It had been seven whole days since I saw him walk out of The Round Table. Seven whole days since he said those words wrong. Seven whole days since any of us knew what happened to Arturo King.

He never returned to the apartment that night. I called each of the guys frantically, all night long. Kaye finally told me he would call me when he found him. Neither Tristan nor Lansing answered. Those two had remained in the bar. I could only assume they were too drunk or womanizing to answer. Instead of Tristan taking me to the apartment, I took a cab immediately upon Arturo’s exit. Perkins didn’t answer his phone the whole night, either.

I hadn’t been to bed, but curled up on the couch to wait. I must have dozed off, but it was still dark, growing into light in the sky when Kaye knelt next to me on the floor.

“Guinie, honey, there’s been an accident.”

I didn’t move; I somehow knew. I had felt it take me over the night before.

“There was a chase of some type. Perk and Arturo were on motorcycles. At some point Perk must have broken away, or at least that’s what we hope. He hasn’t answered his phone. I even drove to his place, but there was no answer. Arturo’s … Arturo’s bike crashed. It…it’s…” Kaye had to take a deep breath and pinch his eyes shut. He wiped them briskly with his fingers and opened his brown eyes to peer into mine.

“The wreckage is almost unrecognizable. There was a lot of blood. When they finally let me through it…” He swallowed hard and decided not to tell me more. I was already crying silently and I could feel the wetness pool under my face against the couch pillow.

“The weirdest part is … Arturo’s missing, Guinie.”

He paused to let this sink in.

Missing? I didn’t understand.

“There was so much blood, but with no body. I don’t want to assume the worst, but I can’t explain it, honey. I don’t know where he is.”

Missing? I still didn’t understand.

“I need to make some calls. Hospitals. Police department. Fire department. We need to get the guys here. Can you do that? Can you call Leo, too?”

I must have looked as hysterical as I felt because my body was suddenly shaking uncontrollably. I was crying without sound and my body was moving without my permission. I somehow made it to the hallway powder room before I lost the contents of my stomach.

“Never mind, Guinie. I’m calling your dad.”

“Where’s Mure Linn?” I mumbled, as I gripped the cool sink edge for support.

“He isn’t answering either, the bastard. He’s probably up to something.”

I opened the door to the bathroom and Kaye tried to embrace me, but I put my hand up as a shield. I didn’t want his touch. I didn’t want anyone’s touch. I wanted Arturo.

“Can you call the guys again? I tried all night, but none of them answered. Hopefully at this early hour, they’ll realize it’s serious,” Kaye asked.

I only nodded once in acknowledgement, and Kaye turned to enter Arturo’s office. I melted into the couch and called in turn each member of The Nights.

That was seven days ago. Now, the band didn’t stay all day and night like they had the first few nights. They each take a turn, but the days have run together so much, I didn’t know who was here when. Talia tried to make me eat. I followed her directions in such a fog I’d forgotten what I did when. I felt hollow inside and, despite the nausea, there was nothing to vomit. Dry heaves wracked my body daily, and I napped so fitfully I was never rested. An uneasy energy had taken me and I couldn’t focus on anything except where in the world Arturo could be.

The media reports had to be shut off. I couldn’t see the images of all the blood on the pavement or the crumbled mass of what used to be a motorcycle. It was registered in Lansing Lotte’s name and Kaye got the call first thinking it was Lansing. Somehow Kaye knew it couldn’t have been Lansing, but was Arturo, and Kaye raced to the crime scene. It was a crime scene now officially. The police had determined that the accident might have been intentional, and the missing body made it an unsolved mystery.

Where did you take a body that lost that much blood? Who does such a thing as steal a person? I didn’t want to admit this could happen to Arturo. I knew I loved Arturo King. I didn’t want to imagine that anything could happen to him. He was my once. My future. All I knew for certain was, he wasn’t dead.

I felt that certainty in every part of my being. I felt so connected to Arturo King that I did not believe he could not be alive without me feeling that a part of me was dead. I wasn’t whole because he was missing, but I wasn’t dead, and I felt convinced that neither was he.