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I want to punch a fucking wall. “Youknewher name? Why didn’t you say so?”
“Well, I dunno. You didn’t ask for her name. Plus, I didn’t know it really. I just heard Kit say something like that. Like Ria, or Reena, something like that…” She steps back from the fury in my eyes. “Bobby, I didn’t know…”
Forgetting her, I sprint out the front doors and dive into the car. Rita. She was talking to Rita. As soon as Jack slides in beside me, I turn to him. “Where do we go? Where do we find Rita?”
“I don’t know. To her mom’s house, I guess. Head across town.”
Aiden starts the car and speeds back onto the street, and only minutes later, we come roaring onto a rundown street with shitty houses and overgrown weedy yards.
“Number forty-three.” Jack points toward a house with a built-in veranda. Several couches litter the covered space, and a half dozen beat up cars clutter the front lawn.
As soon as we pull in, I jump out of the car and storm toward the front door. I’m thumping the door with a closed fist and much more force than necessary when the others catch up to me; Jack always my second. I slam my fists down so hard, the rickety wooden door moves and the lock flexes, but still, no one answers.
“Is there anywhere else they could be? Any houses, trailers, cabins? Anywhere you’d hang out as kids?”
“No, I don’t know.” Jack rubs a hand over his face. “I don’t think so. Last I heard, Chris was staying here with them. His folks kicked him out ages ago. I don’t know where else they could be.”
“Alright. I’m going inside. You stay out here with Jon.” I’m freaking out, but I’m still conscious of the fact he’s only fifteen years old. No matter how grown he thinks he is, this is still his family. I don’t know what to expect inside this shit hole, but whatever it is, Jack doesn’t need to see it.
“No! I want to come inside with you.”
“Stay with Jon. I’m taking Aiden with me, so my best friend needs someone to have his back. Don’t let me down, okay? I’m counting on you to not let him get hurt. Stay here, and whoever we find inside, we’ll send them out. Stop them if they run. They may know where your sister is.”
I turn back to the door and prepare myself to maybe find Kit on the other side. I’m terrified that I’ll find her. I’m terrified I won’t.
Three.
Two.
One.
I raise my foot and slam the heel down onto the lock. Metal and wood chips flick back and nick my skin, and when I step into the house, I check every dark corner in search of her. I watch Aiden from the corner of my eyes – because grown or not, he’s still my little brother and I’ll be damned if I see his blood on the ground tonight, too.
I slowly walk through to the living room and stop at the middle-aged woman passed out on the couch. The TV flickers in the dark and illuminates her slack face, and as I step warily closer, I stop at the sight of used needles littering the coffee table between her and a guy passed out on a recliner.
“Needles.” I look back to Aiden. “Be careful.” He nods and cautiously steps around the trash on the floor. “Wait here, okay? I just wanna do a quick walk through, but I don’t think anyone else is here. They would’ve come out by now. We weren’t quiet.”
Without waiting for his answer, I walk toward the kitchen, step over and around filth that covers the floor, and do my best not to touch anything that I don’t have to. I threw on a hoodie to fight off the cold in the gym, so I pull the sleeves down to cover my hands and open each and every door, looking in every space where Kit could be hiding.
I won’t mess this up. I won’t step around her accidentally and walk away and leave her here.
I walk through three bedrooms in total, plus a bathroom. I stop at a solid door and test the handle. Locked. With narrowed eyes, I step back and slam my foot down on the handle. Again, wood splinters back and the door flips open. Stepping in quickly and looking around, I find nothing but a shitty bed with dirty covers, foil on the window, and a couple of pathetic weed plants wilting in the corner. I check the closet and second bathroom. Nothing. Backing out, I move out the back door and through the yard.
This house is fucking disgusting, and my skin crawls with the filth surrounding me. I wind my way back to the front and scare the shit out of Jon and Jack when I emerge from the prickly bushes.
Jack’s face falls when he realizes I’m alone.
I know, kid, I fucking know.
“Aiden!” I call out. “Come out the front. No one’s here.” He sprints out the door before I finish my sentence. His skin is crawling, too. I turn to Jon. “Can you call the cops? There were a couple of unconscious junkies in there.”
“No Kit?”
I shake my head at her little brother’s defeat. “No Kit. We keep looking.”
Where are you, baby?
