking weed.

"Hey, you!" the boy growls at me as he gets up from the mat.

I brush him off as I walk to the next curtain and open it to find another boy sitting with his laptop and headphones on. He looks up at me but doesn't say anything. As I look around, I find Nina and Rick opening the other curtains to search for Claire, and yet, she is behind none. The place reeks of alcohol and cigarettes, the air blurring with smoke. A cough leaves my throat as I walk further.

"Claire!" I shout her name and my voice echoes through the warehouse.

"Claire!" Nina and Rick shout too. The people come out from behind the curtains and look at us worriedly.

"Hey man, is something wrong?" the boy from before with the headphones on asks me, stepping forward.

"Have you seen a girl?" I ask him. "About this height, blonde, gorgeous..." I show him Claire's height and he lifts an eyebrow at me.

"There was Claire Hill screaming Nina Lewis's name here before," the boy says, throwing a glance at Nina who stares at him with confusion on her face. "She went that way." The boy points to the far end of the warehouse.

I dash for the direction.

"Claire!" I scream her name frantically. "Claire—"

I stop when I spot something lying a little further and walk towards it. A bag lies on the ground and I recognize Claire's phone immediately in a pool of muddy water. There is another broken phone beside it, smaller in size. The screen of Claire's phone is shattered completely and my name with the caller ID stays frozen on it. With shaking hands, I pick the items up.

My heart beats fast, blood pressure rising even more. My breaths come out in short gasps, anxiety tearing through my nerves.

I am scared. I am terrifyingly scared.

"Claire!"

Where the fuck are you, love? Just come back.

I lay crouching on the ground with the bag in my hands, hands above my knees, and blurry vision. I hold my head between my hands and see black spots on the ground below. If this continues, then I will have a stroke in no time.

"Claire..." I mutter under my breath. "Please...where are you?"

Suddenly, running footsteps come to a halt right in front of me and the person lets out a shriek.

"Vaughn!"

Claire?

I look up from the black boots before me and find the subject of my worry looking down at me with a red face, dirty clothes, and...blood?

I stand up with a jerk and for a second, just stare at her as she stares back at me before I find my voice.

"Claire!" My voice comes out as a breaking whisper.

Tears escape her eyes as her lips break when she hears me and the next moment, she is in my arms, clutching me tight. I squeeze her instantly, holding her to me as she bursts into tears, her body shaking.

"He...tried...to..." She pants as she cries, unable to speak. "To...kill me, Vaughn. He...he was...he was here...I...am hurt. I'm so..."

I rub my hands slowly on her back, closing my eyes and inhaling the scent of her hair, telling myself that she is alive. She is in my arms. She will be okay. Whatever happened to her, she is with me now. I will keep her safe.

Her body stills suddenly, her words stopping in their flow and I look down at her face to find that she has fainted.

"Oh, my God!" Nina exclaims, covering her mouth with her hands. "Her head. She needs stitches."

"Claire, love...open your eyes." I hold her chin, moving her face gently but she remains limp in my arms.

Tears spring from my eyes as I hug her again, holding her close while Nina takes the bag from me.

"I got you, love..." I whisper slowly. "I got you..."

"We should take her to the hospital," Nina says to me and I see tears in her eyes too as she takes in Claire's appearance.

"Yeah, yeah...hospital...yes..." I place a kiss on Claire's forehead as I put my other hand under her knees and pick her up in my arms.

I bite back my cry as I start walking while pressing her face close to my cheek, afraid that something will take her away from me again.

For someone who was lying awake beside his best friend's corpse for two hours, I am not ashamed to admit that I have never been this scared to lose someone in all my life.


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