I threw my glass and went to the bookshelf with various awards and framed photos of me and some important people. None of that mattered. I grabbed one thing after another and threw it. The tantrum was making me feel mildly better. It did nothing to solve the problem, but it sure as hell made me feel better.
“Reese?”
Thea’s voice cut through the haze of anger. I turned to look at her.
“Baby,” she gasped. “Oh no. What happened?”
She stepped over the shattered glass and shit from my desk and threw her arms around me. She held me tight. Her body was trembling.
“You’re shaking,” she whispered. “Tell me what happened.”
That was when I realized it wasn’t her trembling, it was me. The anger I felt was burning through my veins. “They took him,” I said.
“Who took him?”
“I don’t know,” I answered. “Clark got a ransom call. They want sixty billion to return him.”
“Sixty billion!”
“Yes,” I replied. “He’s a dead man. We could never come up with that. They want to kill him. They’re asking for that kind of cash because they know we could never possibly pay.”
“Oh, Reese,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
“I’m killing my father,” I said.
“No, you are doing no such thing. What’s Clark doing?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “He’s going to try and find him and put together some rescue plan. I need to go to my dad’s house and see if I can find any information. According to Clark, he’s in Singapore.”
“Singapore!”
“Yes. I need to go.” I looked around at my mess and immediately felt ridiculous. “Fuck. This is bad.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she said and took my hand. “I’ll go with you. When we get back, I’ll take care of this.”
“Not a chance in hell,” I said. “I did this. I lost my shit. I’ll clean it up.”
She stopped walking, turned, and took both my hands in hers. “You are not alone, Reese. No matter what happens. No matter what you need to do, I’m here. I’m not leaving you. Thick or thin, good or bad, I’m here. I’ll be here to celebrate with you when he returns. I’ll be here to mourn with you if that’s the case. Trust your brother. I know I said it before, but don’t give up. You’ve found him. Now, it’s about rescuing him.”
I didn’t deserve her. “I love you.”
She smiled. “I love you.”
“Thank you. I feel like I’m walking a tightrope. Like I’m staring into a dark abyss with no idea what’s waiting for me at the bottom. I’m a fucking mess, Thea. I’m coming apart at the seams. I’ve never felt like this before. I can’t process it all. I want to rage.”
“Okay,” she said with a nod. “Instead of going to your dad’s house, why don’t we go for a swim? Or we can go down to the gym. We’ll hop on the treadmill and run.”
“I can’t,” I said. “I have to get that information.”
“Thirty minutes,” she said. “You need to clear your mind. You have to get rid of that feeling inside you that’s making you jumpy and jittery. You won’t be able to think straight until you do.”
She was right. She knew me well. This woman was my partner in life. My other half. There was no way I was getting through this without her. “Okay. Treadmill. I need to sweat.”
“Let’s go,” she said.
We were both dressed casually in sweats and tennis shoes. She led me down to the gym and got on the treadmill we had recently purchased for her. And then I ran. I ran so hard there were a few times I thought I would fall off. I didn’t stop running until she pulled me off.
My mind was clear, and I knew what I had to do.