"She has to be somewhere, a full grown girl doesn't just vanish." I was starting to think the Gytrashes weren't looking as hard as they could be.
"I promise we'll find her, Dominic. We found a miniscule bracelet in less than 48 hours, an entire girl can't be that hard." I think he rolled his eyes when he finished his sentence.
"Okay, so where is she then?" I rolled mine right back at him.
"My flunkies have her scent, as soon as we get close enough she'll be located."
"So how far away is she!" I was losing my cool. This whole thing is my fault. I should've just kept running on my own instead of dragging April's whole family into this mess. I can't believe myself.
"Don't think like that Dominic."
"Get out of my head Lazarus."
"You know this isn't your fault. I shouldn't have come in so antagonistic."
"Stop using words I don't know. You know I only had like four books to learn English with."
"You seem to have the hang of it now." We were still making our way down the river when we decided we weren't going to find her this way. We turned around and went towards the apartment again.
When we approached it a while later, I could see Veronica walking towards the door and my composure was crushed. I had to tell her that her last family member was lost somewhere in the unknown woods, with the government trailing right behind us. I probably won't word it quite like that.
She opened the door and brought us in.
I tried so hard to seem normal, and not like my whole life was being turned upside down as we spoke. "I'm sorry Veronica. We can't find her anywhere."
April's mom sat in thought for a moment. I saw several emotions flood her face before she spoke, "How do we find her."
"We wait." Lazarus said apathetically. "We have her scent tracked, and as soon as she's in a 2 mile radius we'll find her."
I can't believe we have to be telling her this. "I'm sure she'll come back this way. She knows the Gytrashes can't stay forever."
Veronica walked over to me and I thought she might slap me, but to my surprise she held me in a warm embrace, showing me that everything will turn around in time.
"This isn't your fault hun."
But it was. I know it was. I told her to run. I brought them all along. I am 100% the one to blame, but nobody is giving me the opportunity to feel guilty. All I feel is love, and it's strange.
Even Lazarus is letting me off easily, staying out of my head when I ask him to. Even though everything could be going wrong and is, it's all so much better than when I was alone. Which is selfish, but I still am so thankful I have their support.
We ended up agreeing to rest until morning. Gytrashes had to transfigure from horses to dogs in order to fit in the living room comfortably, which seemed to shock Veronica. I'm pretty sure she didn't know they existed until earlier today.
I'm praying April is okay. I hope she finds someone or somewhere to keep her safe during the night(s) she's away. I can't even begin to fathom what I would do without her.
Even when I was away for over a year, just knowing she was out there and safe kept me going. And that's something I can never repay her for.