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With Mom’s borrowed cell phone in hand, I step outside and call Zane. No reply. I frown.
Time to get a new cell. Meanwhile… I call Audrey to ask if she knows anything about Zane’s whereabouts.
“Hello?”
“Hi, girl! How is it hanging?” I grin.
“Dakota, is that you? I didn’t recognize this number.”
“It’s my mom’s cell. Mine died.” I start walking through the hospital corridors. I need to get out for a moment, breathe some fresh air that doesn’t smell of disinfectant and despair.
“Your mom’s?” Audrey sounds out of breath. “Where are you?”
“Janesville, at the hospital. My aunt is sick.”
“Janesville?” Something in Audrey’s voice makes me frown.
“Is everything okay?” I walk down another corridor. It’s a maze, and I’m lost. “Audrey?”
“Yeah, yeah. Just…” She huffs. “Is Zane with you?”
“No, why?”
“He’s not?”
“Audrey…” I stop in my tracks. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. Tyler says he was acting weird yesterday afternoon, and then he suddenly left Damage Control without telling anyone where he was going. But we didn’t worry much, because you’re staying with him, and we thought… We thought he was with you.”
My heart starts to hammer in my chest. “Well, he’s not here. I haven’t seen him since yesterday midday when I left town.”
“Crap.” A pause. “Did he say he was going somewhere? Did he say anything to you?”
“No. I thought he was with you guys.”
“Crap,” Audrey says again.
Holy freaking crap. I swallow down my irrational panic. “Maybe he forgot to charge his phone.”
“Yeah, but then where is he? He’s not at Damage Control, or with anyone we know. He won’t answer the door to his apartment, and the lock seems to be jammed.”
“What about his sister? Maybe he went to visit?”
“Midweek?” Audrey sounds skeptical. “Let me see if Ash has her number to call. Stay put, I’ll call you back.”
“Okay.”
The call disconnects, and I bite my lip. Worry has my stomach tied up in knots. Where is he? God, I hope he’s okay.
Sunlight pours through a glass door, and I head that way. Suddenly, being outside is a physical need. The walls are closing in on me. I ran to the door, open it and step out into a parking lot.
I suck in lungfuls of cool air and jiggle the cell in my hand, as if that will make it ring sooner. I pace the yard as I wait, walking between the cars, looking at the buildings rising beyond the fence.
When the cell finally rings, I almost drop it in my haste to answer. “Yeah?”
“Dakota. His sister died yesterday. His brother-in-law says Zane was at the funeral this morning, then he left to drive back to Madison.”
“Oh shit.” I bend over, a hand over my stomach. Jesus. “Could he…” God, please no. “An accident? Is it possible…?”
