The Heartbroken - S01 E219

Story 2 years ago

The Heartbroken - S01 E219

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 219

“Well?” she said, sounding hopeful, and it was

enough to let me know that they didn’t have much

luck either.

“Nothing,” I replied.

There was silence.

“I’m going to do another drive-by,” I said.

I heard her take a breath. “Okay.”

I spent a few more minutes driving around,

revisiting Snowflake and all the other streets closest

to it. The minutes were ticking by, closer to

midnight, and I was feeling less and less confident

about being able to find him on our own.

Soon, he had said. I held onto our agreement to talk

soon. I refused to think of the worst, to think too

much of the sad smiles he’d given me, the way his

eyes had gone cold when he got that call. I was

clinging to the word soon, because it was the only

promise he had given me regarding the future.

It was already nearing midnight, just twelve more

minutes, when I made a call to tell Alyssa and the

others about my supposed curfew. As much as I

fought to keep the emotion from my voice, it lay

thick with a certain kind of sadness.

I let them down.

I let Seth down.

There was a weight settling over me as the

disappointment continued to rush in. It was getting

harder and harder to focus on anything but the fact

that I wanted to find Seth; that I wanted to see him,

but Mom was already calling me, probably to remind

me about the agreement, but I didn’t answer the call.

I just let it ring, squeezing in another drive-by, before

giving up and heading home.

I pulled into our driveway, but I didn’t immediately

get out of the car. I saw the curtain from our

window shift, demanding my attention, and I looked

up to meet my mom’s worried eyes. I shook my

head. I wasn’t close enough to see any shift in the

expression on her face before she disappeared

behind the curtain. Seconds later, the door opened.

Finally, I turned the engine off and got out, my legs

shaky.

“No luck?”

I shook my head.

It was then that she pulled me to a hug and I was

more than just happy for the gesture of affection. I

threw my hands around her and reveled in her

touch, comforted by the way she rubbed my back

and murmured soothing words to me.

“It’s going to be all right,” she said. I closed my eyes,

trying to believe in her because I refused to believe

otherwise. “It might not be anything too serious.”

When she released me, I nodded, pursing my lips.

“You’ve had a long night,” she said. “Get some

sleep.”

Why couldn’t I find him? Why?

He was always the one finding me—always the one

making sure I was all right. He never had much

trouble figuring me out, almost as if he was one step

ahead of me.

If he ran away again, where would he go, if not

here?

“Wait,” I called to Mom. She stopped, just before

stepping into the house. “I’ll call Alyssa.”

She nodded, looking at me as if she was searching

my face for something, before entering the house,

leaving the door open for me. Alyssa answered

before the third ring.

“Sarah’s old house,” I said in lieu of a hello. I turned

around, looking longingly at my car. I didn’t want to

give up yet. “Have you been to Sarah’s old house?”

There was rustling on the other line. “We’ve been

there.”