As the night continued, her worry grew even more. All of them are just in the living room in silence as they wait for something to happen. They’re trying to figure out where Philippe could’ve gone at this time of the night. She knows her brother wouldn’t just not go home, he has nowhere else to go. Something is really wrong here.
“Can you rest?” Christopher asked her as he handed her a cup of water. She looked at him tiredly before looking down again. He grabbed her hand and put the drink there. “Here,” he said before pulling out a pill from his pocket and handing it to her as well.
“What’s that?”
“For sleep,” he explained calmly as he opened the container.
“But my broth-“ She tried to argue with him but he insisted. He grabbed her other arm and placed the pill on her palm. “We’ll take care of it for you. Just get some rest tonight,” he suggested and she sighed before nodding. She put the pill in her mouth before drinking some water. After swallowing the pill, she placed the water on the table before going inside their bedroom and laying down next to Timothy who’s sleeping peacefully. She tried to get her head out of thinking as she took deep breaths to calm herself down.
In the living room, both the men are contacting people in hopes of finding where Philippe is or where he was last seen. People are looking for CCTV camera footage, searches from place to place, and more in order to find her brother.
As the two waited for a response call, they sat down on separate chairs and Grian looked at him. “Why did you rush here, again? Something about the accident?” Grian questioned his friend and Chris clenched his jaw before smiling.
“It wasn’t really important,” he said and tried brushing it off but Grian squinted his eyes in suspicion.
“If it wasn’t, why come here?” He raised both his eyebrows, waiting for an answer. Christopher struggled to respond but a phone call saved him from a sticky situation. Grian looked at his phone to see who called him before answering it.
“We’re having a hard time trying to find him, give us a few more hours,” the person on the other phone said and he sighed.
“Make sure it’s within tomorrow,” he said before ending the call.
Christopher’s phone started ringing as well and he answered it. He heard faint crying on the other line and he looked at the number again before putting the phone against his ear. “What’s wrong?” he asked and the person cried even more.
“I’m worried!” she exclaimed and his eyebrows raised.
“Philippe will be okay, Nikki,” he reassured his sister but she kept crying.
“He asked if.. we c-can go to the c-coffee shop together.. but I was busy so I refused. Only if I went with him, this wouldn’t h-have happened,” she stuttered as she explained what happened. She can’t help but feel guilty after he went missing because of it. It wasn’t her fault but it could’ve been prevented if she went with him.
Christopher sighed before looking at Grian. “We’re taking care of it. Just.. rest,” he said tiredly and she tried stopping herself from crying. “Okay..” she said before ending the call. He looked at his phone after the call and noticed messages from Hannah as well. He ignored them and put the phone in his pocket.
[Flashback Start]
AFTER SCHOOL WAS FINISHED, Philippe and Nikki walked to the entrance of the school. He grabbed Nikki’s hand which surprised her. She blinked a couple of times when she realized he was just checking her wristwatch.
She frowned but kept her composure. She cleared her throat before taking her hand back. “Don’t just grab me like that!” she complained he scoffed before crossing his arms.
“As if you don’t drag me around all the time,” he said and she rolled her eyes.
“Let’s go to the coffee shop?” he asked and she glared at him before shaking her head. She walked to her driver’s car and he followed behind her.
“I’m busy, hmp!” she said while pouting and he chuckled loudly before shaking his head. He tried his best not to laugh again. “Okay, Nikki. See you tomorrow,” he said in a teasing manner and she scoffed before getting in the car.
He laughed and waited for them to leave before he started walking. The coffee shop is about 12 minutes away from their school so it shouldn’t be that far to walk. As he was walking, he noticed a car following behind him. He tried not to overthink it and watched the car to see if it’s actually following behind him.
He walked a few more blocks and the car goes and stops as to when he moves. He clenched his jaw and held onto his bag as he walked further. He took a turn in hopes of losing the car.
As he walked further, he tried not to act suspicious so that the person doesn’t get the idea that he knows he’s being followed.
As he was walking, he bumped into someone and almost fell. He looked up and saw two big men looking down on him. He backed away but hit someone behind him as well. He turned around and saw two more men standing there. He got grabbed and he struggled with them. He tried shouting for help but his mouth was blocked. He was then hit in the head, making him pass out.
[Flashback End]
PHILIPPE WOKE UP feeling sore and as he opened his eyes, there’s something blocking his view. His head is covered in a bag of some sort. He tried standing up and using his hands but was unable to because they were tied up. He breathed heavily as he tried to formulate a plan.
He doesn’t remember what else happened that night but his head definitely feels like it got hit by a firetruck. He tried talking but his mouth was taped up. (Fuck..)
He struggled with himself until he heard voices coming his way. He stopped moving and waited for them to go away but they only got closer to him.
They removed the bag covering his face and his eyesight was blinded by the bright light in the room. He shut his eyes and tried opening them again. He tried looking at the people who removed his mask and noticed they are also wearing masks but it’s to hide their identity.
“Looks good,” one of them said. They went closer to his face and held his chin before ripping the tape off. “Who are you?!” Philippe screamed as soon as he was able to.
“Your surgeons,” they said and his eyebrows furrowed. He looked at them as if they’re crazy.
“What..?” he questioned and the man in black smiled.
“You’re our organ donor for our sick patient for this month. How unlucky, it was supposed to be your sister and not you,” the man said before standing up. Philippe aggressively moved on his chair.
“You fuckers!” he screamed and they both laughed before tying his mouth with a rope this time and putting a blindfold on his eyes instead of a bag. They left the room and let him stay in the dark to let his thoughts consume him.
THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Fatima decided to go to work to distract herself while the men work on finding her brother since she’s practically useless in finding him. Nikki also skipped school and went to the coffee shop in hopes of finding him.
“Are you okay?” Fatima asked Nikki who’s just looking at the coffee brewing. She turned to look at Fatima and her face twisted and she started crying. She approached Fatima and said, “Can I get a hug?”
She nodded and Nikki hugged her as she cried. Fatima blinked a couple of times before massaging Nikki’s head. “It will.. be fine..” she murmured but she knows that something bad could have happened to her brother.
She sighed heavily as she looked out the window. She was about to look away but noticed someone strange looking at her. Her eyebrows furrowed as she stared at him and the telephone suddenly started ringing. Both of them were startled. "I'll answer it," Fatima said and went to the telephone and when she looked out the window again, the man was still staring at her.
"Hello, Fatima." The voice was deep and rough. Her eyebrows furrowed, not recognizing who it is. "Who's this?" she questioned and her jaw clenched. She looked out the window and saw the man holding a phone and her eyes widened. He's the one calling her!
"Do you want your brother alive? Come out right now and come with me," he commanded and her breathing felt like it stopped.
"And don't inform anyone about this or else both Philippe and you will die. We can include your youngest brother too," the man threatened before laughing deviously. Her eyes widened and she looked pale as a ghost.