“I'm sorry.”

The note flutters down, seemingly innocent, unaware of the hearts it had broken. The air was silent, tense…stifling. Fifteen years as a group, twenty years of brotherhood, but it could not have prepared them for this. ‘Was I blindsided?’ floated through everyone’s minds.

Nobody moved. At that moment, the phrase “Ignore it til it goes away" blared through their hearts. Where do they go from here? How can they recover from this? Could they recover from this?

The managers’ murmurs approaching from the hallways felt unreal. Any second now, someone would have a solution. This simply could not be the reality. Their entire beings rejected it as an illusion.

It was a blur, the quick ride to the company, the board meeting, and the group meeting. Several of them had been reduced to staring off into space; some barely mumbling out an assent or dissent to the topics discussed. They had been given a week off, a member's fake injury as a cover-up. That excuse would not hold for most, as they were known as the group who did things “separately but together.” 

But it might be enough. Just enough for them to pick up the clues, pick up the pieces… and maybe even find him at the end.

They ambled into the same car, still out of it, still disbelieving. Maybe this was an alternate reality. Maybe their alarms would jolt them out of it at any moment. A lot of things ride on the maybe's of life, and that maybe gave their sinking hearts lifeline.

How far will you go for someone you love?