Far from Home.

The next day proved to be a challenging one for Emily. She'd been awake for at least an hour now, and was trying to find a good reason to get out of her bed. Her hand felt around for Brian, and when it came up empty, a sigh left her lips. That was going to have to be her reason to get up.

Bones aching and eyes puffy, Emily stood on her feet. A few seconds passed before she caught her balance; She wrapped her arms around herself, as if the action would keep her from physically falling apart. The quiet shuffle of her feet down the hallway seemed to be the only sound she could hear - Not even the birds were chirping. It was strange how everything seemed to change when her life took a turn for the absolute worst.

As Emily rounded the corner into the living room, she raised her eyebrow at the sight before her. Brian sat on the recliner, with his neck tilted at an awkward and almost painful angle. There was a very faint smell of bleach.

For the longest second, Emily's mind had turned for the negative. Her brain had connected Brian's strange posture with the bleach scent - Had he killed himself?

No, he loved Emily.

He wouldn't do this to her, especially at a time like this. And he could've always just grabbed his things and left. Emily would've preferred that over someone as perfect as him taking his own life.

But before the tears could form, Brian shifted just a little bit in the chair. A sigh of relief left Emily's lips as she put her hand over her racing heart. She didn't know what she would've done if she had to go through the grieving process, again, of losing someone so close and dear to her.

Emily walked over to Brian and pressed her lips softly to his forehead before making her way to the restroom. A quick glance in the mirror surprised her.

The black funeral dress was still on her, and her makeup was smudged all around her eyes. Her jewelry clung to her skin from the sweat of rolling around in the bed all night long. Emily turned on the shower and sunk out of her dress, removing her necklace and earrings as well. She stepped inside, letting the hot water hit her most knotted muscles.

As the tension slowly but surely left her body, Emily grabbed a wash rag and lathered it with soap. She closed her eyes and scrubbed the make up from her face.

Deciding that she hadn't really kept up with her physical appearance (even though she had a good reason, and didn't really see why she had to do such a stupid thing), Emily washed her hair - Twice - And shaved until her skin was as silky smooth as it used to be. Once she was completely washed from head to toe, Emily stepped out and inhaled the steam that was clouding up the bathroom.

She wrapped her body and hair in a towel, grabbing a dry cloth and patting her face of the moisture.

Her reflection wasn't as satisfying as it used to be, before her world was turned upside down with the loss of Lucy. Before, Emily was able to look at herself and feel beyond confident. She used to be glowing with vibrancy. Now, she looked like a hallowed out corpse with skin glued to her bones.

Eyes gazing over her face, she looked dead. Plain and simply put: Dead.

A shudder ran down her spine as she looked through the cabinets. She took out her facial scrub and a peel off mask gel. Once her face was taken care of and the mask was drying, Emily took out the hair dryer. She dried her hair, seeing her semi wavy mostly straight locks fall down over her shoulders.

One last look in the mirror gave her a bit of confidence. When she was able to peel the mask off, she'd apply some powder to cover up the redness of her cheeks and nose.

Emily walked out of the restroom and into the bedroom, changing into a simple camisole and yoga pants.

As she entered the kitchen, Brian had tossed in his sleep and was now at an even stranger angle. Emily rolled her eyes with a small smile and walked over to him. She straightened him out, pulling out the leg rest. She managed to pick his head up and put a couch pillow behind his neck so he wouldn't wake up with any cramps or stiffness.

He looked considerably very comfortable. So comfortable, that Emily envied him and wished she could jump right back into bed, absorb the warmth of her blankets, and fall right back asleep. But she needed to do something with herself.

Emily began to make breakfast, even though it was ten til twelve in the afternoon. By the time she had finished, it was twenty after twelve and Brian was beginning to wake up.

She quickly prepared his plate and set it on the table, turning the television on low for him.

With a groan, Brian awoke and rubbed his eyes, sitting up. He glanced around before seeing a plate with three eggs, a mound of bacon, and two pieces of toast sitting on the table. It looked fresh and that was just enough to tip him over the edge. Brian grabbed the plate and dug in, not giving his taste buds enough time to savor the taste.

It wasn't long before his hangover set in, but Brian pushed it to the back of his mind as best as he could, thankful it wasn't a strong, domineering hangover. The pretaken alca-seltzers had done him some justice after all.

When Brian burped, Emily laughed quietly. He whipped around, seeing his fiance leaning against the counter in the kitchen as she sipped at her orange juice.

"How long have you been there?" He asked.

She shook her head. "I've been awake for about an hour or two, maybe. Did you sleep on the recliner the whole night?"

"Yeah," Brian set down his empty plate and scratched the back of his neck,"I had a little bit of a rough night, myself. I, uh, I drank a bunch and there was just a whole mess - I'm surprised you didn't hear me and wake up."

"That would explain why I smelled bleach when I came in here."

"I might've thrown up and nearly passed out in my puke."

Emily scrunched her nose up. "Go take a shower!"

Brian laughed loudly and stood up,"Gee, thanks, babe."

"I'll get your hangover cure ready for you, as well as the bed so you can just lay down when you get out. Don't worry about cleaning the shower, I just want my soon to be husband to be fresh and clean so we can cuddle." Emily smiled and kissed his cheek, smelling the faintest stench of puke. How she hadn't caught the scent before was a mystery to her.

Just as promised, Emily had darkened their bedroom and made up the bed to Brian's liking. The blanket and sheet were pulled down on his side, and on his nightstand was a glass of water and two alcaseltzers. Maybe that's why he still felt a little hungover - He'd only taken one.

Emily got him into bed and made him swallow down the water, scolding him when he tried to 'accidentally' spill it; Water wasn't something he normally drank, unless he was out jogging or at work.

Finally, Brian got under the blankets and smiled up at Emily. She returned the gesture as he held out his arms,"I was promised there would be cuddling if I cleaned up. And I used almost all of the body wash and shampoo, so I think I deserve a reward." Emily went to roll her eyes but Brian cut the action off abruptly. He grabbed her hips and pulled her down beside him, holding the petite woman tightly into his chest.

"I love you." The words were barely above a whisper in her ear; The intensity of Brian's voice sent a chill throughout her body.

"I love you, too." Emily placed her hands over his, which were holding her waist, and closed her eyes, not caring if her mask remained on. Moments like these were rare, and she wasn't about to pass it up for an attempt to regain her looks.



Brian woke up a few hours later to the faint vibration of his phone on the nightstand. He quickly grabbed it, careful to not wake up his sleeping Emily.

"Hello?" He answered quietly, untangling Emily from his grasp. He arranged the pillows to keep her comfortable and tucked her into the blankets, knowing that they'd keep her somewhat warm compared to his body temperature.

"Mr. Haner, good afternoon, I'm officer Craig Harper from the Polson Police Department. We need you to come down and answer some questions for us."

"...I'm not a suspect are I? Because I can tell you right the hell now, I would never even think about doing those disgusting things to my own god damn daught-"

"No, that isn't the case, Mr. Haner. Rest assured. We just need to ask you some questions about the afternoon that little Lucy disappeared. Can I count on you to get here on your own, or should I sent a patrol car?"

Brian refrained himself from letting out a giant scoff. "I'll be there momentarily on my own." He hung up and quickly dressed and kissed Emily's nose before leaving.

Within the same hour, Brian found himself sitting in a chair, retelling the very short story of his daughters disappearance for the sixth time. "I was with my fiance in our kitchen, and Lucy walked in. She wanted me to go play with her by the lake. I told her to go ahead and go - That I'd be out there in a minute. It'd been a very long day at work, and I just wanted to have a quick moment with Emily. We kissed very briefly, nothing more, and I left to go play with Lucy. I didn't find her anywhere's near the lake, so I ran back home and told Emily. We both went looking - She went around the neighborhood from door to door and I looked around the woods by the lake. I was out until the sun went down, and I came back home. Emily and I filed the missing person's report as soon as our forty eight hours were up."

The officer gave a simple nod as he went through a folder, marked confidential. It was almost the exact some one that the coroner had. Brian, as discreetly as possible, sat up and glanced at the papers. There was a small little two page packet with multiple photo's of different men.

Suspects?

Brian's hand twitched, and he immediately realized what he had to do.

Get that fucking file - At least the list of suspects - And go through each of the men his self. He knew that if the cops got to him first, Brian wouldn't be able to release all the pent up anger and hatred he had. He needed to find the man before the cops did; He wanted to kick the sick fuck's ass to hell and back a trillion times.

"You can go now." Officer Harper looked up and Brian immediately averted his gaze; Didn't want to look too suspect.

"Uh. Can I have a coffee or something with caffeine? Long drive back home and I didn't sleep at all last night." Brian forced a laugh.

Officer Harper, however, bit the bait and nodded. He stood up, leaving the file on the table, and left the room. Since Brian wasn't a suspect, he knew the session wasn't being recorded and he knew there was no officers watching them through a false wall. He grabbed the file, deciding to take the suspect list instead.

He folded the two papers and tucked them into the waistband of his pants just as the officer walked in with his coffee. Brian took it and thanked him, standing up.

Before the officer could bid him a good afternoon, Brian was out of the station and in his car. It wasn't until he was out of the parking lot that he took out the list of suspects. As he scanned it quickly, looking for a face he might recognize, his phone rang.

The screen read Emily.

"Sleep well?" He asked her as soon as he answered.

"Yes, up until I realized you weren't home. Where are you?"

"I had to go down to the station and talk to the officer, babe. I'll be home in a few hours, don't wait up on me."

Emily sighed,"Brian, what are you doing?"

"Nothing, babe, just go about your day, okay? I promise when I get home, we'll do whatever you want."

"You're acting really shady... But I know you won't tell me anything if I pry. Just be careful with whatever it is that you're doing, okay? I want my soon to be husband back in one piece."

"And I want my soon to be wife well rested and smiling when I get home. Can you do that for me, sweetheart?"

"Yes, Bri. I love you."

"I love you, too. Now go finish sleeping, you still sound tired."

A quiet laugh sounded on the other line,"That's because I am tired. I'm exhausted."

"Go sleep for me, baby, you deserve it and more."

Brian couldn't see it, but he could definitely hear the soft smile in her voice as she spoke. "Okay. Wake me up when you get home, I want to spend time with you."

"And I want to spend time with you. Go sleep," He repeated,"I love you."

"I love you, too." Brian waited until Emily hung up to set his phone down. He picked up the two papers again. There were two rows of pictures on each, with a name, address, age, and list of offenses. In total, there was just thirty two suspects.

"Get ready, you son of a bitch. I'm coming for you." He growled, pulling up GPS navigation on his phone. He put the first address in, and sped down the roads.