Come Back Home(Logan) Chapter 1:

“Come on, we’re almost there! Why do we need to stop?” My wife rolls her eyes and proceeds to pull off of the highway. “Because I need something to drink and we’re almost out of gas.” I groan. There’s nothing I can do. It’s not like I’m the one driving. Liv pulls into the 7/11 nearest the highway. “Be quick. Your parents are waiting for us.” Again, my wife takes the time to roll her eyes before slamming the door and stomping off. I sigh and rub my temples. Liv and I have been struggling to keep our marriage together. Ever since she thought I was having an affair with her best friend, she’s been on edge. Even after she found out that I was really working late nights a lot and her best friend wasn’t answering her phone because she changed her number to avoid her stalker ex. Liv told me that she needed a break. I asked her what she meant by that, and she told me she thinks she’s going to stay at her parents house for a little bit. I couldn’t argue. I knew that if we wanted to stay together, we would need to spend some time apart to think about how we can fix things. I know that I love Liv, and I have to respect whatever she comes out with in the end. Even though we’ve been married for thirteen years, somehow we broke our special bond. I wouldn’t say broken, actually. I would say bent. We can fix it. Together. I glance out the windshield to see if Liv’s coming, but she’s not. I lean back in my seat and scroll through my phone. After ten minutes, though, I start to get agitated. I mean, she knows we’re supposed to be at her parents house by four. What is taking her so long? She’s just grabbing a drink. I decided to give her a few more minutes before going in. I give her five. She still doesn’t come out. I stomp through the automatic doors and glance above all of the shelves for her black curls. I don’t see them. I approach the ladies’ bathroom door and knock lightly. “Liv, honey? Are you in there?” No answer. I cautiously open the door and glance inside. It’s just a small, unoccupied bathroom. Where the hell is she? I walk over to the cash register where a small man with dark hair and dark skin is scrolling through his phone. “Hey, man. Have you seen my wife? She came in here to buy something to drink and never came out. I checked the bathrooms, she’s not there.” The man looks up at me and blinks. Then he shakes his head. “Sorry, dude. I haven’t seen anybody come in here to buy something to drink in the past hour. Maybe she ran off. You piss her off or something?” I purse my lips and narrow my eyes. “No, I didn’t piss her off. She wouldn’t just run off like that. Thanks anyway.” I leave the man in the store and return to my car. A sliver of hope that we just missed each other and that she’s waiting for me in the car is existent. But when I open the door and peek around, she’s not there. My heart sinks. I put the car in reverse and pull out of the parking spot and start to circle around the building. After I make a full trip, though, I don’t see her. I feel a tight pain in my chest and I can tell it’s anxiety. I’m anxious. In fact, I’m freaking out. I don’t know what to do. I do know one thing, though: I cannot lose my wife. I pull back into the front parking lot and reach for my phone in the center console. I dial 911. The dispatcher answers on the second ring. “911, what’s your emergency?” “Hi, yes. My wife is missing. She went into the gas station and never came out. I’m worried something happened to her.” There’s a short silence on the other end and then: “Okay, sir. How long ago was this?” I run a hand through my hair. “Uh, twenty minutes? Give or take,” “Alright, sir, tell me your name.” Why is she asking me this instead of sending someone? “John. John Mira.” The dispatcher starts typing on the other end of the phone. “Okay, John. Which gas station are you at?” I tell her, and she tells me that she sent someone and that they’ll be here soon. After we hang up, I wait in my car until the cruiser pulls in next to me. We get out of our cars at the same time. After shaking hands, the officer introduces himself. “Hello, John. I am Officer Brown, but you can call me Chris. I have been informed that your wife is missing? Is that correct?” I look towards the gas station and nod. “Yes. She went in and never came out. I’m really worried about her.” Chris tells me to follow him and leads me back into the gas station. He approaches the cash register. “Hello, Xavier. Good to see you. Tell me, have you seen a woman come in here with-” Chris looks at me and urges me to continue. “Uh, she had on a yellow headband, a white t-shirt with blue jeans and a red purse.” Chris nods. Xavier looks at the officer and shakes his head. “As I told this dude before, I haven’t seen any lady come up here to buy no drink.” I can see Chris’ expression harden. Xavier doesn’t seem to notice. “No worries, man. Hey, can I check the CCTV footage?” “Sorry, it’s been down for at least a month. Can’t get the damn thing to work.” Again, my heart sinks. I’m slowly starting to lose hope in finding my wife. Officer Brown nods, thanks him, and leads me outside. When we’re back at our cars, Chris puts a hand on my shoulder. “I’m going to go back to the station, file a report. I suggest you go home and let us handle this.” I nod. “Yes, sir. Thank you,” While Chris gets in his car and drives away, I decide to take one last look around. Again, I don’t see my wife anywhere, but I do see something promising.

A red light.

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