I grab my purse and step outside onto the dock as he locks the door behind us. He runs his hand through his hair as we practically jog to the car. “I don’t have time to take you home.”
“That’s fine. I can help.”
He glances over at me as we speed walk toward the car. But he doesn’t say anything.
“Or I can get a rideshare?” I ask, feeling completely displaced.
He seems to consider this, but I’m really hoping he doesn’t take me up on this offer, because the credit card I had in my app no longer works.
“No, you can just come with me if you don’t mind.”
“No, of course not.”
We jump into the car and drive Northbound without a word. He’s laser-focused on the road, and it looks like he could crush nails with his teeth. I want to say something, but I have no clue what. He doesn’t exactly seem receptive, understandably.
We pull into a community with small homes, paint chipping off the sides and grass and weeds grown up beside several of them. He parks in front of a trailer that has a couple of cars already parked there.
We both get out and Brett heads inside. I’m not sure if I should follow him or not, so I hang back.
A guy in his late teens resembling Brett but a little shorter and with more of a baby face approaches. When he looks up from his phone and sees me, he freezes and then looks away.
“Hi, I’m Kylie,” I say, my voice shaky.
“Hi,” he says with a forced wave, still looking away from me.
“I’m Brett’s friend,” I say.
He just nods, looking anywhere but at me.
Brett comes out. “What happened?”
“I guess I forgot to put the padlock on the door when I got home last night,” the guy says, running his hand through his hair just like Brett does when something is off.
“Goddamnit, Matthew. You’ve got to start thinking.”
“I just fucking forgot once, okay?”
“Once is all it takes.”
The guy scrunches up his face and grabs a handful of his hair like he’s going to pull it out of his head. Brett closes his eyes like he’s recalibrating. “I’m sorry. Let’s just find her. Have you knocked on any of the neighbors’ doors to see if they’ve seen her?”
“No,” the guy says almost desperately.
“What have you been doing?”
“I’ve just been walking around and looking for her. What the hell do you think I’ve been doing?”
“All right, you go look down by the street and I’m gonna start knocking on doors. One of us should stay here in case she comes back.” Brett looks at me.
“I’ll stay here,” I say.
They both take off in different directions and I exhale a breath for the first time. Brett bangs on the door of the trailer next to this one, and an irritated man comes to the door, shakes his head, and then shuts the door in Brett’s face. Brett tries another and then another, until he’s out of my sight.
A woman walks up in an oversized, ratty Guns N’ Roses T-shirt. I can’t tell if she’s wearing shorts or not. She pops a cigarette into her mouth and lights it, blowing the smoke in my direction. She’s oddly familiar to me, but I can’t figure out why until she opens her mouth. “What the fuck is going on around here?”
My heartbeat pauses as I realize this has got to be Tori’s mother. Her low, throaty voice is identical to Tori’s. She looks like Tori, too, but she’s much thinner, and not in a healthy way.
“Their grandmother is missing,” I say.
“Mmm,” she utters, glancing around. “That’s what they get for keeping her here. If it was my mom, I’d put her in a home.” She looks me up and down like I’m pond scum. “Who are you?”
I don’t want to answer. I want her to walk away. “I’m just a friend.”
She smirks. “Yeah, I know all about Brett’s friends. Don’t get too attached, honey.” She takes another puff and then walks to a nearby trailer and goes inside. With this one conversation, I understand more about Tori than I ever imagined I would.
I stand outside the door, pacing for what seems like hours until Brett finally shows up. “The police have her. They’re bringing her and my mom back now.”
I put my hand to my heart. “Thank God.”
He nods, glancing around, looking completely shaken.
I put my hand on his arm, but he tugs it away. “It’s fine.” With that, I am completely shut off. “You can wait in the car if you’d like,” he says, handing me the keys.
I take this as a directive and get in his car. It’s not long before a police car pulls up and a middle-aged woman gets out of the car then helps an elderly woman out. The two women go inside while Brett talks to the cop. The teenager, who I assume is Brett’s little brother, kicks dirt around, not looking the police officer in the eye.
When the cop finally gets in his car and leaves, Brett talks to his brother, who doesn’t seem to have a problem looking Brett in the eye. After a while of them bickering back and forth, Brett goes inside, but his brother walks away.
It’s a while before Brett comes out, looking like he has run a marathon. He glances around, and when he makes eye contact with me in the car, it seems like he’s just now remembering I’m here. He walks over to my door. I’ve already got the window rolled down. It wasn’t that hot out here when all this started, but the sun has definitely come out, and it’s burning up in here.
“I meant for you to run the AC,” he says. “That’s why I gave you the keys.”
“I’m fine. How’s your grandmother?”
“She’s okay. Just got disoriented. Have you seen my brother?”
I point. “He went that way.”
He follows my gaze and then says, “I won’t be that much longer.”
“Take your time. Seriously.”
He forces a half-hearted smile and walks away.
I
