12. Chapter 12
twelve
Skye
“Skye. Skye? Miss Monroe, are you with us?”
Laughter detonates through the room, startling me. My eyes snap from the empty desk two rows to my left to my teacher at the front of the room.
“Oh, uhh, yeah, it’s… it’s…” I stammer, my face hot. I wasn’t paying attention. Neither to Genevieve’s Hamlet presentation nor the discussion after.
It’s Friday. Book report day. And Boston wasn’t here. Again.
It’s been days since he’s shown up to class and just as long since he’s responded to Jake’s and my text messages. And yeah, we’re getting worried.
All day, I’ve been trying to convince myself there’s a perfectly good reason for Boston’s absence, but that weird hollow feeling in my chest just won’t subside.
I’m the first to storm out of the classroom the second the bell rings, eager to find Jake and get an update.
A startled squeak escapes me when a hand closes around my wrist and pulls me behind the door. I only know it’s Archer by the scent of his expensive cologne because a single pink rose fills my vision. I take it and giggle.
“Where’d you get a flower?” Certainly not from outside. We got like four inches of fresh snow last night.
“I plucked it from a bouquet on Mrs. Bowman’s desk,” he says with a mischievous grin. “The flowers were so beautiful, they reminded me of you. Fuck, I missed you.”
I smile. “But we just saw each other before class.” And every waking minute before that.
He chuckles. “Yeah, well, I might be slightly obsessed with you. I can’t stand the idea of anyone else getting even an ounce of your attention.”
“Not even the teacher?”
“Anyone,” he says without even the ghost of a smile. Then, like a switch flips, his expression softens. “You excited for dinner tonight?”
I nod. “Excited and nervous.”
“You have nothing to be nervous about. My parents already love you.”
He relieves me of my bag, then leads me to my locker.
Jonathan, Pacey, and Lily are already congregating.
“Okay, so bad news: my parents won’t let me go to Afton unless there’s an adult with us,” Lily says about this snowboarding trip we’ve been chatting about all week.
“Mine won’t, either.” As soon as I told them it was an overnight trip with boys in attendance, the discussion was over.
“Aww, man,” Pacey whines. “What do they think’s gonna happen?”
Jonathan laughs. “You.”
“I bet I could get Lane to tag along,” Archer says of one of his older brothers.
“It’s football season. Isn’t he playing right now?” Pacey asks.
I’ve never met Lane. All I know is he’s nineteen and the kicker for the University of Pennsylvania football team.
Archer shrugs. “Yeah, but—”
“Guys!” Jake shouts, skittering to a halt in front of us.
“What’s happening, man?” Archer asks, an arm slung over my shoulder.
“I can’t find Boston,” Jake pants.
Jonathan frowns. “What do you mean?”
“Skye and I haven’t heard from him. Since Monday.”
I nod. “He hasn’t been in any of our classes.”
Lily shakes her head. “I haven’t seen him in homeroom, either.”
My chest feels too small for the organs housed there.
“He’s probably just sick,” Pacey offers. “There’s that nasty stomach bug going around. Had me down three days two weeks ago.”
“Today was his day to present in English,” I say, dismissing Pacey’s explanation. “This project counts for thirty percent of our grade in class. Mr. Lindgren said no make-ups. If you miss your day, it’s an automatic F on the project.”
Archer chuckles. “Sucks for Boston.”
I shoot him a look. “What’s your problem with him?”
Archer shrugs. “The guy’s a—”
“Have you tried calling him?” Jonathan asks.
“Yeah. I texted, too. Nothing.” Jake pulls out his phone again and starts typing.
Pacey shrugs. “You wouldn’t be texting either if you had it coming out of both ends every five minutes.”
“No, man,” Jake groans. “He’s not just sick. I mean, he’s not answering his phone. No texts. Not even a ‘Yo, I’m alive. Nothing. All week. All fucking week.”
All I can think about is Boston’s banged-up face on Monday. His split lip. What if something terrible happened to him?
“Okay?” Archer says, too flat.
Jake glares at him. “Skye and I have known Boss since we were, like, three. We’ve never gone more than a couple days without talking. Not even when his dad died.”
He locks eyes with me. “I stopped by his place last night. It was empty.”
For a second, the hallway wants to tilt, like I’m walking through a funhouse tunnel. “Empty?”
Jake nods.
Pacey stares at him. “Why the fuck didn’t you lead with that?”
Jake rakes a hand through his hair. “There was an eviction notice on the door. No lights, no furniture. When I looked through the mail slot… the place was bare.”
“Eviction notice?” Archer repeats. “I didn’t know his mom was renting.”
I can’t believe that’s what he’s latching on to.
Jake stares at him. “Why the fuck does that matter?”
“It doesn’t,” Archer says, backing off with a raised hand. “I just didn’t know Boss lived in an apartment.” I don’t miss the smirk on his lips.
“They lived at the Apple Orchard Apartments on Willard Road,” I say.
“Maybe they just moved?” Jonathan says. “That would explain the whole MIA thing.”
Jake doesn’t look convinced. “You don’t think he maybe would’ve mentioned that on Monday?”
I get an idea. “I’ll check with the office. If they moved, the school would’ve been notified, right? Maybe I can get Miss Carry to tell me something.”
I don’t wait for approval, just turn and march to the office. I need to get to the bottom of this.
Luckily, Miss Carry is at the front desk.
About five years ago, my mom helped her leave a bad situation and even let Miss Carry and her baby stay with us for a while.
I’ve never used this special connection to my advantage before, but Boston not showing up—and going completely radio silent—kind of calls for drastic measures.
“Hi Miss Carry,” I chirp, approaching with the friendliest smile I can muster.
She beams. “Hi Skye, how are you, sweetheart? Friday treating you well?”
“Very well, thank you.” I lean in, lowering my voice. “Miss Carry, I wanted to ask you something. I know you probably can’t say much, but… I’m really worried about a friend. Boston Rawlings. He hasn’t been at school all week, and nobody’s heard from him. It’s just… not like him.”
She tilts her head, thoughtful. “Oh, Skye, I’m not really supposed to—” She glances over her shoulder. Then lowers her voice. “Okay. What’s the last name again?”
“Rawlings. Boston. He’s a senior.”
She types something, then squints at the screen. “I have Boston’s home address as 7000 Willard Road, Apartment 207.”
I nod. “That’s his old address. I think he may have moved?”
She scrolls again. “All his absences this week are unexcused. A truancy notice just went out today.”
I frown. “Well, that’s not going to help if the school doesn’t even have his new address.”
She gives me a sympathetic smile. “It’s not uncommon. If a family moves quickly, they don’t always notify us. I’m sure your friend will reach out soon.”
I thank her and leave the office. My friends and Archer are huddled just outside it.
Jake accosts me immediately. “Well?”
I fill them in.
Jake clearly doesn’t buy it. “No fucking way. Boss wouldn’t just leave without telling me.” He drags a hand over his face. “This is all so… Kafkaesque.”
Archer blinks. “It’s what now?”
“Kafkaesque,” I repeat.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Archer grunts.
“It’s like… when something’s super confusing and feels wrong, but you can’t fix it,” I say softly.
Jake groans. “Boss wouldn’t ghost us. Not like this. Not unless something’s seriously fucked.”
“Jesus, you guys need to calm down,” Pacey says gently. “Remember after his dad died? He moved and didn’t say anything for weeks. Maybe his mom’s going through something again.”
“Yeah,” Jonathan adds. “You know how private Boss is. Let him come back on his own time.”
Jake sighs, defeated. “I guess.”
I want to hug him.
But I don’t.
Archer’s standing right next to me, our hands already entangled again, and he made it clear: no hugging other guys. I want to respect that. I’m his girlfriend, after all.