Page 13 of Requiem & Reverie

“Yes! I don’t …. I don’t know what happened. I called you, and I went upstairs to check on him, and I searched his room, but he wasn’t there, and I thought maybe he had his headphones on, you know? But he didn’t, so I searched all over the house.” The words pour out of me, flooding the small space between us, and Jonah takes in a sharp breath, the lines of worry creasing his forehead.

“When was the last time you saw him?”

“This afternoon. I picked him up from school. He …. He was suspended for fighting, and I brought him home.” Each breath I inhale is shaky and stutters in my throat. “And Voss, he showed him this trick that made the other student pass out—”

“Nola, slow down. You’re not making sense.”

“What if he ran away? Oh, God, Jonah!” I slap the back of my trembling hand to my mouth to keep from throwing up. My chest fills with a ticklish hollow that makes it hurt to breathe. “What if he doesn’t come back?”

“He didn’t run away.” Lips peeled back in the kind of anger I’ve rarely seen in my brother, he lurches back toward the apartment, but I grab his arm.

“It wasn’t Voss, Jonah. He didn’t do anything to Oliver.”

“Yeah? Well, I happen to think he’s a fucking liar, Nola. So we’ll find out.”

“He didn’t! I swear. I … I know he didn’t … because … because I was with him.”

A brief moment of staring, eyes downcast in what I surmise as disappointment, and he springs into motion, making his way toward his car.

I follow after him. “What’s going on? Where are you going?”

“I want you to call around. See if maybe he took off to a friend’s.” He stands alongside his truck, as though he’s expecting me to stay put.

“Where are you going?”

“To drive around. Maybe he went for a walk to blow off steam.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“You’re going to stay at my place tonight. I’m going to have Diane come pick you up now.”

“No, no, no.” I stride toward the passenger door, ignoring him as he holds up a hand, like that’s going to stop me. “I’m not going anywhere. N-n-not when my son is out there somewhere.”

“Grim’s on patrol. I’ll have him stay here until I get back.”

Hand on the door, I tip my head in disbelief that I even have to fucking explain this to my brother. “Maybe I’m not making myself clear, Jonah. I’m not staying the night at your house. I’m not going to be babysat, while my son is missing!”

Swinging around, he plants his hands on his hips. “I really don’t think you need to stay here with him,” he says, pointing up toward the apartment.

“What? Aren’t you going to arrest him?”

“That’s not how it works, Nola. I can’t just arrest him based on something you saw in his apartment.” With a sigh, he rubs his hand over his skull and shakes his head. “That’s where he claims he found the watch. In the apartment. That belonged to you and Denny.”

“That’s bullshit, Jonah! I saw the watch on Denny that night!”

“I understand … but you left, Nola. There’s a gap in the timeline where … Denny could’ve removed it. No judge is going to grant a search warrant based on something you think you saw months ago.”

Hands up, I shake my head, eyes clamped for a moment. “None of this matters to me right now. I don’t care if he’s a fucking dangerous psychopath. I’m not leaving this house tonight. If Oliver comes back, I want to be here. Here.”

“Fine. I’ll stay here with you. Get in the car. We’ll start by searching the neighborhood. I’ll call the station. You call any friends of Oliver’s.”

Doing as he says, I clamber into his truck, every muscle in my body tight and trembling. Beside me, Jonah climbs into the driver’s seat and starts the vehicle.

“Jonah, I’m so scared. What if he …. What if something happened? What if someone … I can’t even imagine.” Burying my face in my palms fails to hide the release of panic, the tears streaming down my face.

“Hey.” Arms wrap around me, and Jonah pulls me in. “We’re going to find him. I promise you.”

“You can’t promise me that, Jonah. You can’t. Someone might’ve taken him.” I glance up to the apartment, where Voss stares down at me through the window. The intense beam of the headlights doesn’t quite reach as high as the window, but add just enough glow to see his face, and stern eyes add a severe glower to his naturally rigid features. Deadly.