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Atlas
IgroanedasI kicked off my shoes near the front door. The house was dark and quiet. I flicked on the lights and rolled my shoulder, wincing at the pulse of pain from my back muscles. I’d been feeling great since Wren’s last massage, but maybe it was time for another. It had been a long, long day and both my brain and my body were worn and sore.
I placed my keys on the long sofa table and fished the folded piece of paper from my back pocket. I stared at it, then carefully opened it up. My father stared at me from the picture on his ID. Under that, I’d printed out the name and address of the care facility he was living at. It had taken me longer than anticipated to find his current place of residence, but there it was. Printed out in black and white.
I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it.
I sighed and folded the paper back up, pulling out the long drawer we used as a proverbial junk drawer that only I ever used and tossed it inside. I hadn’t told Ty that I’d found him. I wasn’t completely sure Ty even cared to know.
I snapped the drawer closed and pulled out my phone to shoot Wren a text as I walked to my room to shower and change. She’d worked the lunch shift, so she was probably home, and I wanted to see her before she went to bed for the night. Maybe I could even coax a massage out of her.
I took a quick shower and changed, but still hadn’t gotten an answering text from her. Frowning at my phone, hair dripping wet, I tapped on her name and called her. It rang until I got her voicemail.
I hung up before leaving a message. She hadn’t had her phone for long, but she usually answered me quickly. Maybe she’d fallen asleep already. I checked the time, but it was before nine. Which would be very early for her to be asleep. Worry prickled at the back of my neck. I hadn’t gotten the chance to say goodbye to her at the grill. She hadn’t even brought me my food, which was strange, but I’d been too distracted to worry about it.
I grimaced, thinking of the source of that distraction. Liv Johnston. She was a large part of the reason my day was long and taxing. The last thing I had expected was her walking up to me at the grill and hugging me like she had. We’d dated in the past, sure, but she apparently had been on a whole different page than me.
I pocketed my phone, pushing away thoughts of Liv from my mind as I left my room and headed toward the back door. I glanced out at the guest house, but it was dark.
I pushed back my wet hair impatiently, not able to shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.
I rushed to the door of the garage, opening it to check if the truck was parked. It was. Ty’s vehicle wasn’t there, but the truck was where it was supposed to be. With a huff, I closed the door and headed outside. Wren most likely was sleeping, but it was strange she hadn’t told me she was home, or that she was going to bed early for the night. She usually waited for me to get off work these days.
As I stepped up to the door of the guest house, self-consciousness rose inside me as I readied myself to knock. Was I being too overbearing? Wren was her own person; she didn’t need to let me know every little thing she was doing.
And yet, this was out of the ordinary. Things out of the ordinary spiked concern, and I was just here to double-check she was okay. I would leave her alone as soon as I knew she was safe. It might not be my business what she did, but I did have an obligation to make sure that she was okay.
I knocked hard on the door before I talked myself out of it.
There was no response. No movement from within.
I knocked again, even harder. Still nothing. I pounded my fist as hard as I could on her door and shouted her name for good measure. I almost turned around to fetch my spare key when I decided to check the doorknob. It was unlocked.
I froze, my heart galloping, but my body steadied in the face of danger. My hair stood on end, as if my body sensed something was there. I didn’t have my weapon on me, and I cursed myself for it. Cautiously, I pushed open the door, standing slightly out of the way. I peered inside. The darkness was thick, but I didn’t hear any movement. I reached in and flipped on the lights.
The house appeared empty. No one was in the bed. The bathroom door was open and the room dark.
Wren wasn’t there.
I closed the door of the guest house with a curse. As I marched back toward the main house, I grabbed my phone and called Ty.
“Heyyy, Atty,” he answered, voice slurred.
I grimaced at the obnoxiously loud background noise: blaring music and what sounded like multiple people yelling and talking. He was at a party and had had a few. Great.
“Ty,” I said tightly. “I can’t get hold of Wren. She’s not in the guest house and the truck is here. Do you have any idea where she could be?”
There was a pause as what sounded like a girl shrieked in the background, followed by a burst of giggles. “Uh, actually, yeah. I know exactly where she is.”
Relief flooded me, and my shoulders lost some of their tension. “Where is she? Is she all right?”
Another pause.
I tapped my foot.
“Yeah, sure. She’s fine.”
Something about the hesitation in his tone had my fingers clutching my phone. “Where is she?”
