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“What? I thought we were close enough.”
“Does it matter?” Mason shot back. “He’s covering his bases. I don’t know where we’re going to find him if we can’t get him to answer his phone or see his location.”
Henry wagged his finger at the device. “What about the last known location?”
“It doesn’t work that way. We’d have to call the phone company. And seeing as Carter isn’t a minor, I doubt we’re going to get them to spill any information.” Mason searched his thoughts for any ideas that would help him know what direction to look. The only thing he could come up with was that Carter wanted to go to the city. The closest city would be Colorado Springs. It was the most obvious choice but not the only one worth looking at. Mason nudged his brother. “Go check the jar. I’m gonna check his room for any signs. Then we’re headed to the city.”
“The city? You mean Colorado Springs?”
“It’s the closest one. I don’t think he’s got the motivation to make it work all the way out in Denver or one of the other bigger cities. He probably just wants to dip his toe—see what it feels like to have a little freedom.”
Henry scoffed. “Freedom? Doesn’t he understand that we grew up in the epitome of freedom? We didn’t have parents to breathe down our necks and tell us what to do. We didn’t have to listen to anyone lay down the law—”
“That might have felt true to you, but not Carter. He’s been bossed around by all of us. Most kids only have to impress and fall in line with two parents. Carter has nine older siblings. Do the math. He’s feeling suffocated.”
Henry threw his hand through the air. “He’s nuts if he thinks moving out on his own is going to be easier than it is living here. Everyone has each other’s backs here.”
“This isn’t about how you feel. This is about Carter. He’s been alienated for long enough that he found out a way to escape it. I don’t even know if we’re going to be able to get him back if we do find him.” Mason all but shoved Henry out into the hallway. “Now go check the jar and make sure no one catches on to what you’re doing. We don’t need anyone else poking around.”
“Are you guys talking about Carter?”
Mason and Henry jumped, spinning toward the end of the hallway where Caleb stood partially cast in shadow.
“Geez, Caleb! What are you doing spying on us like that?” Henry pointed a finger at Carter’s twin accusatorily.
“He’s gone,” Caleb said.
“Yeah, we know, that’s why we’re going to go looking for him.”
Mason’s eyes darted between his older brother and his younger one as they spoke.
“You’re not going to find him. He said he got some money and he’s going to make a life for himself far away from here.” The pain in the twin’s voice, who had been left behind, was palpable.
Henry charged forward. “You knew he was leaving and you didn’t tell anyone? You didn’t even try to stop him? What were you thinking?”
“Henry, leave him alone,” Mason warned.
“No! He’s an idiot if he thinks that letting Carter leave was a good idea. We can’t just let him think we’re abandoning him.”
Mason and Caleb stared at Henry, and that was when Mason realized what Henry was so upset about. This wasn’t about Carter starting off on his own. This was about losing another piece of their family.
Henry snapped his mouth shut, then stepped back. The silence that befell the hallway roared in Mason’s ears. He glanced toward Caleb and shifted closer. There was one thing that they had yet to try. “Has Carter stopped sharing his location with you?”
Caleb glanced at Henry, the hesitation written so clearly on his face.
Mason held out his hand. “Give me your phone. This is important, Caleb. We need to check on him. Whether either of you can accept that, we need to do something. I won’t make him come home if that’s what he wants. We just… let me make sure he’s okay.”
Caleb’s hesitation wavered. Then he pulled out his phone and placed it on Mason’s outstretched hand. “Don’t tell him I gave it to you.”
“Okay,” Mason promised.
* * *
“Do you really think he’s in there?” Henry said as they stood in front of the motel door. “What if he gave his phone to someone else to throw us off the scent?”
“He wouldn’t do that,” Mason argued.
“Why not? He left. We still don’t know where he got the money.”
