I had come back to the cottage to find the door open. The panic and dread that had filled me almost knocked the wind out of me. Elle’s purse sat on the kitchen counter and there was blood on the kitchen floor. Not a ton of blood but blood nonetheless. Retracing my steps and screaming for Elle I noticed more blood in the entryway just before the door. My heart had beaten so frantically that I clutched my chest to make sure it wasn't ripping through my ribs. Elle was gone. Elle had struggled. There was blood. I tagged my phone from my pocket and had called Jenna first hoping that she was there. That she was safe. She wasn't. Rage tore through me and I’d punched a hole in the bathroom door. I was frantic and wild with distress. Jenna had immediately hung up, called the police and Ben, and come over.

Ben and Jenna arrived at the same time followed shortly by the police to find me a sobbing wreck in the living room. I had failed her when she needed me most. The guilt of that swallowed me up whole and tore me apart. Jenna had managed to console me long enough to tell the police what I knew, which wasn't much.

30 Days