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“I don’t know what to do.” Her voice is full of fear, and she’s talking so fast I can hardly understand her.
“What’s wrong?”
Drew immediately stands and pulls on his clothes, reaches for his own phone, and makes a call.
“I can’t find him,” she says, tears in her voice. “I went to the kitchen to make us sandwiches, and when I got back, he was gone. I thought he just went to the bathroom, but it took him forever, so I started looking, and I swear to God, he’s not in this house, London.”
“Breathe,” I instruct her, and follow my own advice, taking a deep breath, keeping the panic at bay. “You have to breathe, Quinn. I’ll call Rome to come over and help you.”
“I already did, and he’s on his way, but I had to call you. Where would he be? He was kind of pouty tonight because he didn’t get to go with you.”
“Did you check his bedroom? Maybe he just went to bed.”
“I’ve lookedeverywhere.In every closet, under every bed. I even went outside to search for him. He’s not here. Iknowhe’s not in this house.”
She’s starting to sound hysterical again, and Drew hurries over. “Quinn, this is Drew. Listen to me, okay?”
“Okay.” She sniffs, obviously wiping her nose.
“My uncle is a cop, and he’s on his way over there right now, along with my dad. Their names are Matt and Caleb, okay? Rome’s coming, too. You’re not alone. I want you to stay inside where it’s safe and keep looking for him. Maybe he’s hiding.”
“He wouldn’t hide from me.”
I can hear the despair in her voice, and my own strength cracks. My eyes fill with tears.
I have to focus, so I get off the bed and hurry to get dressed, and then I toss my things into my bag and struggle to close the zipper.
“I can hear cars,” she says through the phone. “It looks like two cars are pulling up.”
“Make sure you know who they are before you open that door,” Drew says, so calm and collected that I could just kiss the hell out of him.
“It’s Rome, and they said they’re Matt and Caleb. I’m letting them in.”
“Okay, London and I are on our way back. It’s going to take us a couple of hours to get there, and the cell service is sketchy, but keep us posted. Got it?”
“Got it.” She sounds stronger now that she’s not alone. “Thank you. London?”
“I’m here,” I reply and wipe a tear off my cheek. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Quinn. Remember that. I’ll be there soon, and if he’s hiding, he has some serious explaining to do.”
I hang up the phone, and all I can do is just stand here in the middle of the room.
“Oh, God, Drew.”
“Hey.” He pulls me against him, and we take this moment to just hold on to each other. “He’s fine. He’s just fine. Don’t beat yourself up about this.”
“I shouldn’t have come.”
“Bullshit.” My head comes up at the fierceness of that one word. “You told Quinn yourself that it’s not her fault, and it’s notyourfault either. We’ll figure this out, but you won’t make yourself sick with guilt. No way.”
“You’re right.” I nod and reach for my bag. “I have everything.”
“Let’s go.”
The drive is dark. Scarily dark. There aren’t even any stars in the sky as we make our way over the pass, through slushy snow, toward the city. Drew and I haven’t said much, but he’s held my hand and reassured me several times that everything will be okay.
He’s sostrong.He’s obviously a rock under pressure and in a scary situation.
And I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I’m completely in love with him.
