A/N: this chapter is basically happening at the same time as the previous chapter but in Berts point of view 😊

Chapter Song: Beyonce-Halo
Remember those walls I built
Well, baby, they're tumbling down
And they didn't even put up a fight
They didn't even make a sound
~x~

*Berts POV*
"Charley!" I called out into the darkness. "Charley, where are you!"

I stopped and listened, waiting for something, anything to suggest that there was someone out there. Nothing. I wanted to find her so badly, I hated how sad and cut off Sykes had become since she'd gone missing so I went out while he was in his bedroom so I could bring her back and surprise him.

I keep walking, my feet heavy on the twigs beneath me, the ruffling of leaves blowing in the wind.

'This is all my fault', I whisper, 'I should've been there for her.'

As I continue to berate myself, I hear a creak coming from further to my right. I stop in my tracks.

It sounded like a building moving in the wind, maybe Charley was in there!

I stepped cautiously towards the sound, careful not to make any sudden movements im case there was someone in the shadows, watching, waiting.

I keep going until I reach a dilapidated building that looked like it had been set alight years ago. The door was hanging off its hinges and the windows were cracked and smashed, glass covering the blackened patio.

I swung the door open, the hinges creaking, listening for any movement that could be coming from a human.

Walking into what seemed to be a kitchen area, I saw a knife that had been left on the counter and grabbed it, feeling slightly better now that I had some protection, and made my way to the stairs I had seen on my way in, nothing out of the ordinary downstairs.

Placing my feet carefully on the first step, testing the strength, I ascended slowly, still listening for any sound.

Checking through all the rooms I found nothing but a blackened mess everywhere, clothes thrown on the floor, some looked like baby's clothes, making me feel sad for a moment. What had happened here to make it look like this?

I almost gave up and decided to go back to the forest but I thought I might as well check the last room.

Walking in, I didn't see a thing, so I decided to just leave, nothing coming of my expedition.

I turned and as I began to walk out, I saw a mass of coloured clothing on the floor next to the bed, bright against the blackness.

I lifted my knife up and walked towards it, suddenly realising it was a human form. Their hands were chained behind them and they were slouched forward, their head in their lap, unmoving.

I slowly leaned forward and shook what I thought to be their shoulder but their head just flopped lifelessly. Maybe they had been drugged while their captor went about their life, acting seemingly normal, sick bastard.

I took my phone out my pocket to call an ambulance. As it connected, I saw the light hit something around their neck, catching my eye. I gently lifted her long hair from her face and my breath hitched.

It was a necklace, just like the one Sykes had given Charley for her 16th birthday. She never took it off.

My brain refused to process what I was seeing. My phone fell from my hand forgotten, while the dispatcher tried to get my attention.

Both my hands went to the figures shoulders, shaking urgently. Her head flopped again but she still didn't wake.

As I stared, my brain finally processed who I was seeing.

I pulled hard at the restraints, and grabbed her lifeless body as she fell forward, desperately checking for a pulse.

"Wake up!" I screamed, pulling her towards me, the dispatcher calling through the phone again, alerted by my screams.

I pulled her into my lap and desperately shook her, trying to get any reaction from her. But she was dead.

~x~

I jump up in bed, covered in sweat from the horrible nightmare I just had, my breathing heavy.

I drag myself into the bathroom and wash my face, trying to get myself out of the disorientated state I'm in.

I stare at myself in the mirror and I'm hit with a sudden feeling of loss and heartache thinking of the possibility of my nightmare coming true.

That's when I see what I had been trying to hide from myself all along, realisation dawning on me.

I loved her. I had fallen deeply, madly and helplessly in love with Charlotte Annalise Sykes.