“I’m sorry, honey. I really am, but what can I do now?”
Tess frowns at him and stands up, starting her pacing game all over again.
“Lucky break,” Chas whispers, sitting a little closer to me than is really prudent. Kimber notices, but she doesn’t say anything, not today. After we get Parrish back, I’m sure I’ll hear alllll about it.
“Guess so.” Doesn’t feel like a lucky break. I’d rather have had Tess and Paul see us kissing than spend anymore time wondering what happened to Parrish. Tucking my legs up against me, I wrap my arms around them and try not to let my mind stray down paths of ‘what if’. What if I’d stayed with him last night, risks be damned? If he was upset about something, maybe we could’ve talked it out? Did I pressure him into sex? What if he wasn’t ready?
“Don’t blame yourself, Little Sister,” Chas tells me, reaching out to put an arm around my shoulders. The contact surprises me, but I don’t dislike it. This time, however, Kimber really does level a violent glare in my direction. “He’ll come back. Just like Lumen. Don’t worry about it until tomorrow. If he isn’t back then, we’ll freak out together.”
I give a little nod, relaxing into Chasm’s warmth. But I can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong here. Something is really, really fucking wrong.
By the next morning, the Vanguard house is a chaotic mess. There are detectives in the kitchen, a fresh slew of reporters outside the gate, and a surprise visit from Maxx.
“I got here as soon as I could,” he says, shrugging out of his windbreaker near the garage door. “You really don’t know where he is?”
“Would I have let it get this far if I did?” Chasm snaps back, swiping his hand over his mouth. “Sorry, man, I didn’t mean that. I’m just stressed the fuck out.”
Maxx turns his emerald gaze down to me, but there aren’t any inappropriate butterflies to squash down this time. I’m panicking, to be honest. All I can think is that Parrish spooked after what happened between us and left. What else could it be? Like he said, how could anyone possibly kidnap him out of this house? There’s a gate, five locks on the front door, and a security firm that has three cars that regularly patrol the neighborhood.
There’s no way; there’s just no way.
Except … people keep mentioning the Seattle Slayer. It seems absurd, to wonder if a serial killer spirited away your family member in the middle of the night, but then, it really does happen to some people. Kimber spent all night sitting in her room with the door cracked, crying and listening to that stupid Emerald City Murder Podcast. Frankly, I’d love to strangle the hosts with their own phone chargers. They’re fearmongers and clout chasers.
“Are you doing okay, Kota?” Maxx asks, and Chasm—bless his black, twisted fucking heart—decides this is his opportunity to step in.
“They fucked each other the night he went missing,” he whispers, and I elbow him so hard in the stomach that he grunts. “What the hell was that for? You do realize we might have to tell Tess at some point, right?”
Maxx shakes his head and puts his fingers to his temples, closing his eyes for a moment to process the information.
“That wasn’t your story to share,” I growl out at Chas, wondering how the hell I ended up in such a crazy situation in the first place. I just like Parrish. He just liked me. That’s it. It shouldn’t be this big of a deal. “And no, we’re not going to tell Tess, not yet. It would kill him if we did.”
“Yeah, well, the Slayer might kill him if we don’t,” Chas retorts as we glare at each other.
“Wait … you and Parrish?” Maxx echoes, opening his eyes to look at me. That’s when I remember that I told him I was a virgin on our hike together. Great. Just fantastic. What a way to experience my first time. Seems typical that it would end in a clusterfuck and a missing person. “Isn’t he a virgin?”
“Was a virgin,” Chasm corrects, and I groan, slapping my own hands over my face.
“That’s not why he’s missing; it’s not.” The protest sounds feeble, even to me, but I have to keep believing that for now. I have to. If he’s not back by tomorrow, then I’ll … I’ll tell Tess. I’ll just fucking tell her and watch her face morph into one of abject horror. At that point, she won’t just dislike me—she’ll blame me for Parrish’s disappearance.
Not sure our relationship—which is already on rocky ground—will ever recover from that.
“Okay, okay, let’s calm down for a minute.” Maxx drops his hands to his sides, and I do the same, looking up at him with what I’m sure is a pathetic, pleading sort of expression. Any advice or suggestions he has, I’m game to listen to. Something about me seems to get to him, and his cheeks redden slightly. “That and this are not related. You know Parrish: he’s waited this long to sleep with a girl. It wasn’t a decision that was made lightly.”
We all pause at the sound of footsteps, glancing over to see Tess coming down the hall toward us.
“Maxx,” she begins, her voice sniffly, her face red and swollen. She’s wearing her glasses, but they do little to cover the huge black circles under her eyes. Pretty sure she didn’t sleep at all last night. “I’m glad you’re here. Any news?” She sounds hopeful, but it only lasts so long as it takes him to shake his head sadly in response.
“I haven’t heard from him.” Maxx tucks his hands in his pockets. I notice that his hair is a bit rumpled, like he didn’t even bother to brush it after waking up. He must’ve jumped in his Jeep first thing after seeing Tess’ texts. “But I’ll start organizing our friends for a search party. Between us, we can canvass all of his secret spots.”
Tess nods, but she’s barely listening at this point, turning and heading back into the kitchen where the detectives are waiting. Also, she either forgot it was a school day or just doesn’t care. Not sure I could even handle the thought of going to class without Parrish; it’s unfathomable.
“Hey.” Maxx reaches out and puts his hands on my shoulders, giving me goose bumps. I look up at him, and he smiles. “We’ve got this. We’ll find him.” Chasm watches us both warily but doesn’t protest. He needs the pep talk just as much as I do. “Why don’t you go get dressed? Chas and I can start making calls, and then we’ll all head over to Whitehall to start looking.”
“I can do that,” I reply, relieved to have someone else take over the situation.
“And don’t blame yourself. Parrish wouldn’t do that to someone he cares about.” Maxx gives my hair a tousle before sliding his phone from his pocket and heading down the foyer toward the kitchen. He’s right though, isn’t he? Parrish cares more about other people than he does himself. He wouldn’t run off, even if he regretted last night. He just wouldn’t; I have to believe that.
“Get going,” Chas says, gesturing with his head in the direction of the stairs. “Let’s find our fucking friend.”
As soon as I get upstairs, I take out my secret phone to look for messages. If Parrish were going to contact me, he’d probably do it via this number.