Save Me

After Abbie told me that Emma had been kidnapped the guys and I looked all over Huntington Beach for her. We always came up with nothing. Zacky's mom Maria and Matt's mom Kim were keeping an eye on Abbie for me as we searched. Emma was important to all of us and we wanted her home safe. After a full week of searching we finally decided to call the police and get them involved. We felt that they had a better chance at finding her.

I was sitting next to Abbie as she dabbed at her eyes and explained everything that happened. I had told her that I would be there for her no matter what the circumstances were going to be and I wasn't about to go back on my word.

"Mrs. Moore, can you please explain everything again. I know it's hard, but we need to make sure we have every detail," the police officer said.

She nodded and dabbed at her eyes again. For the second time she launched into her story and Jimmy and Matt both placed hands on her shoulder to give her strength to continue.
Abbie, Nathan, and Emma had been having family time at home. It was why I hadn't seen them in awhile. They were focusing on being a family, which I could understand. I was just the Uncle after all. After they had dinner they were watching a movie when the house had been broken into. Emma had screamed and tried to get away as Nathan tried to protect them all. It made me realize that my thoughts about him were all wrong. He loved Abbie and Emma and would do anything for them.

Nathan had gotten shot and Emma kept on screaming. As she had made her way up the stairs one of the guys had grabbed her. She was crying for her mom to save her, but Abbie had been knocked out as she bent over Nathan to try and save him. When Abbie woke up Nathan was dead and Emma was missing. I held her tightly as the tears started flowing freely again. She buried her face into my chest as she cried.

"Thank you. We'll put out an APB and an Amber Alert. We need a current picture of Emma though," the other police officer stated.

"I've got one," Jimmy piped up.

I looked at him as he took out one of his most recent pictures of Emma from his wallet. He handed it to the police officer. "We'll make fliers and post this all over the news. We'll find her and bring her home," the officer stated.

We all nodded and thanked them. They let themselves out and the entire room became silent. Abbie's sobs quieted and her breathing became normal. I picked her up and carried her up the stairs and placed her in my bed so that she could sleep. I kissed her forehead and turned to leave after covering her up when her voice stopped me.

"Johnny, will you stay?" she asked.

"Of course," I replied. I kicked off my shoes and took off my jeans and slipped underneath the covers. She curled into my side and I wrapped my arm around her. I kissed her forehead again as I listened for her breathing to even out again. My eyes drifted closed as well.

****

The police had finally released Nathan's body to Abbie. She had been planning the funeral through the investigation of his murder. It was difficult, especially since she had to tell his family that he had been killed. I had made sure that I was with her through that and his family appreciated the fact that she had someone to help her through the tough times. They all wanted Emma to come home just like we did. We all missed her bubbly attitude and I knew Emma was one of the only things that kept Abbie going. Emma was Abbie's world and I couldn't fathom to think what would happen if anything happened to the little girl.

I finished getting ready, since today was the day that Abbie had to put Nathan to rest. It was going to be a difficult time for Abbie, but I planned to be there for her no matter what. She needed me. She was staying at my house in one of the guest bedrooms because the one she had shared with Nathan was just too difficult. After I took one last look at myself in the mirror I left my bedroom and walked into the guest one that Abbie was using. It was the one that Emma always used when she was here so I knew staying in it made her feel closer to her daughter.

"Abbie, honey, are you ready?" I asked softly.

She was sitting in the window seat and staring out the window. I saw tears all ready sliding down her cheeks. I sighed as I walked closer to her. I knelt down and placed a hand on her knee. She looked down at me and sniffled. I leaned up and embraced her in a hug. She held tightly to me as her tears stained my suit jacket.

"Everything will be okay," I whispered softly.

"No it won't. She's still missing, and Nathan's gone," she said thickly.

"We are going to find her. I'm sorry you lost Nathan so soon. I know you loved him," I told her.

"I did. I really thought that he and I would live a long and happy life together," she said.

"It was a home invasion gone wrong. Those assholes thought they'd be able to steal some shit and get away with it. They didn't anticipate you all being home," I told her.

She just merrily nodded. I picked her up and carried her into the bathroom. I sat her down on the counter and then grabbed a towel to wipe her tears away. I gave her some Kleenex and she blew her nose.

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Johnny," she said.

"I'm your best friend. I always will be no matter what. Best friends stick together through thick and thin," I stated.

She gave me a weak smile and then hugged me again. "Thank you. For everything," she said.

I hugged her back and then helped her off of the counter. "Anytime," I said.

She took a few deep breaths and then looked up at me. "We'll get through this together," I reassured her. She nodded and gave me one last hug.

"We better get going. No matter how hard this is going to be for me, I have to be there," she said.

I nodded and grabbed her hand. We walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Once in the garage she climbed into the passenger seat and I climbed into the driver's seat. I backed out of the garage and then headed towards the church where the service and burial would take place.

****

The service wasn't horrible. Nathan's family got up and spoke good words about him and how much they would miss him. His mother and father had broken down in the middle of their speech and both Matt and Jimmy had gotten up to comfort them. When Abbie got up to speak I went with her. I didn't know Nathan too well to speak at his service, but I was Abbie's rock and I knew she'd need me to stand up there with her. She spoke clearly, but a few times her voice shook with sadness. When she was done speaking I wrapped my arm around her and walked with her back to her seat. After she sat down she turned her face into my chest and started crying.

I rubbed her back as the priest finished the service. Once the service was finished we followed the casket to the cemetery where he would be buried. All the way to the cemetery I couldn't get the feeling that something else was going to go terribly wrong. I pushed it aside as I drove to the cemetery. We got to the cemetery and I parked the car. We got out and followed the rest of the funeral party to the gravesite.

The burial ceremony didn't take too long. Abbie and his family all placed roses on top of his casket and then they all took a shovel and dumped a shovel full of dirt on top as well. Again, Abbie turned her head into my chest as the workers finished the burial service. We stayed for a few minutes after it was done before Abbie stated that she wanted to go. His family piled into the limo after wishing Abbie well. She promised to bring Emma by once she was found and they thanked her for it.

We climbed back into the car and then headed towards my house again. Abbie didn't want to go to the wake that his family was having. She said it was just too much and she couldn't handle it. I parked in the garage and we headed inside. The rest of the guys were all ready there because they didn't go to the burial service. Instead, they came to my house and started preparing some food to eat and some drinks as well. Abbie walked right up the stairs and into Emma's normal room and shut the door. I sighed as I ran my hands through my hair.

"She'll be fine, dude," Brian said softly.

I turned towards him and frowned. "No she won't. She lost her husband and her daughter is missing still. I don't think she'll ever be the same. She needs Emma to come home, but even so, she loved Nathan so much I doubt she'll move on from this," I said.

"I can understand that, but she needs to. She needs you to help her move on. Personally, I think you should have been the one to marry her in the first place," Zacky piped up.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"You've been best friends since the third grade. You've been her rock her entire life, Johnny.
If anything, you should have been the one to date her and ask her to marry you. Fuck, you're even more of a father figure to Emma than any of the other tools that she dated in the past," Zacky clarified.

"Nathan wasn't a tool," I said.

"What the fuck, dude, you even complained about him to us a few times," Matt butted in.

I sighed.

"Is that true, Johnny?" a soft voice asked from behind me.

I whirled around to look at Abbie. Her face was still blotchy and red from crying. I couldn't lie to her. I could never lie to her. "I was only concerned for your well being. I never meant to be judgmental," I told her softly.

Her lip quivered slightly, but she wiped her eyes and sniffled. "Why didn't you ever tell me before?" she asked wrapping her arms around her torso.

"Abbie, I didn't want to upset you. You loved Nathan so much that I didn't want to create a rift in our friendship," I told her truthfully.

She just nodded and turned towards the stairs again. She walked up the stairs and into the bedroom again. I heard the door close softly. I ran my hands through my hair again as I sighed in defeat. I had just hurt her feelings even more than they all ready were. I knew that I should have been more honest with her, but I didn't want to lose her as a friend.

"Maybe you should go see if she's okay," Jimmy said softly.

I nodded and walked out of the kitchen. I headed up the stairs and knocked softly on Abbie's door before opening it up. Abbie was curled into a ball on the bed. Her back was facing the door and she had changed her clothes. I sighed and walked inside and lay down behind her.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you," I whispered wrapping an arm around her.

She turned her head towards me and smiled weakly. "You didn't. I'm just trying to stop crying about losing Nathan, but it's hard, especially since I'm so worried about Emma," she told me.

I nodded and hugged her closer to my body. "We'll find her. She'll come home to us," I said.
She nodded as she turned her body so it was facing mine. "You really are the best friend a girl could ask for. I don't know why we never decided to date," she said.

I swallowed hard. "I never asked you out because I didn't want a bad breakup to ruin our friendship. But that doesn't mean I don't ever want to try at some point if you're up for it," I said.

"I don't know, maybe," she said.

I kissed her forehead as we laid there. It wasn't long before I heard her breathing even out. I looked down and saw that she was asleep. Her arms were tight around my waist and I let my own eyes close as well.

****

A soft knock woke me from my slumber. I blinked my eyes and looked down. Abbie was still fast asleep. I pulled myself away from her and she snuggled into the covers more. I walked to the door and opened it seeing Matt standing there with a worried expression.

"What's wrong?" I whispered.

"The police are here. They have news about Emma," he whispered.

I froze at his comment. I turned my head towards Abbie and frowned. This didn't seem like it was going to be good news. It most certainly didn't feel like good news in the pit of my stomach either.

"Abbie should come down too. She needs to know," Matt said.

I looked at him and then nodded. As much as I wanted to protect her from whatever news was about to be given, I knew that she needed to hear it from the police as well.

"We'll be down in a few minutes," I told him.

He nodded and then left. I sighed and turned towards the bed. I walked towards her side and knelt down. I shook her shoulder a little.

"Abbie, sweetie," I whispered softly.

She groaned and shifted, but continued to sleep. I didn't even want to wake her up because
I knew she needed to sleep. It had been a difficult few weeks for her.

"Abbie," I said a little louder. She groaned again and started to open her eyes. She yawned and blinked a few times.

"Johnny, what's wrong?" she asked as she stretched.

"Matt came up to tell us that the police have news about Emma. He wanted me to wake you up so you could hear the news as well," I answered.

Her eyes widened and she sat up completely. "Well, come on," she said flinging the covers off of herself.

"Abbie, wait," I said.

She stopped near the door and turned towards me. "What?"

"I want you to know that whatever the news may be, good or bad, that I'm here for you. I don't want you to forget that," I said walking closer to her.

I couldn't see her being able to survive anymore bad news, but I had to make sure that she had someone who loved her around her. She smiled at me and walked closer to me and wrapped her arms around me in a hug.

"Johnny, I know you'll be there for me. You've never given up on me no matter what," she said resting her head against my chest. I hugged her tightly and kissed her head.

"Now come on. Stop trying to keep me from the news," she said.

I nodded and grabbed her hand in mine. We left the room and walked down the stairs to see Matt and the guys sitting on the couches as two police officers stood in front of the television. I tightened my grip on Abbie's hand as we walked towards the couch to sit down.

"Mrs. Moore, will you please come with us," one officer spoke up before we were even able to sit down.

We turned towards them and I frowned. "Why?" I asked.

"She needs to come with us so we can discuss the situation about her daughter at the station," the officer said.

"What the fuck for?" Matt cut in.

The officer turned towards Matt. "It's an issue that we shouldn't be discussing here. She needs to come with us," the second officer answered.

"She's not going without me," I said firmly.

Both officers looked at me. "Or us," Jimmy piped up.

They sighed. "Fine, just meet us at the station. It's rather important," the first one said.
We all nodded and stood up. Matt said he was going to drive. We all piled in and Abbie curled up to my side. I could tell she was worried about what we were going to find out about Emma. I prayed that it wasn't anything horrible, but my bad feeling wouldn't go away. I held onto Abbie the entire car ride to the police station.

****

Once at the police station we all walked into the conference room, since that was the only room large enough to hold us all. The lead detective walked inside not even five minutes later.

"Which one of you is the mother of Emma?" she asked.

Abbie slowly raised her hand. "And the father?"

"The father's not here. He's never been around. The five of us have all been the male role model for her," Brian stated before I could.

The detective raised an eyebrow. I knew she was judging us based on our appearances.

"They really have been the greatest role models for her, Detective," Abbie said softly.

She nodded. "Well, then this makes it even more difficult to tell you all the news," she said hanging her head.

I sat up straighter in my chair and squeezed Abbie's hand.

"Detective, please don't sugar coat anything," Abbie said shakily.

The detective looked at her and nodded her head.

"The good news is we found Emma," she said.

Abbie's eyes lit up, but then she slumped against me. "But," she said.

I knew there was a 'but' as well, just because of how she worded everything. "But, she was killed by whoever had taken her," the detective finished.

I looked towards Abbie immediately and all the color had drained from her face. Her eyes were wide and I could see fresh tears pooling inside them.

"Are you sure?" Jimmy asked.

"Yes, we matched the body up to the picture you gave us," she replied.

"But that can't be a positive ID. Don't we have to ID her?" I asked.

"You do. That is why we asked for Mrs. Moore to come to the station," she answered.

"I want to see her, but I don't want to go alone," she whispered.

"I'll go with you," I stated. She nodded and we stood up. The detective led us out of the conference room and towards the elevator that would take us down to the morgue in the basement.