Page 124 of Puck My Life

“She said she’d be here,” he says flatly. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t show up, I wouldn’t.”

I glance around, but I can’t see her in her usual seat. She’s nowhere. And that’s scaring me.

“She’s probably late.”

Deacon runs his fingers through his hair. “How are we going to fix this, because I’m all for murder?”

“We can’t murder her.”

“It would be so good.”

“No murder!” I bark, causing another couple of the team to look up, alarmed. “Look, I have to get going, I’ve got that gig today, but I will meet you guys at home, and we can sit down with Vae and see if we can figure out a plan of action to kick this bitch to the curb.”

They nod, but they’re distracted. I take the car and head to my gig. I arrive early and introduce myself to the hosts.

I go to the side and start playing.

The couple are exchanging vows. Normally, things like this are boring, but, for the first time, I’m watching, and I can see Vae standing up there smiling at us.

Possibilities I didn’t realise I had are unfolding before my eyes, and maybe it’s because of her that I play better and with more heart than I normally do.

When the vow renewal rolls to a close, the couple come up to me.

“Thank you,” I say before they can speak. “It was an honour to be here.”

“You made our day so special,” the woman says with tears in her eyes. She looks at the beta, and that expression softens.

When they look at each other, they are the only two in the entire world.

That’s what I want.

With Vae; the realization hits me hard in the gut. I want that with Vae.

“If you’ll excuse me, I need to get going.”

They barely notice me.

Driving home takes hours. Well, it feels like hours. But I pull up in the drive around ten pm and rush into the house. It’s empty, the kind of empty you can feel, but…

Wait…

Wasn’t there a painting here?

I walk around spotting slight differences in the house. There’s a bowl that used to hold fruit gone from the kitchen table. The little cat magnet that Deacon made for Vae when we were kids is gone from the fridge.

I get a sinking, terrible, horrible feeling.

I run so fast I fall over, scrambling at the floor to regain my feet. I reach her door and throw it open.

The room is empty.

All the furniture is gone.

Every trace of Vae removed. It doesn’t even smell like her anymore.

“Vae?”

I call her phone over and over and over because I don’t know where to look. My hands shake and tears blind me as I try to call again. I walk around the house, checking everywhere, cataloguing the changes, hoping I’ll wake the fuck up because Vae's gone.