Chapter 33
Jasper
Arlo is still asleep when I slip out of bed and make my way into the kitchen. He needs it. After the emotional upheaval and the stress of the last few weeks and that crazy fight he had with Salem.
I call Austin while I’m making a pot of coffee. To my surprise, he answers on the first ring. “Hey, man, what’s up?”
“I’m glad you’re awake.”
Austin laughs. “Yeah, Luca shot out of bed thirty minutes ago, losing his mind over a book idea. Scared me half to death, and by the time he wrote it down, we figured we’d just get a jump start on the day. Everything alright?”
“Yeah.” I pull a coffee mug out of the cabinet, then start pouring a cup. “Can you do me a favor?”
“Anything.”
“Can you come by the house and pick up Nora for breakfast?”
There’s a pause and then, “Sure. We can take her to Daisy’s. Luca has to work soon, anyway. Everything okay?”
I sigh, leaning against the counter. “Arlo and Salem went at it last night. Tensions are high. They’ve been high, but things kinda went overboard last night, and they need to talk.”
“Fuck,” Austin breathes. “I bet it’s been hard.”
It has been. There’s something going on with Salem.
Obviously. But I think it’s deeper than him just not being able to settle in.
At this rate, I’m about to sit him down and talk to him myself.
Maybe he’d be more willing to talk to me.
God knows the two of us don’t have the history he’s got with Arlo.
In some ways, I think that’ll work in our favor. I’m also thinking Arlo might be right—at the very least, we need some sort of family therapy.
“It has been. I just don’t want Nora here if things escalate again. She doesn’t need to see her brothers fighting like that.”
Austin makes a sympathetic sound. “Makes total sense. Alright, Luca’s getting dressed for work now, and then we’ll head your way.”
Relief washes over me. “Thanks, Austin. You have no idea how much I appreciate you guys helping.”
“Anytime. You know we’re here for you guys.”
That I do know. “Thank you. We’ll see you soon.”
When I hang up the phone, I take a sip of my coffee, then set my mug on the counter.
I need to wake Nora up. That kid is not an early riser. It doesn’t even matter how early she goes to bed. There’s no amount of sleep that makes her an early bird. I can’t wait to see what she’s like in the summer when she can wake up on her own and not have to be woken up at a set time.
Maybe it’ll continue then. Maybe she’s always half zombie in the mornings. My lips curve into a smile at the thought.
I knock on her bedroom door, and when all I get is a grumble, I push it open a little. “Nor?”
Another groan sounds from the bed—this one far more annoyed. “Hey, it’s time to get up.”
She’s tucked in completely, her comforter covering her entire head, and when I step into the room and say her name again, she huffs, rolling over dramatically onto her other side.
I can’t help but chuckle. “Rise and shine, princess. Austin and Luca are gonna take you out for breakfast.”
That gets a reaction out of her. She sits up, her hair a mess like she’s been electrocuted. “Why?”
I’m not sure how much to tell her. She shares a wall with Salem, so I know she had to have heard their fight last night.
I did, and I was all the way across the house.
I decide to go with honesty. “Salem and Arlo need to have a nice talk, and I figured you might want to go get breakfast while they do.”
She rolls her eyes. “Are they gonna start yelling again?”
God, I hope not. “I’ll do my best to make sure they don’t,” I say, winking at her.
Yawning, she stretches her arms above her head. “Alright. Fine. Where are we getting breakfast?”
“They’re gonna take you to the diner Arlo works at.”
That gets her attention. “What do they have to eat?”
“All kinds of stuff.” I sit down on the edge of her bed. “You should ask Deb, Austin’s mom, to make her special pancakes for you.”
Her nose wrinkles. “I don’t think I want pancakes.”
I grin. “What do you want?”
“Scrambled eggs and toast. Do they have that?”
I’m pretty sure if they didn’t, they’d still make it just for her. “They do indeed.”
“Ugh. Okay, fine. I’ll get up.”
“Atta girl.” Standing up, I walk toward the door. “Austin and Luca will be on their way soon, okay?”
“Okay,” she says, yawning again.
“I’m gonna head back into the kitchen and finish my coffee.”
She shoots me a thumbs-up. She seems a little more awake than she usually is after first waking up, and I can’t help but think it’s probably the promise of breakfast.
When I get back into the kitchen, Arlo is standing at the counter, bleary-eyed as he reaches for a mug in the cabinet.
“Good morning, baby boy.”
He groans. “It’s morning. Not sure I’d call it good.”
My lips twitch. At least I know where Nora gets it from.
He closes his eyes, breathing in deeply through his nose. “I’m gonna pour my coffee and go wake Salem up.”
I shake my head, stepping up behind him and wrapping my arm around him. “I think you should wait.”
“We can have our big talk later, but I couldn’t sleep worth a shit because I was worried about him, and I need to apologize. At the very least, he needs to know how sorry I am. It’s bad enough I let him go to bed like that.”
My sweet baby boy. I press a kiss to his temple, running my hands up his stomach before letting go of him. “Okay.”
He finishes making his coffee as Nora steps into the room. Her hair is brushed and pulled back into a ponytail, and her eyes are bright.
Arlo smiles at her. “You look chipper this morning.”
“I think she’s excited about going to breakfast with Austin and Luca.”
She shrugs. “I like food.”
That makes me laugh. “You and me both.”
She climbs up onto one of the barstools, and after Arlo takes a few sips of his coffee, he sets it on the counter and pulls her into a hug.
She nearly melts into him, and my heart thumps wildly in my chest. He’s so good with them. Even though he doesn’t feel like it. Even though things are hard.
Closing his eyes, he seems to soak her in, and then he pulls back and presses his lips to the top of her head for a quick kiss. “I love you, Nora bug. I’m gonna go get Salem up.”
She sighs. “Okay. I love you too.”
When Arlo walks out of the kitchen, I lean against the counter across from Nora. “What do you want to do this weekend?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. Are you working?”
I shake my head. “Not until Monday.”
“So, Arlo has to take us to school alone?” She frowns at that, and it makes me laugh.
“Yeah, unfortunately, but I should be home early enough on Tuesday to go with you all—”
“Where’s Salem?” Arlo asks, rounding the corner and cutting me off.
“Uh, he should be in his room. I haven’t seen him since I’ve been up.”
He bites his bottom lip, his eyebrows raising. “He’s not.”
“He’s not in his room?”
Arlo takes a step back, covering his face with his hands. “Oh God, he’s not here.”
“Breathe, baby boy,” I say, rushing across the room to him. “He’s probably in the bathroom. Did you check?”
He shakes his head.
“Okay, so hang on. No need to freak out.”
I step into the hallway and knock on the bathroom door. When I don’t get an answer, I knock again, then call Salem’s name.
Still nothing. I push open the door only to find the room empty.
Fuck.
I spin on my heel, opening his bedroom door. His bed is made, but that’s nothing new. “Salem? You in here?”
Nothing. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.
I try to stay calm as I walk into the kitchen where Arlo is braced against the counter, trying to seem normal while Nora talks his ear off.
I shake my head. “I’m gonna go check outside.”
Arlo’s face goes white, but he nods. I put my shoes on, not even bothering to tie them, and slip out the front door.
I don’t have as much property as some people, but my house is still surrounded by cornfields and trees. Hopefully he just decided to take a walk or something.
There aren’t any tracks that I can see, but I take off for the treeline in the backyard. “Salem!” I pause, not wanting my shoes to make too much noise in case he’s hurt and trying to call for me. “Salem,” I try again. “Are you out here? Hello?”
I stand frozen as the wind blows through the trees.
Arlo’s frantic voice as he yells my name makes me nearly jump out of my skin. Something about the alarm in his tone has my hair standing on end, and I take off back toward the house in a full sprint.
“Baby boy,” I call out, getting closer as he stands right outside the front door, sobbing. “Hey, hey.”
“He’s gone. He wasn’t—I don’t think he… There’s no—”
I cup his face, tilting his head back until he has no choice but to lock eyes with me. “Breathe.”
He inhales a sharp breath, his body trembling. “He’s not here. He didn’t stay here last night.”
My brows draw together. “What do you mean?”
“I’ll show you.”
He knocks my hands away from his face and turns around, running back into the house. I follow him all the way into Salem’s room.
“Look. There.” He points to the bed. I don’t see anything out of the ordinary. It’s made, but I’ve noticed that Salem always makes his bed. It’s nothing new.
“I’m not seeing what you mean, baby boy.”
“Fuck,” he growls. “Right there.” He points at the corner of the bedspread.
“It was like this last night. Folded just like this. I noticed it while we were arguing and… and—” His voice cuts off on a harsh sob.
“He wasn’t here last night. And if he was, he didn’t sleep in his bed.
And look.” Arlo holds up Salem’s phone. “It was on his dresser.”
Goddammit. “Okay. Alright.” I glance around the room. Fuck, I’m really bad in a crisis when the crisis involves my family. I know who’s not, though. Pulling my phone from my back pocket, I dial Austin.
He answers almost immediately. “Hey, we’re about to pull in.”
“Salem’s missing.”
There’s silence, and then, “What do you mean, missing?”
I glance around the room, my heart rate climbing as I grip the phone tighter. “Gone. Missing. I don’t really know how else to say it.”
“We’re pulling in. Hang on.”
The phone clicks as Austin hangs up. Arlo is pacing, dragging his hands through his hair, so I grab him and pull him in for a hug. “Breathe, baby boy. He’s gotta be close.”
He shakes his head. “He doesn’t know anyone. He doesn’t have anywhere to go. This is all my fault.” He jerks away from me, tears streaming down his face. “This is all my fucking fault.”
“It’s not,” I whisper, trying to pull him back to me.
“It is.” Arlo resumes his pacing. “I don’t know what to do.”
Me neither, if I’m being totally honest. Where could he have even gone? “He’s probably just out in the woods somewhere. He couldn’t have gone far.”
I have to believe that. I have to.
“I told him I couldn’t do this. I—I didn’t mean it. What if he believes I mean it?”
Before I can answer, Austin pushes the door open to the bedroom and steps inside. His brows are drawn together, his mouth set in a straight line. “How long has he been gone?”
Arlo shakes his head, choking on a sob as he doubles over.
“I don’t know,” I say, answering for him. “Arlo said he didn’t sleep in here last night.”
Austin nods. “Okay. That’s good to know. We’ll operate under the assumption he’s been gone all night. We need to call the sheriff. Get people looking for him. Luca already called Theo, and he and Hunter are about to go look too.”
That’s good. Hunter used to be a deputy, so hopefully he’ll be able to help. I’m usually so much better under pressure. I don’t know why I can’t seem to form a coherent thought.
“Arlo,” Austin says, trying to get his attention. “I’m gonna call the sheriff’s office, and Jasper and I are gonna go out and look. They’ll send someone out here to talk to you.”
“No.” He wipes at his face. “Fuck that. I’m going too.”
Austin frowns. “You need to stay here in case he comes home.” Something flashes across his face. “Wait, can you track his phone?”
“No, he left it. I don’t want to stay here.” He inhales sharply, his breath coming in harsh pants.
“Baby boy.” He glances at me. “Austin’s right. You stay here. We’ll go look. If he comes back home, someone needs to be here, okay?”
“Fuck!” Arlo shouts. “Fuck, okay. Fine. But if you find him, call me right away. Please. Don’t make me wait.”
I cup his face, forcing his gaze to mine. “I’d never make you wait.”
Arlo glances around in a panic, his eyes widening before he nearly rips himself away from me. “Where’s Nora?”
“In the living room with Luca. She’s fine. He’s got her,” Austin says immediately. “He’s gonna stay here with you and help you with her.”
Nodding, Arlo blows out a breath. “Okay. Fuck. Okay.”
Austin clears his throat. “Alright, we need to go. I’ll have Luc call the sheriff. The longer we wait…” His words trail off, the implications unnecessary to say.
“I’ll be right there,” I say, not taking my eyes off my baby boy.
Austin takes the hint for what it is, leaving us alone in the room.
As soon as he’s gone, Arlo presses his face into my chest, sobs racking his frame. I hold him, rubbing my hands up and down his back. “It’s okay, baby boy. We’ll find him, I promise.”
“What if we don’t?” he cries, his tears soaking my shirt.
I don’t have an answer for that. I don’t know what will happen. It will change our lives. It will destroy Arlo. Fuck, it’ll destroy me. “We’ll find him, baby boy,” I say, my voice far more confident than I feel.
“Okay,” he whispers. “I believe you.”
Squeezing him to me, I press my lips to the top of his head. “I’ve gotta go, Arlo. Go into the living room with Luca, okay?”
It takes him a second, but he finally releases me, stepping back and wiping at his face. “You’ll call me when you find him?” he asks again.
“The second I do.”