Chapter Text
Conrad had left early for his morning jog. It was his favorite time of day—well, except for when he got to see Belly, of course. He liked running; it cleared his head and helped him start the day in the best way possible.
Belly, on the other hand, liked to start her mornings slow. Relax in bed a little, maybe read. Make her coffee, get ready, ease her way into the day.
It worked best for them this way. By the time Conrad came back from his run, Belly was just waking up, and they usually took a shower together.
This particular morning, Belly woke up with a weird taste in her mouth. She got up and went to the bathroom, brushed her teeth, used mouthwash—but still, the bitter taste lingered. His side of the bed was empty and cold, but that didn’t surprise her. He was methodical about his runs. Once or twice in the time they’d been together, he had surprised her by staying in bed, waking her up with kisses and cuddles. She loved those mornings and always hoped it would be one of those mornings whenever she was about to wake up.
Today, she found a little note on her bedside table.
I’ll be back by 8 with warm muffins. Wait for me to have breakfast. I love you.
-C
He was always way too good to her. Always spoiling her. She’d tried to argue with him, but he’d had none of it.
'I like to spoil you—and I’m allowed to' he’d said.
She didn’t argue anymore and let him do it. 'If it makes you happy, then it makes me happy' he’d argue. And that was that.
It was a beautiful day for lazing around. They had come back to Cousins to get some relaxing time before their work lives took over again. Conrad was starting his first year of fellowship, and it was going to be a lot. So, prioritizing their time together was special—important.
Belly went downstairs and started the coffee. The fog had almost completely cleared by now, and the sun was starting to peek through the clouds. It really was the perfect time for a run, with the sun not too high and the crisp morning air still fresh.
The big house was quiet with only her in it, but she liked that. This was her time in the morning. Jeremiah and Denise were maybe coming in a couple of days. Jere still needed to get the time off from the restaurant—with summer being their busiest season—but they were hoping he could at least come for two days.
Belly looked at the clock. 7:50. Conrad was surely on his way. She couldn’t wait to see him; he always looked so hot after his runs—hair sweaty, cheeks flushed, breathing heavy. Sign her up. Belly couldn't help but smile at the thought.
She couldn’t believe how fast time was passing. It had been almost three years to the day since they got together. Which meant her birthday was just a few days away.
Long distance had been hard—really hard—especially their first year together. But in hindsight, it had made them stronger. Poorer, with their bank accounts depleted from all the traveling, but infinitely stronger, more confident, and more certain that this was always meant to be.
They were infinite.
She reread the note and checked the clock again. 8:02.
That was weird.
Conrad was always on time—so much so that it sometimes infuriated her. 'What’s a couple minutes late, Connie?' she used to tease. But Conrad was punctual. Always had been.
Still, they were on vacation. There was no rush.
None at all.
I just miss him, Belly thought. And the bitter taste in her mouth grew stronger.
She kept herself busy, cutting up fruit for breakfast, taking out the yogurt, granola and the eggs. Yeah, she was one of those people now, the ones who start their day with a full balance meal —and she blamed Conrad entirely.
'It’s the most important meal of the day; he always told her. You need to eat well'.
She couldn’t deny that she felt more energized in the mornings now, but she’d never tell him that. Because next he’d want her to join his morning runs, and that would be just insane.
She grabbed her phone and called Taylor, hoping she’d be awake. It rang twice before she picked up.
“Hi, B. Morning,” Taylor said, rubbing sleep from her eyes.
“Good morning, sleepyhead. How are you?”
“Good. Sleepy,” Taylor groaned.
“I just wanted to check if you guys are still coming on Friday? I’m going grocery shopping and want to get enough for all of us.”
“Yeah, yeah, we’re going. Steven gets out of the office at twelve—he’s taking a half day—so we’ll be there by six or seven I guess.”
“Awesome. Sounds good. Still not sure about Denise and Jere, but we’ll see. If not, maybe we can do the Fourth here this year.”
After years of not being home—because yes, Cousins was like her second home, the first being Conrad—she wanted to spend every possible second in this house, making new memories. Especially happy ones.
They chatted for a while, and Belly didn't look a the time the entire time until Taylor said goodbye.
8:21 AM
Conrad was still a no-show.
I’ll call him, she thought. Why keep waiting? He always took his phone with him, but she didn’t like to call him during his runs. This was his time. Still, she caved.
It rang once. Twice. Three times.
“You have reached the phone of Conrad Fisher. Please leave a message at the end of the beep. Beep.”
The mechanical voice made her chuckle. He could be such an old man sometimes. He refused to change his voicemail. Said he liked the artificial lady’s voice—old-school answering machine vibes.
She tried again. Straight to voicemail.
The day was getting weirder by the second.
Not knowing what else to do, she took a shower. Maybe he’d be back by the time she finished.
She preferred showering with him, but worst-case scenario, she’d take two showers that day. She just needed something to do while she waited.
She wiped the fog from the mirror. It had been a fantastic shower—very hot, just the way she liked it.
'Why are we showering with boiling water? ' Conrad complained often. 'Seriously, Belly, what is your skin made of? There is no scientific answer how you can handle this. You’re a mystery.'
It was one of their most frequent arguments—silly, but real. She loved her showers extra hot, and he was endlessly amazed by her tolerance.
She put on her robe and wrapped her hair in a towel when a sudden gust of wind made a branch screech against the bathroom window.
“Fuck, that scared me,” she said, jumping in front of the mirror.
The wind had picked up a lot, while she was in the shower. She tried to look out the window, but the morning fog had not cleared all the way and was still thick.
Belly walked into the hallway. It was chilly now, though she wasn’t sure why. Then she heard a rattle downstairs—the creak of a hinge, like a door opening.
That must be Conrad. He was back already, she’d taken her time with an everything shower, and those could take thirty minutes at least, now everything was starting to make sense.
“Baby is that you?” she called down the stairs.
Only the wind answered.
The scene played out like the start of a horror film. The damsel all alone in a big house and the door opens by itself. It would’ve been creepier if it were night, but it was barely 9 a.m., and it was still too creepy for her liking.
“Connie?” she tried again.
Nothing.
She got dressed quickly and ran downstairs. Sure enough, the wind had blown the back door open. If it wasn’t locked just right, that happened sometimes. Conrad must have forgotten to lock it when he left.
The kitchen clock seemed louder than usual, and it grew louder by the second.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
Minutes passed. An hour gone. Still no Conrad.
The bitter taste was gone but now replaced by a sharp twist in her stomach—a nausea that spread into her chest.
I’ll call again; she told herself. Maybe he ran an extra mile. Maybe there was a long line at the bakery. She tried to come up with a logical explanation.
Voicemail again.
Fuck.
They weren’t a jealous couple at all. Still, because of the long distance and safety reasons, they shared locations. Belly rarely checked it—he’d never given her a reason to.
She opened the app. It showed him in the middle of the road not far from the house.
Oh. He’s on his way. I was being silly.
She waited a few minutes and checked again.
Same spot.
He hadn’t moved.
The wind burst through the kitchen door again, flinging it wide open. The sky had taken a dark gray color, heavy clouds rolling in.
Ominous, she thought. And I don't like this one bit.
She checked the app once more. It wouldn’t reload.
“Baby where are you?” she whispered.
Now she was really scared.
She couldn't wait any longer, so she grabbed her phone again, but this time she didn’t call Conrad. Sometimes he talked to Agnes during his runs, and if she was on call or just finishing a shift, they’d catch up. Belly took a chance and dialed her. Thamkfully she did pick up quickly.
“Hi, Belly. How is it going?”
“Agnes— quick question. Have you talked to Conrad this morning? Sorry—good morning. How are you?”
“Yeah, actually. I talked to him about an hour ago. Why?”
“It’s probably nothing, but he left me a note saying he’d be back by eight, and he still isn’t here. I tried calling him—straight to voicemail. I’m starting to freak out.”
“I’m sure he’s on his way back. Don’t worry.”
“Aggie, you know he’s never late. Like, never. It’s almost—” she checked the clock. “—9:37. And he didn’t call. It’s weird.”
“Yeah… that is weird. Have you checked his location?”
“I did, but now the app is down. I don’t know what to do. I think I’ll take the car and try to find him. Maybe he twisted his ankle or something.”
“Okay. I’m going in for my shift, but I’ll keep my phone on. Call me if anything changes.”
“I will. I’ve gotta go.” Belly hang up the phone and said a prayer, to whomever was listening. "Please, let him be okay."
The note was on the kitchen counter.
I’ll be back by 8 with warm muffins, it read. A simple promise that she knew he would keep.
Belly folded it once and slipped it into her pocket before grabbing the car keys and headed out, determined to find him.
Something was wrong.
She just didn’t know what yet.