Page 90 of The Pilot

“Oh no.”

Oh no, indeed. But Linc was done with this conversation. Kash wasn’t in Portland. Had never been in Portland. And he doubted Kash had actually texted this Brad person and told him he was sick. He’d been looking forward to the competition for weeks. He wouldn’t have ditched. Definitely didn’t run away, as he was sure the cops might suggest. Not that he’d blame them. Teenagers ran away all the time, then usually showed up back at home.

But that wasn’t what happened here. Something was wrong. Bad wrong.

“Thanks,” Linc said.

He heard the adviser stuttering and asking him to wait, but he hung up. He felt a little bad, but if the man didn’t have any intel, Linc was moving on.

“He didn’t answer,” Harper said.

Turning, Linc saw that she’d changed into jeans and a sweatshirt. Her hair hadn’t been brushed, and she was just as disheveled as she had been when she’d entered the kitchen the first time. Except now she looked on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Linc hated this. Wished he could take away her fear. Somehow reassure her. But he was just as freaked as she was.

Where the hell was Kash, and how were they going to find him?

Chapter Eighteen

Ginger hadn’t gotten better with time. Even though Kash had managed to get into another cabin and brought back a couple of cans of Spam, canned chicken, and even a can of SpaghettiOs, she was still as sullen and full of drama as she’d been their first night and all Saturday.

It was taking every ounce of Kash’s patience not to yell at her to shut the hell up.

Last night, they’d both slept on the couch again, and once more she’d huddled against him under the blankets. She’d cried herself to sleep, and while Kash was annoyed with her, he couldn’t deny her the comfort she’d so desperately sought.

She’d been awful to him, like usual, said some terrible things, but she was still human. And at the moment, so out of her element it wasn’t even funny. It was kind of hysterical that Kash, the boy who didn’t like the outdoors all that much, except to look at the sky, was the more experienced one in this situation.

Late last night, he’d left Ginger in the house—crying like usual—while he went out to stare up at the sky. The stars were brighter than he’d ever seen them, and he could even see the Milky Way without his telescope. It was awe inspiring, and if he was in any other situation than the one he was in, he probably would’ve enjoyed it a lot more.

But he was stressed. Even though he was prepared to spend several days, a week, even a month waiting to be found, he was still scared. He wanted his mom. It wasn’t a very cool thing to admit, but he wasn’t ashamed of how he felt.

And he also wanted Linc. He felt safe around the larger-than-life man who’d come into his world, and he knew without a doubt if Linc was there, he’d know exactly what to do. What to say to Ginger to make her feel better. How to find more water than the dozen or so bottles someone had left in their cabin for the winter.

Linc would also be worried, and Kash couldn’t help but wonder if they knew he was missing yet. That he hadn’t texted Brad to tell him he was sick. That he didn’t go to Portland.

There were cameras at the school, and eventually someone would think to look at them. They’d see him being led off the premises by Owen and Scott. Would maybe see Donny luring Ginger away. But would they make the connection? He wasn’t sure about that part. Plenty of kids knew Owen and Scott were good friends with Donny. They’d figure it out eventually. But how fast?

Sighing, Kash disentangled his arms and legs from Ginger’s and slipped out from under the blankets. He didn’t bother waking her up and asking if she needed to pee. Yesterday, she’d finally given in and done what she’d needed to do, then complained about it for at least an hour afterward.

Every time.

He went outside, peed against a tree, then quickly returned to the cabin. He had no way of heating up the SpaghettiOs, and was afraid to start a fire—not that he had anything to start it with, because it wasn’t as if he knew how to use sticks or whatever—so they’d have to eat the treat cold. But even thinking about the noodles in tomato sauce made Kash’s stomach clench with hunger.

If he was a different kind of person, he would’ve eaten the entire can at the other house right when he’d found it. Not brought it back to show Ginger. Even though she hadn’t been impressed, had wrinkled her nose at the mere thought of eating processed noodles, Kash wasn’t sorry he’d brought them back to share.

For the first time, he had an inkling of what his mom had probably gone through. Being hungry herself, but doing everything in her power to let him eat first. It was a huge sacrifice he hadn’t fully understood until now. Because everything in him was urging him to go out and find more food and keep it all to himself. Because Ginger sure wouldn’t appreciate his efforts. But he wouldn’t do that.

“I’m cold,” Ginger whined from the couch.

Kash sighed. It was going to be a long day. Week. Month. Whatever. But his mood was actually a little better regardless—because today was Sunday. Today was the day his mom and Linc and everyone else would realize he and Ginger were missing.

Maybe Donny would come pick them up, laughing at the scare he’d given them, sure he’d taught them a lesson. What lesson, Kash didn’t know, but at the moment he didn’t care. He just wanted to go home.

“I have breakfast,” he told Ginger, as he popped the top on the SpaghettiOs.

“I don’t want anything.”

For a split second, Kash’s hopes rose. He could eat the entire can by himself. But then common sense kicked in. She needed to eat something. He’d have to convince her.