Page 80 of Yours on the Canvas

I shake my head. “Jack said he was bringing me lunch. He was supposed to be here over two hours ago, and he isn’t answering his phone or texts.”

I look up at them, concern on my face.

“I’ll try.” Deck pulls out his phone, but all I hear over the speaker is it ringing then hear it click to voicemail.

“Strange.” Deck mutters. “What did he say in his text”

“He told me he was going to the store, then grabbing lunch then he was going to come here and we were going to eat together.”

CJ fingers held his brow tightly. “Tell me what you said. Please tell me you didn’t brush him off.”

“I said, Okay. See you soon”

“Oh dude.” Deck starts laughing. “You fucked up.”

“What the hell do you mean?”

CJ starts laughing. “You gave him four words. Four words, Silas. That isn’t smart. Just wrong.”

“What the actual fuck are you two talking about?”

“Silas. Let me let you in on a little secret. Do not… and I mean do not, just give your partner one word or even four word answer. They want sentences, not fucking grunts.” Deck says, leaning on my desk. His voice full of humor and mockery.

“But that’s how I normally reply.”

“And he still likes you?” CJ says. “Holy shit. He’s more forgiving than Eli is.”

“And Finn.” Deck smiles, “I sent Finn a simple ‘Okay’ once. He had said he was waiting at home for me, and when I got home later that night he was gone. Left a note saying he was staying with Jack. Still don’t know what I did wrong.”

I smile quietly, because I knew. Finn had spent all day setting up a romantic night for the two of them, even brought some fancy male lingerie and Decks’ response had set him right off.

So, Finn left and spent the night complaining to Jack. I had been there when he had arrived. I may have mentioned that we could pull a prank on his lumberjack. Apparently that wasn’t the best thing to say at the time, and I barely escaped with my life.

I wave them off like the idiots they are. “Let’s get back to Jack missing. I’m worried; especially with his dad and uncle still in town.”

We had been keeping tabs of the two men, and we knew they were staying at a hotel in downtown Campbell River. They hadn’t made contact with Jack since the house, but I knew it was just a matter of time.

“Ring him again. Maybe he was in the shower or outside or something.” CJ suggests.

I pull up his contact and ring him again, but it goes to voicemail.

I stand, throwing my laptop in my bag and grabbing my jacket. “I’m going to his apartment. I need to talk to him.”

* * *

CJ and Deck pull in behind me, and we head straight up to Jack’s apartment. He had given me a key months ago, so I let myself in without knocking.

“Jack!” My voice cracks through the silence, loud and desperate.

Nothing.

I move quickly through the apartment, heading straight for his room; and what I see stops me cold. Jack never leaves anything out of place. Ever. But his room is a disaster. Drawers yanked open, clothes thrown across the bed, shoes abandoned in the middle of the floor.

My stomach drops.

I push into the bathroom. Same chaos. Products scattered across the basin, clothes on the tiles. It looks like someone tore through the space in a panic.

My heart lodges in my throat, and my breathing becomes near impossible. Panic slams into me so hard my knees almost buckle.