Not my Hunter, I know him.
He likes his space here, away from others, not the other way around.
I don’t say as much, but rather, “Where would a guy keep those things?”
“Usually, close to a laptop. Does he have a spot he uses or keeps his computer?”
I nod frantically and take off in a run toward the kitchen. I think I remember passing a note with a number on it. I nearly collide with the kitchen counter as I race into the kitchen and round the counter to the refrigerator. On the side right where I remember it is a sticky note with letters and numbers.
Briar landline 553-0119 is scribbled in Hunter’s writing. I show it to Ely, not being able to read it. “Does this say anything we can use?” I ask.
He stares at me quizzically before he finally nods. “Yeah. It says Briar landline. You know who that is?”
“Oh, yes! It’s a good friend of Hunter’s.”
“There you go then. The note you have is the number to his house phone.”
I flash a grateful smile. “Perfect. Let’s get out of here, the noise is giving me a headache.”
“Thought you’d never ask,” he mutters and props a chair under the back door handle to keep the door closed. I follow him out the front, where he manages to close the door and somehow keep it locked at the same time. The guy is good and seems to know what he’s doing.
As soon as I’m back in the car and the alarm is mere background noise as we drive away, I pull my new phone free. I use it exactly how my father showed me, and before I know it, the phone is ringing.
“Who is this?” is answered with a deep growl.
“Hello to you too. Not a friendly way to answer your phone, just so you know.”
“Who is this?” he repeats.
“It’s Aura. I was hoping you could help me.”
He sighs, not in a rude way, but more relieved. “Anything, anytime. What do you need?”
“I haven’t heard from Hunter since he brought me home, and I’m worried. He’s never stopped talking to me. I know I haven’t been around long, but it’s strange. I don’t feel right inside when I think about him, and it’s scaring me,” I eventually admit, not wanting to hold my emotions inside any longer.
“Okay, have you tried calling his cell?”
“Yes, and he hasn’t answered. Not for me, my parents, or his parents.”
“Whoa, already calling in the calvary.”
I don’t know what he means, so I continue, “And I just broke into his house. He wasn’t home.”
“Clearly, if you had to break in. Hunter may be a recluse, but he’ll still shoot if someone’s on his property. You’d have known he was home the moment you pulled in the driveway.”
“The alarm thing was set off again, so he may be upset about it.”
He chuckles. “No worries. I’ll call and take care of it. I’m on his approved list and have the code to make it shut off. Anything else you can tell me?”
“I’ve been calling for two days and nothing.”
“Hmm. Let me call around to a few people and see if they know where our boy is at. If they don’t have a lead, I’ll try pinging his cell. Is this your number?”
“This phone is mine, but I don’t know the number.”
“I have it. It popped up on my TV when you first called.”
“Okay, so now what do I do?”
“You hang tight, keep yourself safe, and I’ll call you soon.”
“Please hurry, my heart is hurting. I know something’s not right.”
“Funny, he said the same thing happened to him when he found you.”
“Really?”
“You didn’t hear me say it. I’m hanging up now. I’ll call soon.”
“Thanks, bye,” I say, but he’s already gone.
I glance at Ely to find him staring at me, eyebrows raised. “Any news?”
I shake my head. “No, but Briar will find him.”
I hope.
If he can’t, then I may lose my mind altogether at this rate.
I knew I should’ve never let him leave the party the way he did.
Chapter Fourteen
AURA
Briar didn’t get ahold of Hunter either. Thankfully, he called a bunch of his other friends to come and help us with our search. I told them everywhere we’d been in the past week and anything I could possibly remember about the day of the party. It’s been three days since Hunter’s been missing now, and I’m a complete mess. One part of me wants to curl up in a ball and sob with worry, while the other wants to search nonstop until I find him.
The problem is I have no idea where to go or what to do. Everyone tells me to relax and not to worry, but it seems to be the only thing I can do. I’ve been pacing, but it barely takes the edge off my errant thoughts. At this point, I’ve spoken to Hunter’s parents more than my own. They’re just as worried as I am, and it breaks me each time I hear their voices, and I have to tell them I have no new information. I’ve never felt so helpless in my entire life. Could this be a snippet of what my parents went through with my disappearance? This is horrible.
“We’ll find him,” my father attempts to reassure me for the millionth time, but it’s no use. I want so badly to yell and scream with my frustration, to tell them they lost me for most of my life, so why should I believe them now? Hunter is everything to me, and I refuse to sit back and watch as he disappears through my fingers forever.
“I just can’t believe no one saw him leave. The last place his cell gave a signal was here, and his vehicle is still here. It doesn’t make sense. He couldn’t get locked somewhere?”
“No, I’ve already told you, Aura. My staff has searched this place high and low.”
I can’t help but wonder if they’ve lied to him. This house is massive, and it’d be easy to overlook somewhere. I went wandering several times and ended up lost, needing someone to show me my way back. Hunter has been here several times, but I doubt he’s gone to every room in the past, so it’s possible he ended up lost as well. Still, someone should’ve discovered him by now. His friends have shown up, demanding to search the house, but my father’s put his foot down. He swears the staff can handle it, but he’s allowed them along with me to search the surrounding grounds, and there’s no trace of Hunter anywhere. If I hadn’t seen him with my own eyes that night, it’d be easy to believe he was never here in the first place.
I head to my room at a loss, full of disappointment. I feel so helpless, and I hate it. What good is having all this money if it can’t help you find the people you care about? It seems to me being wealthy is more of a burden than a benefit. I continue my pacing in my room, tugging at my hair. It’s crazy today, but I couldn’t be bothered to twist it up or anything. My mind’s been on one thing only, and it hasn’t been my hair.
Briar sends a message into the group text, but I have no idea what it says. I mess with the phone a bit more, attempting to call him when it magically reads his message aloud. At least, I hope it’s what the text says.
Briar: Aura, we’ve found nothing. Have you? Our brother would’ve reached out to us by now. I’m beginning to think something foul is at play here. No more time to fuck around, we need to find him now.