I texted Alexa again for the fourth time this evening, having already called her three times. I was normally never this clingy, but she typically answered her phone. I sat in the chair by our front door, waiting for her to come home. It was one in the morning and she should have been back from dinner with the girls at least an hour ago.

I tapped my foot rapidly on the ground, the sound echoing off the walls. This wasn’t like her at all. I tried to text Lilly next, but all I saw were three dots and then they were gone. Damn her. I wasn’t as lucky with Alexa though. Her stupid Android phone didn’t allow for me to tell if she had read my messages, so I wasn’t even sure if she was getting them.

I wasn’t going to wait around any longer. I grabbed my keys, patted my pockets to make sure I had everything, and headed straight for my car. I didn’t care about speed as I raced towards Lilly’s apartment, parking on the curb rather than next to it. I didn’t care. I didn’t have time to care.

I wasn’t going to wait for the elevator, no. I ran up the stairs to the third floor, hoping it would be Alexa who’d answer the door. I needed her to be in this apartment. If she wasn’t, I didn’t know what I was going to do. I couldn’t wrap my head around what was happening, and for the first time in my life, I was scared of the unknown.

It was Lilly who answered the door and all I could see was red.

“Tell me where she is.” I pushed through the door, brushing past Lilly. She followed me as I stomped through the apartment, tearing open every door I could find.

“She’s not here.”

My anger rose. “Then where the hell is she?” I looked around the open space of the living room.

“She wouldn’t be happy if I told you.”

“Dammit, Lilly!” My fist connected with the wall to my left. I turned back to her. Lilly had taken a few steps back and had her phone out. I wasn’t helping the situation and I knew that, but I needed answers and I needed them now. “Sorry.” I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. “Please, just tell me where Alexa is.”

I said this through gritted teeth, because even asking the question again made me furious. I had no idea where my girl was, and I needed to know.

“Max…”

“Don’t Max me!” I screamed at her. Lilly was closer now, concern written all over her face. “She’s the love of my life, and I have no idea where she is. I need to know where she is, Lilly. I need to know that she’s okay.”

It was then that I knew I could get anything I wanted from Lilly, because that look in her eyes told me she knew that I was serious. That I meant every damn word coming from my mouth.

“She’s with her father.” I froze in place, confused by what she was saying. My eyebrows knitted together. Her father was dead.

“What does that even mean?”

“She went to go visit him.” It dawned on me. She went to where he was buried, that would be the only explanation. Why did she go there though? Why did she leave without telling me? Better yet, why hadn’t Lilly told me what had happened yet, because she clearly knew what was going on?

“What happened, Lilly?” I kept my place while she went to the kitchen. She handed me a piece of paper she had retrieved. It was an announcement of sorts with flowers all over it. “What’s this?”

“A baby announcement.” She said it matter-of-factly, like it meant something.

“What does this have to do with Alexa?” I looked at the paper again. Cartwright. Alexa’s married name. Mr. & Mrs. due date. My mind started racing. Was this Alexa’s? Was this Adam’s doing? I felt so lost in the moment.

“Adam is having a baby with his new wife.” It clicked. All of it. This was Adam’s doing, and I wanted to wring his neck for it, but I needed to get to my girl first. She needed someone. She may have run, but that wasn’t going to stop me. I would run to the ends of the earth to find Alexa, and that started now. “Text me where her father is.”

I raced towards the door. I had no idea where her father was, but I knew I had to go to the airport. I knew I needed to get onto the soonest flight to wherever I needed to go.

“Where are you going?!” Lilly yelled to me as I flew towards the elevator, hitting the down button multiple times. I may have been in a hurry, but I knew no matter how fast I moved, I would still have to wait for a damn plane. I just needed to get there sooner rather than later.

“To the airport!” I jumped in as it dinged and rapidly hit the close button. My girl was going to find out just how much I loved her and just how much I was willing to be there for every single damn thing in her life.

* * *

Lilly had texted me the Las Vegas address for the cemetery where Alexa’s father had been buried. When I arrived, I hadn’t expected the place to be so big. I found an undertaker only a few yards from the entrance.

“Excuse me?” The man turned around, and I knew I looked in bad shape just from the look on his face. He scrunched his nose at my clothes, wrinkled from sleeping on the plane. It was the only way I could make it through the flight without freaking out. It was a miracle that I was holding together right now. “Can you tell me where the Frelan plot is?”

I was hoping that this man had the answers that I needed, but I couldn’t guarantee it.

“Who’s asking?” The man squared his shoulders and blocked my way along the sidewalk.

“A friend of the family.” It was the truth, maybe not to the whole family but to the one that mattered most.

“You know Alexa?” I had been looking around for a sign of other life, maybe someone else who could help me, but the moment he said Alexa’s name, my head shot right back to him.

“Where is she?” I couldn’t hide the pain in my voice any longer. He knew who she was. “Please, just tell me where she is.”

I had resorted to begging, and I just didn’t care. He looked me up and down again, trying to size up my intentions, but thankfully he gave in.

“Follow me.” He set his rake off to the side, leaning it against a tree. The day was hot, and I wiped away sweat that was dripping down my face. I followed the man around the large building, leading to a small path that led away from the other plots.

“She’s been here since yesterday.” I was startled by his words. She was still here since yesterday? She hadn’t left? He gestured towards a tree that was coming into our view. There was a small headstone next to it, with a bench that housed a small figure. Alexa.

“What do you mean she’s been here since yesterday?” The man stopped us far enough away from her, letting us talk without disturbing her resting for. “When Alexa lost her father, she came here almost every day after he was buried. The drive took her only a few hours from where she lived in California with her mother. The rest of her father’s family are buried under that tree as well.”

I looked around to see a few other plots that were scattered in no particular order.

“One night, she slept on top of his grave, and after the second time it happened, everyone here banded together to get something to make it easier for Alexa. That bench has been there for years, and never once since we put it in has she used it.”

He looked towards me for the answer this time, and I didn’t have it for him. I only knew a portion of why Alexa came here, but it would be up to her to tell me the rest.

“Son.” The man put his hand onto my shoulder, steading us both. “Please put her back together.”

I closed my eyes and then looked back to where Alexa lay. She was curled into a ball, with a blanket tossed over her. She looked so small and fragile, broken, and I knew what he was asking me. Heal her heart, and I hoped what I was about to do would do exactly that.

“I plan to, sir.” I walked away from him and towards the woman who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.