Shadows In Durango

*****Vincent's POV*****

I barely hear the thrum of the engine as Reid and I pull up to Emma's house.

My mind races, spinning faster than the wheels beneath us. Sofia should have been here by now, safe with Emma. But she isn't. And no one knows where the hell she is either!

I get out and slam the car door shut the second that he stops, anxiety clawing at my lungs.

Reid follows me out close behind me, his face a reflection of the same growing dread we both feel. There were currently endless possibilities of where she could be - most of which made me feel sick.

But I also knew that she had moved from place to place before whenever she had felt threatened by her father... and I feared that this was the same... had she run off again to a new town?!

We reach the door, and Emma flings it open before I can even knock - having been watching for us by the window.

Her expression is panicked, a mixture of worry and confusion swirling in her wide eyes.

"Reid, Vincent," she breathes, stepping aside to let us in, "I don't know what's going on. She said she was coming here, but... still nothing..."

"We will find her." I say firmly, knowing that I would stop at nothing to get her back.

Emma nods, biting her lip as she leads us both inside. My muscles ache from the tension, and I can't stop replaying the dinner over and over again in my head - how everything had blown up and had gone horribly wrong. The look on Sofia's face when she left... what if something happened to her after that?

"Did she say anything else before disappearing? Text you where she was?" Reid asks, his voice calm but firm, trying to manage the situation.

Emma shakes her head, wringing her hands nervously together. "Nothing. She picked up my call before you drove me home and I offered for her to stay the night and she agreed and said she would meet me here."

I inhale sharply, trying to keep a lid on the anger bubbling beneath the surface. "Let me see your messages with her."

Emma's eyes widen at the demand, and she begins to open and close her mouth. "Vincent... that's Sofia's personal chat with me. I don't want to betray her privacy like that—"

"We don't have any time for this!" I snap, louder than intended. "She's ran away or she's went missing, Emma! Something's wrong either way. Just show me the damn texts!" My voice cracks under the pressure of my rising panic. Emma flinches but reaches for her phone, her hesitation clear. "Okay... okay." Her hands shake as she unlocks her phone and pulls up the conversation. I snatch it from her, my eyes scanning through the messages.

"Chill out bro!" Reid warns, stepping in to bottle my tone with his girl, as I all but grumble at his involvement.

My eyes scan over the messages from tonight, mostly all of which had been sent from Emma with no response from Sofia.

There's nothing unusual. No clues. No hints of where she could have gone.

"She last read your texts just after ten." I comment, seeing it display as 'read' under the text from Emma at 10:03pm before the rest after that remained unopened.

My pulse races as I toss the phone back to Emma, pacing across the room. "That doesn't make any sense. She should've been here by now if this is where she was truly headed. So where the hell is she?! She could be anywhere by now!" "Her phone stopped ringing at ten forty too, started sending me straight to voicemail. Either it's dead or it's switched off. I think she has her charger though, it wasn't upstairs in her room where it was before dinner..." Emma tells us everything she can think to share, as I rub my chin aggressively in thought.

"Right, if she has her charger then her phone won't be switched off forever. Keep trying to call her!" I deadpan towards Emma, who looks alarmed but does as I say - attempting again for it only to go straight to voicemail. What if something bad has happened to her...

If she left town on a bus, don't they have charging ports? Or maybe she just wants time alone to think and that's why she switched off?

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She might turn up any minute now, but it's getting later and later...

Reid moves forward, placing a hand on my shoulder and dragging me from my thoughts. "Vincent, you need to try and stay calm if we're going to figure this shit out."

I'm about to argue with him before my phone begins to buzz from inside of my pocket. I pull it out hopeful, but seeing Daryl's name flash up on the screen only pisses me off more.

I hesitate and glare down at it for a second, still furious at how everything had went down at dinner. He'd always been a sore subject between Sofia and me, and tonight he had just made everything worse. I let the call go straight to voicemail, clenching my jaw.

Reid shoots me a sharp look. "You should have answered that."

"No," I snap, tossing my phone down on the couch. "I don't need his shit right now. Half of this is his fault!"

"He might know something, maybe he's even found her?!" Reid argues, his voice steady. "We can't afford to ignore anyone. Let me call him back, explain what's going on." He reaches for his own phone, already dialing before I can respond. I rub my hands over my face, trying to focus as I sit down for a moment. Reid's right. As much as I hate it, we need to cover all our bases. Every minute that passes without knowing where Sofia is feels like a knife twisting in my gut. It was too late at night for her to be wondering around or travelling somewhere on her own! I don't care how many times she's done this before either... that doesn't make it right!

Reid steps aside, the phone pressed up to his ear as he waits for Daryl to pick up. Emma watches him, her face pale and drawn. I can tell she's scared, but I can't afford to comfort her right now. All I can think about is Sofia, alone somewhere- potentially in danger.

"Come on, pick up..." Reid mutters under his breath before his expression shifts. "Daryl, it's Reid. Vin doesn't want to talk to you yet." He explains my reasoning for ignoring his call, eyeing me briefly as I fold my arms over my chest like a stubborn child.

I can hear Daryl's muffled voice on the other end, but I don't catch the words.

"We still don't know where she is. She was supposed to go to Emma's, but she never showed, that's all we know..." Reid says into the phone, his voice calm but urgent. He pauses, listening. "No, she hasn't called anyone else. Have you heard from her at all?"

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I strain to hear Daryl's response, my fists clenching. If he knows something and hasn't said anything... I'll kill him.

Reid's face tightens, and he glances at me. "He says he hasn't heard from her either, but he's going to keep trying to drive around. Is there anywhere you can think for him to look?" Reid tests, as I breathe steadily.

My jaw ticks in frustration. "Bus station. Ask if any young females have bought a ticket out of town tonight." I state, as Reid repeats my words down the line.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

"He said why don't you try involving our men? Get everyone out looking for her?" Reid then tells me, as my face immediately hardens.

"Tell him to shut the fuck up and not to tell me what to do!" I snap, as Reid rolls his eyes at my pettiness.

I don't care if it's petty. Right now, I hate him.

Reid soon ends the call, shoving his phone back into his pocket after another few words. "Daryl's on his way to check. He's just as worried as we are." He informs me.

I scoff, standing to pace the room again. "He better be. Because if something's happened to her... it will be partially his fucking fault!" I fume.

Reid steps in front of me, blocking my path. "Vincent, right now, we're all on the same side here. We'll find her. But you need to keep your head clear if we're going to figure out what's going on. I think Daryl's right, get our men out looking and checking cameras around town?" He suggests, as I allow for my head to fall back.

After a moment of calming myself, I finally nod reluctantly, my breathing laboured.

Sofia's out there somewhere, and every second that passes feels like a countdown to something I can't control.

I can't lose her not like this. Not after what I done to betray her trust...

Especially when I was only trying to help.