Thirty-one
I drive around town for almost an hour searching for Oakley, looking in all the spots where I think he might be.
The school, the diner, the public library. I even make the trip back to that clearing he took me to, hoping that maybe he decided to go there to clear his head or something.
No luck.
Feeling helpless, I pull into the Police Department’s parking lot. A flash of deja vu hits me as I stare out at the row of cruisers parked in front of me, but I shake it off and unbuckle my seat belt. It’s quiet when I step inside, save for the low hum of chatter and the steady drip of the coffee pot. Nothing ever really happens in this town, and I’m sure the PD spends their time feeling bored more than anything else.
I approach the lady at the front desk, trying to tamp down my frantic fidgeting as she stares me down over the rim of her glasses. “Is Chief Farrow here? I need to speak with him.”
“He’s in the back,” she says, voice flat. “What’s this about?”
I swallow hard. “His nephew. He’s missing.”
She lifts a brow and raises the phone sitting on the desk to her ear, speaking in hushed tones. A minute later, Chief Farrow rounds the corner, stopping short at the sight of me.
“Asher?” he asks, confused. “What’s going on?”
Like a bomb going off, all the emotion I’ve been holding at bay comes pouring out. “It’s Oakley,” I choke out, tears sliding down my face. “I don’t know where he is. He was supposed to come to a party I was throwing last night, but he never came and Sienna hasn’t seen him, either. I can’t find him anywhere. I’m really worried that something’s happened to him.”
He stares at me for a minute, the cogs in his mind turning. Then, he jerks his chin toward the door and I follow him outside.
“You shouldn’t have come here,” he hisses as soon as we’re out of earshot.
My eyes bug out, shock rendering me speechless for a beat. “What?”
“I know about what was going on between you two. And you coming here, crying about Oakley, is only gonna make people talk.”
“He’s missing,” I shout. “He could be hurt. Don’t you care?”
He holds up a hand. “Take it down a notch. Of course I care. But, I’m sure Oakley’s fine. He does this sometimes, just disappears without telling anyone. He loves the attention.”
I frown so hard that it makes the pounding in my head worse. “That doesn’t sound like Oakley at all.”
“Then, I guess you don’t know him very well.”
I shake my head, unable to believe any of this for even a second. I do know Oakley, better than anyone. He’d never do this to me, make me worry like this. Or April. He loves his sister so much, thinks the absolute world of her. He’d never leave her.
I take a step closer, ready to beg on my hands and knees if I have to. “Please. You need to help me. Someone was hurting him. Really hurting him. They could’ve got to him again. They could have done some serious damage this time. We need to find him.”
Just when I think I’ve gotten through, Chief Farrow shuts me down again. “There’s nothing I can do. When he wants to be found, he will.” He claps me on the shoulder. “Go home, Asher.”
My shoulders slump, defeat like a lead weight pulling me down. I can’t breathe, can’t think. All that I know is that I’ve failed. If Chief Farrow won’t help me, there’s no way I’ll be able to find Oakley on my own.
I’ve let him down. Again.
I turn and walk away, my footsteps heavy and sluggish, the sound of my sneakers hitting the concrete echoing in my ears. I unlock my car and go to open the driver door, but as soon as my fingers grip the handle, another officer comes flying out of the station.
“Chief,” he shouts, his frantic tone making my blood run cold. “Chief, it’s your nephew. They found him in the woods, over by the junkyard. And he’s hurt real bad. They’ve taken him to the hospital.”
I don’t even wait for Chief Farrow to respond. I just climb inside my car and hit the gas, flooring it all the way to the hospital.
I’m coming, Oakley.
* * *
Chief Farrow arrives at the hospital just a couple of minutes after me, walking in right as I’m getting ready to throw-down with the desk clerk for not letting me in due to their ‘family only’ policy.
“It’s fine, Darren,” the Chief says. “He’s with me.”
Begrudgingly, Darren nods and leads us back into Oakley’s room. I make it as far as the doorway before I freeze, everything inside of me shattering at the sight of him.
He’s in the bed, hooked up to all kinds of wires and tubes. His face is ghostly pale, so unlike my Oakley, with a giant bandage wrapped around his head. I’ve seen him hurt before, seen him battered and bruised, but nothing like this. This is… terrifying.
It’s like I’m underwater, all the sounds around me muffled and unclear. The beeping of the machines, the doctor’s voice as he tells Chief Farrow what they know. I can make out a few words - head injury, possible brain bleed, coma - and all they do is make my fear grow, make my tears fall faster and harder. My knees buckle and I hold onto the wall for support, hand flying to my mouth as a sob crawls up my throat.
Someone leads me to a chair beside the bed and my shaking hand grabs onto Oakley’s cold one, squeezing his fingers as my chest heaves.
He’s alive, but barely. Somebody hurt him, tried to kill him, and I wasn’t there. I wasn’t there to protect him. The one thing I always promised to do, and I failed.
Instead, I was at a stupid fucking party, celebrating something that doesn’t mean shit compared to Oakley. Nothing matters if he’s not with me to share it. Absolutely nothing.
I grip his hand even tighter, letting my forehead drop onto his stomach. “Please don’t leave me,” I cry, my tears soaking the blanket wrapped around him. “Please, Oakley. I can’t do this without you. I love you.”
I should have fucking told him before, that night we were together in the truck. Should have said the words instead of just chickening out, making him guess what I was trying to say. Of course, he knew. He’s always known what I’m thinking, without even having to try. But, I still should have said it. Told him how I feel. How I’ve felt since the second I first saw him.
He walked through those doors on his first day at school and it was like somebody had taken an anvil to my chest. Just one look at him, at his soulful eyes and stony expression, and I was fucking gone. Done for. He owned me right from that moment, no matter how much I tried to fight it, to force the feelings away.
I’m his. Forever.
“Come back to me, baby,” I whisper. “Come back.”
I’ll never leave him again, never let anyone even think about hurting him. I’ll keep him safe. Make him happy everyday for the rest of his life. Love him so damn good that he’ll never have to doubt the way I feel about him.
I close my eyes, hoping with every morsel of my being that my promises are enough to keep him hanging on.