Simon It's been a week. A whole agonizing week of trying to find Marcus. I have been camping at the police precinct, driving paul and his colleagues crazy, but it seems like Marcus has just disappeared into thin air. I have searched everywhere I can think of and tried to identify any john doe picked up within a close radius of me but nothing. Paul keeps telling me not to worry too much and that they will find him, but hope is dwindling as the days pass. I am deep in thoughts when I get a text message. I have taken to coming to the office for a few hours before my ritual visit to the precinct because I want to avoid the house. Everything in my house reminds me of him. Every time I enter the kitchen, all I see is him making me breakfast or cleaning or doing a million and one things that he does that I didn't even know needed to be done, every time I open a drawer to get something and I don't find it where I thought it should be, I am reminded again of how much Marcus has changed my lif

FIVE YEARS LATER Simon This damn leg won't give me peace. I massage it slowly, wishing I was home, wrapped in a duvet in front of my electric fireplace. I hate the cold now. Since the explosion five years ago, I have had an injury that makes the cold unbearable. Usually, I can ignore it, but sometimes I need something stronger than Ibuprofen. Other than the dull pain in my leg, the ache in my heart has also never gone away; the part of my heart reserved for Marcus hasn't healed or moved on. My mind wonders as it's wont to do, and I find myself reliving the past. I had woken up in hospital a week after the explosion. According to the police, a gas leak had been the cause of the accident. They had found the remains of only one person, and dental records had confirmed it was David. There had been nothing left to confirm what had happened to Marcus. After months of searching, the police had concluded that David must have killed him and disposed of the body elsewhere. It was so devasta

Simon I grab my phone. I don’t actually think the ping will be for my Marcus. I have learned in the past few years that there were a considerable number of people named Marcus Button or a variation of the name, and occasionally they did things that made an appearance on the web. I swipe up the screen and almost fall over from shock when Marcus stares moodily back at me. I can’t believe I finally found him! after years of combing the internet, the gods have finally answered my prayer. I quickly click on the story and am immediately disappointed by the scant information.I skim quickly, taking in the fact that this is my Marcus, who, by the way, looks completely different yet the same. His clothes look expensive and fit him perfectly; his hair which in my mind will always be long and wild is styled in those expensive haircuts that give him the aura of a fashion model. But the biggest change is his face and demeanor; gone was the shy look and unsure posture, and in its place was a hard

Marcus The number of times I have refreshed my email is not healthy, and I am surprised I have not broken my keyboard with the many frustrated clicks. It’s been a few days since I sent the email, and while I didn’t think the reply would be instantaneous, I still didn’t think it would take days! But checking all the news on Marcus’s company, I can see how busy he can be juggling celebrities, athletes, politicians, and brands. It’s almost hard to imagine my shy broken Marcus was responsible for this huge successful entity. Still, a large part of me is so proud that he overcame his issues enough to put himself out there and leave such a huge mark in the world. When my email pings, I am buried in financial reports, and I barely glance at the computer until I see the name on the screen. I click on the email, and my breath stutters. You always find me, don’t you? Even when I did not know, I was lost. Come see me. We have a lot to talk about, and I have much to explain. You are constantl

Marcus A gentle knock jolts me back from my wondering mind. Cindy pops in with a cup of coffee. “Are you ok Boss?” She asks concern written all over her face. “Yes I am fine, I just got an unexpected visitors is all. Please cancel anything that you can today I will finish up with the Mueller account and zoom call with the Santiago Group” “On it boss’ she leaves me to my work which I am having a hard time concentrating on my whole focus was on the man that just up ended my whole life, who was now waiting for me in a hotel room. I rush through all I needed to do grateful for my earlier throrough work. I couldn’t rush the zoom meeting though and I sat through an hour of excruciatingly boring and frustrating meeting. On a normal day I would have enjoyed the back and forth but todayit just grated on my nerves I just wantedto be done so I can go to Simon I had this maybe irrational fear that he would disappear on me and after everything I had put him through including my very emba