And his heart broke a little bit when he realized no one was chasing after him.
When Rachel’s name lit up his cell phone that morning, Gavin didn’t expect her greeting to come in the form of, “Have you seen Jace?”
His stomach tumbled to his feet, and he was glad he was sitting on the couch, in the midst of tying his sneakers. He had more than enough energy for a run, but ibuprofen wasn’t doing anything for the persistent pain in his cheekbone, so he wasn’t really sure where he was headed yet. “No, I haven’t seen him, why? What happened?”
“Mom and Dad decided he was on drugs, and when that didn’t go over well, he blurted out that he wasn’t on drugs, he was gay, and then he ran off.”
“Why’d he run off?”
“I don’t know. Mom said he got really upset, blurted out he was gay, and while her and Dad were trying to process that, he left. By the time they followed, he wasn’t on the street, and I still have his cell. Dad’s driving around right now looking for him. Gavin, he doesn’t have his coat.”
“Okay, I’m heading out now. Call—”
“If we find him, yeah. You too.”
He hung up and finished lacing his shoes, panic starting to set in. It was twenty degrees outside, easy, and Jace was running around upset, without his coat. Gavin grabbed his own winter coat off the tree then took the hoodie he usually wore in warmer weather, just in case.
“Gavin?” Mama asked. She came out into the living room in her bathrobe, her face still sleep rumpled. Neither of them had been eager to attend the arraignment this morning, and Detective Kramer said their statements were enough to present to the judge. They’d both taken the opportunity to sleep in. “Is everything all right?”
“I’m not sure. If Jace comes by, call me. Please?”
“Of course, mijo. Be safe.”
“I will.”
Gavin threw himself into the Jeep. This was absolutely not the way Jace wanted to come out to his parents—any idiot could see that. And his parents had probably been too stunned by the admission to say anything, which would have fueled Jace’s fear that his parents would be disgusted or disappointed by the news.
Fear + Panic = Disaster.
He headed toward the other side of town using the most obvious path, praying with each quarter mile that he’d pass by Jace on the way. Once he got to the Ramseys’ neighborhood, he turned around and went back another way. For nearly an hour, he drove in circles, until his Jeep felt like a prison, and he needed to do something else. Anything else. So he pulled into the Ramseys’ empty driveway and rang the bell.
Rachel yanked open the front door, as upset as he’d ever seen her. She did a double take when she saw his face. “Nothing,” she said before he could ask. “Mom, Dad and Lauren went out to look, and we’ve called a few people so they can let us know if they see him.”
“What are you telling them?” Gavin asked as he stepped inside the warm house.
“We’re keeping it vague. Dad’s a cop, so he can get eyes out there without putting up a serious alarm, you know?”
“Right.”
“I should have told Mom and Dad to back off, but they’re so worried about him.”
“Parents worry. It’s their job.”
“I know, but our parents usually give us so much space that when they start to close ranks, it’s kind of stifling. We just can’t tell them some things.” The hitch in Rachel’s voice suggested another secret far removed from Jace’s sexuality that she was keeping from her parents.
Right now, he didn’t care. They needed to find Jace and make sure he was okay.
“What happened to your face, Gavin?”
“Long story.”
“Uh huh.”
He ignored her tone of voice. At this moment, he didn’t care how she thought he got the bruise. He had to find Jace—everything else came in a distant second. Jace hadn’t gone to Gavin’s house. If he wanted to be alone he’d stay away from familiar places like Dixie’s or Mineo’s. And he was on foot, so Carter’s Lake and other remote areas were out. Maybe he hadn’t gone as far as they—
“Damn,” he said.
Rachel gave him an alarmed look. “What?”
Gavin opened the hall closet door and yanked out the first thick coat he found. “Stay here a sec, I have an idea of where he might be.”
“But—”
“Trust me, Rachel, I don’t want to spook him.”
“Fine.”
He felt her glare on the back of his head as he ran into the kitchen and through the sliding glass doors. The morning frost had long since melted, removing any trace of feet heading across the backyard, but his confidence grew as he drew closer to the tree house. He threw the extra coat over his shoulder then climbed the shaky ladder without pause. He shoved the floor hatch open, then popped his head up inside the frigid space.