Curtains Close; Take a bow. I think we fooled all of them now.

Oli's POV

We'd run through the entire house three times, calling their names and begging for them to just walk straight into our arms. But they didn't. Because they weren't there at all. The house looked like it had been turned upside down, checking for them behind everything and in all the hiding spots we knew.

I watched Rain elegantly glide down the stairs, the fear in her eyes and the true emotion she was feeling was painted on her face perfectly. She didn't bother to look at me, which made me feel more besotted. Even in the panic of the moment, I could admire her from here. She slipped on her boots and went straight out of the door. I listened to her feet shuffle over the gravel.

"Here you go mate." Anthony passed me my coat, and I gently took it from him and pulled it over myself.

I knelt down to do up my shoelaces, and as I did so, the ring box fell out of my pocket and rolled out behind me. Both Anthony and I turned around to look at it, and to my horror, the ring had fallen out and rolled down the crack between the floor boards. A shiver went up my spine and I almost yelled, but held it back.

"Holy shit." Anthony suddenly smiled. "You were going to propose? For how long?" He went down to the ground and tried to peek through the crack.

"A few months... I was just waiting... How the fuck am I going to get that?" I replied, choking up on my words.

"Don't worry about it for now... We need to find the kids." Anthony tried to reassure me.

Taking a flashlight each, we started to walk towards the woods. Unfortunately, the sun was starting to pull down behind all of the trees, and it was already pretty dark. The darker it got, the more worried we became. Rain held my hand, and the worry in her made her sensitive. I had to keep reassuring her to make sure she didn't cry.

Anthony was cutting up the trees with his flashlight, and his voice was making birds fly out from their nests.

"Anthony." I called at him. Pulling myself and Rain over to him, I finally discussed my ideas. "We should all split up. That way we will cover more ground. If we can't find them by midnight, go back to the house and we will think of something else."

Everyone nodded to my plan. Anthony split away from us and seemed much more confident on walking around on his own. However, Rain seemed to be very uncomfortable when I tried to make her let go of my hand.

"Don't make me go away." She whispered. "The last time I went away from you I tried to kill myself."

I placed my hand under her jaw bone, supporting her face and rubbing her cheek with my thumb. Her messy black hair draped over her skinny shoulder. Her eyes waited for my response quietly.

"You can do this, Rain. Please. Think about the kids. We have to find them. Prove it to yourself that you are stronger."

Her eyes lit up slightly and she softly smiled. "I love you..." She whispered, and then turned away from me. Her hands were trembling and she took small steps away from me. But she didn't look back. And before I knew it, I was alone again, standing in the darkness with my breath foggy and my fists clenched. She wasn't really the only one that was afraid of the silence.

Notes

The ring is gone and so are the kids! Oli seems to be secretly overwhelmed over everything...

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