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Beads of sweat rolled down Buck’s forehead as his body once again surrendered to sleep, only to jolt awake moments later. It had become routine ever since he first awoke in this dingy basement, arms tied around a support beam with what he could only imagine was tape.
On a normal day, Buck would have been able to free himself easily from his restraints, having plenty of practice in more enjoyable scenarios, but this was far from pleasant. Even the slightest movement activated a searing pain throughout his body from injuries he couldn't recall sustaining.
He can barely remember anything before waking up here; his mind is foggy, and all his focus is on staying awake. He recalls Maddie telling him how she survived after being taken before her rescue. She remained alert and seized every opportunity to survive. He had to do the same.
The lack of windows in his surroundings made it impossible to know the time or how long he had been there. Was Maddie worried about him? He didn't want to worry her; he and Eddie had chosen to go on a road trip so they could get home quicker since all the Nashville flights had been cancelled. Wait, Eddie.
He had been on a road trip with Eddie.
He remembered now. He was travelling home with Eddie to make it in time for Hen's birthday. He can't miss another one, he just can’t…
Buck began to squirm against his restraints, hissing out groans of pain as he did so. But even that wasn't going to deter him; he kept repeating in his head that he needed to be home for Hen’s birthday, and he needed to find Eddie.
Buck froze.
What if his kidnapper had also taken Eddie? Buck slowly craned his neck to the side, searching the damp-smelling room in case he had missed him in his pain-induced delirium.
No luck.
If Eddie had also been taken with him, he wouldn't have been in the room with him.
What felt like hours passed, and Buck was no closer to loosening his restraints. It was no use; he was too weak and growing weaker without medical help. He could only hope that wherever Eddie was, he was faring better than he was.
___
The soft beeping of a heart monitor gently awoke Eddie from his sleep—the bright, sterile lights causing him to close his eyes again immediately. The atmosphere, mixed with the pinching pain in his arm, was enough for Eddie to recognise he was in hospital.
Before he could think further, a firm knock had him hesitantly opening his eyes again. A nurse, followed by two police officers, entered the room.
“Good afternoon, Mr Diaz,” the kind-looking nurse said. “These officers would like to talk to you about your accident,” she continued, gesturing towards them.
“Accident,” Eddie repeated the nurse’s words croakily. That's right; he had been in the car with Buck when the car behind them had rammed into theirs, causing them to flip.
“Mr Diaz, we have a few questions regarding what happened, which we highly suspect wasn't an accident,” the older officer began.
“That's because it wasn't,” Eddie responded before clearing his throat and sitting upright. “My memory may be a bit foggy right now, but I can for sure remember a truck knocking me off the
road,” Eddie finished.
The officers hastily wrote down Eddie's words.
“Nurse, how is my friend?” Eddie asked, the nurse giving him a concerned expression in response.
“Friend?” the younger officer asked.
“Yes, my friend who was in the car with me,” Eddie replied, searching the room with his eyes for more information. They only reflected his own concerned glances.
“There was no one else in the car when we found you,” the younger officer stated, clearly questioning how hard the impact had affected his brain.
“That doesn't make any sense. Buck was in the car with me; I'm not crazy.” Eddie's volume increased, returning to his voice, though that wasn't even enough to convince the officers.
“I can prove it, my friend Buck, Evan Buckley, and I were travelling back from Nashville together, and we sent pictures to our son Chris. If I just had my phone, I could show you!” Eddie yelled, eyes flitting across the room.
Silence enveloped the room, the only sound being Eddie's heart monitor that had increased in speed as he grew more panicked and agitated.
How was he going to tell Chris? What was he meant to say to Maddie? Eddie buried his head in his hands. He hadn't noticed the nurse leave the room and return, holding his phone.
“Mr Diaz, the paramedics managed to salvage your phones from the car wreck”, the nurse spoke softly. Eddie looked up and recognised not only his own but also Buck’s phone in the nurse's hand.
“That's Buck’s phone,” he pointed
“Oh, we do apologise, we believed them to both be yours as they both have the same screensaver, your son, I presume.” The elder officer replied. Eddie held the phones in his hands and stared at the twin wallpaper, a picture of Christopher on the makeshift skateboard he and Buck had made together. A ghost of a smile appeared on his face before abruptly changing.
“I don’t need apologies, I need you to find Buck”, he yelled, causing a pain to radiate in his abdomen.
“I believe you need to rest now, Mr Diaz”, the nurse chastised; however, Eddie didn’t deflate back into the bed. He couldn’t trust the incompetent officers standing before him; they were far away from Athena. That's when it hit him: he needed to call Athena. He also had to tell Maddie her little brother was gone…
“You’re right, I must rest,” Eddie responded. The nurse smiled and handed Buck’s phone to the officer before ushering them back out of the room. Eddie watched them leave before swiftly going through his phone contacts. He debated on his first call, landing on Maddie, who needed to hear the news first.
After two rings, Maddie cheerfully answered the phone.” Hi Eddie, if you’re calling because Buck is making your ears bleed from singing, I’m unable to save you, you chose to go on a cross-country road trip with him” Maddie laughed.
Eddie took a shuddering deep breath.
“Maddie… there was an accident”, Eddie managed to verbalise. He couldn’t count the number of people he'd given bad news to about their loved one, yet never had it been this hard. With the others, he had known he had done his best to save them, but he didn't even know where Buck was.
“Eddie, you're scaring me. What kind of accident?” Maddie began to panic.
“We were in a car accident,” Eddie stated.
“Oh my god, what hospital are you both in? I will be there as soon as I can,” Maddie rambles.
“No, Maddie, you can't. Buck isn't in the hospital; he's missing. The police officers I just spoke to didn't even realise a second passenger was in the car”, Eddie explained
“That doesn't make any sense. Buck would never have left you in the car alone,” Maddie stated.
“I know”, he responded despondently.
The phone line remained silent for a moment. As both sat with the fact that Buck would never have gone off by himself, meaning someone likely took him…
“I've messaged Athena, she's coming to dispatch, and we will call you back together,” Maddie spoke in the same determined tone he had heard in Buck when he was willing to do anything for the people he loves.
“Ok, and I will begin the search”, Eddie replied.
“No!” Maddie said firmly, “Focus on getting better. Buck wouldn't want you to get yourself further injured. Promise you will stay in the hospital”
“Ok, I promise, I will speak to you later,” Eddie replied, deciding if it was better not to argue.
After finishing their goodbyes, Eddie sat silently in the hospital room, knowing there was no way in hell he was going to uphold his promise to Maddie.
He needed to find Buck.