Support

Chapter 45 - Support

Torin reached Kelly’s apartment and found the door already open. He pushed it wider and stepped inside, immediately noticing how quiet the place was. The lights were still on, but the apartment felt strangely empty. A few seconds later, he heard the sound of crying coming from deeper inside and followed it until he found Kelly sitting on the floor beside the sofa, her knees pulled close to her chest and her shoulders shaking with every breath. An open bottle of whiskey and a glass sat on the table nearby.

“Kelly?” Torin called softly as he walked toward her.

She lifted her head at the sound of his voice, and the moment she saw him, whatever control she had left seemed to disappear. She leaned toward him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her face against him as another wave of crying passed through her. Torin lowered himself beside her and put an arm around her shoulders, rubbing her back slowly while he waited for her breathing to settle.

“Take a deep breath first,” he said quietly. “You don't have to explain everything at once. Just calm down and tell me what happened.”

Kelly tried to speak, but her voice broke before the words could come out properly. She wiped her face and took a shaky breath, then looked at him with red, swollen eyes.

“The money is gone, Torin,” she whispered. “It's all gone.”

Torin's expression became serious. “What do you mean it's gone? Where was it?”

“Here. It was here.” She pointed weakly toward the other side of the room. “I came back and checked, but it wasn't there anymore. I thought maybe I had moved it somewhere else, so I searched everywhere, but I couldn't find it.”

“How much are we talking about? The numbers?”

“I don't know exactly.”

Torin looked at her carefully. “You don't know?”

“I didn't count it but minimum a million,” she said, her voice trembling again. “I knew where I kept it. I just never thought I would have to check whether it was still there.”

Torin glanced at the whiskey bottle. Only a small amount was missing, and the glass beside it was barely touched. He understood that she had been trying to calm herself rather than drink herself unconscious.

“You've only had a little,” he said.

Kelly nodded. “I couldn't think straight, so I poured myself a drink. Then I started thinking about Tina, and I couldn't stop.”

Torin's eyes narrowed slightly.

“What about Tina?”

Kelly looked down at her hands. “She's gone.”

“When did you last see her?”

“I don't know.”

“Kelly, think carefully. When was the last time you spoke to her?”

“I don't remember.” She rubbed her forehead, clearly trying to force herself to think. “I called her after I noticed the money was missing, but she didn't answer. I called again, and her phone was switched off.”

“Did she tell you she was going somewhere?”

“No.”

“Did you see anything unusual when you came back?”

Kelly shook her head. “That's the problem. Everything looked normal. The door wasn't damaged, the windows were locked, and nothing was broken. There was no sign that anyone had forced their way inside.”

Torin remained silent for a moment, thinking through what she had told him. Kelly watched his face, waiting for some kind of answer, but he could see that her fear was growing again.

“What if something happened to her?” she asked.

“We don't know that anything happened to her.”

“But she's gone.”

“That doesn't automatically mean something happened.”

“She wouldn't just disappear.”

“You're sure?”

Kelly nodded immediately. “Yes. I know Tina. She wouldn't leave without telling me, especially now.”

Her voice became weaker toward the end of the sentence, and she looked away as tears began gathering in her eyes again. Torin moved closer and placed a hand on her shoulder. “We'll find out where she went. For now, you need to calm down enough to tell me everything you remember.”

Kelly gave him a tired look. “You make it sound easy.”

“It isn't easy,” Torin replied. “I'm just trying to keep you from making yourself more afraid than you already are.”

She stared at him for several seconds before giving a small, bitter laugh. “You always do this.”

“Do what?”

“Stay calm when everyone else is falling apart.”

Kelly studied him for a moment before lowering her eyes again. “I wish I could do that. I feel like my head is going to explode.”

“You don't have to hold everything together right now.”

She swallowed and looked at him again.

“I lost the money,” she said quietly. “Tina is missing, and I don't even know what I'm supposed to do.”

“You haven't lost anything until we know what happened,” Torin said. “And we don't know that Tina is in danger. We only know that she isn't answering her phone.”

Kelly's eyes filled with tears again. “What if you're wrong?”

“Then we'll deal with whatever we find.”

The certainty in his voice made Kelly fall silent. She continued looking at him, and after a few seconds, some of the tension in her shoulders finally began to ease.

“I was so scared when I realized everything was gone,” she admitted. “I kept thinking that I was going to have to deal with all of this alone. I didn't know who else to call.”

“You called me.”

“I know.”

“So you don't have to deal with it alone.”

Kelly looked down, and a tear rolled slowly down her cheek. She wiped it away, but another followed almost immediately. This time she didn't try to hide it.

“Why are you helping me?” she asked.

Torin was quiet for a moment before answering. “You called because you needed someone. I came because you needed someone.”

Kelly's expression changed at his words. She looked at him for a long moment, as though she had not expected such a simple answer.

“I really was scared,” she whispered. I thought I was completely alone.”

She slowly moved closer and rested her head against his shoulder. Torin didn't move away. He simply let her stay there while the apartment became quiet around them, his hand resting lightly against her shoulder.

For several minutes, neither of them spoke. Kelly's breathing gradually became steadier, and the trembling in her hands began to disappear. The small amount of alcohol she had consumed had taken the edge off her panic, but she was still completely aware of what was happening around her. She was simply exhausted from everything that had happened and from spending so long trying to keep herself together.

“I don't know what I would have done tonight if you hadn't come,” she murmured.

“You don't need to think about that.”

“But I was really afraid.”

Kelly lifted her head from his shoulder and looked at him. Her eyes were still wet, but the panic that had filled them earlier had been replaced by something quieter. She seemed to be searching for the right words, but nothing came.

Torin waited without pushing her.

“Thank you,” she finally whispered.

“You don't have to thank me.”

She remained close to him, looking into his eyes. For a moment, neither of them moved, and the silence between them felt different from before. Kelly's expression softened as she looked at him, and Torin could see how vulnerable she was in that moment.

She leaned toward him slowly, giving herself enough time to stop if she changed her mind, but she didn't. Her lips touched his in a brief, trembling kiss before she pulled back again. She stayed close instead of moving away, her eyes dropping as if she suddenly felt embarrassed by what she had done.

Torin remained silent, watching her.

Kelly didn't explain herself. She simply leaned against him again, resting her head against his shoulder as though the kiss had been less about desire and more about needing someone close to her after everything that had happened.

For the first time since he had entered the apartment, she seemed able to breathe normally. But is this enough?

Guys, a special discount for a week on Patreon is live. Discount code = 0955D : https://www.patreon.com/c/KDaddy935?vanity=user