Chapter 389 - Always Behind Her

Chapter 389: Chapter 389 - Always Behind Her

"We have to find her."

Mason nodded immediately and pulled his phone out again. "I know a few places where I picked her up before. We can start there."

Angela looked toward the cafeteria doors. "We still have classes."

Roxie grabbed her bag from under the table. "I don’t care."

She said it before she could think about suspension, attendance, graduation, her scholarship, or what would happen if somebody caught the three of them slipping out in the middle of the day.

Normally any of those things would have mattered, but right now Karen had been gone since morning, her phone was off, her aunt barely seemed concerned, and Mason had just admitted he had been picking her up drunk for weeks.

Roxie stood and looked around the cafeteria. Zac was still across the room with Dylan and Kyle, talking over something on Dylan’s phone, and for a few seconds she almost went to him. All she had to do was walk over there and tell him.

Zac would come.

That was exactly why she turned away.

He still had training in the afternoon and more Tennessee things to finish after that. She could tell him later, after they found Karen. Roxie could already imagine Zac abandoning everything the second she said Karen was missing, and right now they didn’t even know if she was really missing.

Maybe she was pissed.

Maybe she was drunk somewhere.

Maybe they would find her within an hour and Roxie would feel stupid for dragging everybody else into another crisis.

"We need more people," Mason said as they moved toward the doors. "If she’s at one of the places I know, fine, but there are parties everywhere right now."

Roxie thought of Ethan almost immediately.

Angela seemed to reach the same conclusion when Roxie pulled out her phone. "Ethan?"

"He knows people."

Mason looked at her screen but kept whatever comment he had to himself.

Ethan answered after two rings.

"Hey."

"Are you busy?"

There was a short silence before his voice changed. "What happened?"

Roxie closed her eyes for a second. "I need help finding Karen."

"Where are you?"

"At school."

"I’ll meet you outside."

"You don’t even know what happened."

"Tell me when I get there."

Roxie breathed out. "Okay."

They waited until lunch traffic started moving back toward the classrooms before slipping toward the side of the building. Angela kept looking over her shoulder while Mason walked ahead like he had done this before, and Roxie’s heart pounded every time a teacher appeared at the end of a hallway.

By the time they reached the side exit, she barely cared if somebody caught them.

Ethan was already waiting near the road beside his motorcycle. His expression changed as soon as he saw the three of them.

"What happened?"

Roxie gave him the shortest version she could manage while Mason checked his phone again. Karen had been drinking. They fought. Karen went home last night. She never came to school this morning and nobody could reach her.

Ethan looked at Mason. "You know where she goes?"

"A few places."

"Give me the addresses."

Mason started listing them while Ethan opened his messages and began contacting people. Roxie watched more names and locations appear than she expected. A house near Brookside. Somebody whose parents were out of town. Another place near the river. A party near the old baseball field even though it was the middle of a school day.

Roxie stared at the screen. "How the fuck do you know this many people?"

Ethan barely looked up while typing. "I know people who know people."

That sounded more like him. Ethan had always been good at that, knowing somebody at a gas station, somebody from another school, somebody who worked somewhere useful. Roxie just hadn’t realized how useful that could become until now.

Angela hugged her bag against herself. "There are seniors missing almost every day now."

Ethan shoved his phone into his pocket. "Brookside first."

They went in Mason’s car while Ethan followed on his motorcycle.

The first house had music coming from inside when they arrived. Cars were lined along the street and several people sat on the front steps, some Roxie recognized from school and others she had never seen before.

Mason stopped before they reached the porch. "I picked her up here once."

Roxie looked at him. "When?"

"A week ago."

Roxie stopped.

A week ago had been when Angela needed them most.

She remembered Karen coming into class one morning looking like she hadn’t slept, complaining about a headache and chewing gum before first subject.

At the time Roxie had assumed hangover.

Now she wondered what else she had missed.

"How drunk?"

Mason’s mouth tightened. "Enough."

Roxie wanted to ask more, but Ethan was already calling someone over.

A boy came down the steps. "Yo, Ethan."

"Yo, Mark. You know Karen?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah. Pretty girl? Black hair? I know her."

Roxie immediately stepped forward. "Was she here today?"

"No."

"When did you last see her?"

He thought about it. "Few nights ago, maybe."

"She comes here a lot?"

"Sometimes."

"Alone?"

The questions were coming faster now, and Mark looked at her strangely. "Sometimes. I don’t really keep track."

Ethan stepped in before Roxie could ask anything else. "You know where people are hanging out today?"

Mark gave them another address.

They left immediately.

At the second house, a girl answered after Mason knocked. She looked sleepy and irritated until Mason showed her Karen’s picture.

"Oh. Yeah. She was here."

Roxie’s stomach dropped. "Today?"

"This morning."

"What time?"

"I don’t know. Ten? Maybe eleven?"

Angela moved closer. "Was she okay?"

The girl shrugged. "She seemed okay."

Roxie was beginning to hate that answer.

"Was she drinking?"

The girl hesitated long enough that all four of them noticed.

Mason’s voice changed. "Was she?"

"Yeah."

"How much?"

"I wasn’t watching her."

Roxie tried to keep her voice steady. "Where did she go?"

"I don’t know. She left around noon."

"With someone?"

"I think she was alone."

Mason turned like he was ready to leave, but the girl spoke again.

"She was asking around for something though."

Roxie stopped and slowly turned back. "Something?"

The girl looked uncomfortable now. "I don’t know."

"What was she asking for?"

"I wasn’t really listening."

Roxie stepped closer. "Please. Anything you remember."

The girl rubbed her arm and looked back toward the house like she wanted someone else to deal with them. "She asked this guy if he had anything. I thought she meant weed at first, but then they went into the kitchen."

Roxie felt cold.

Mason moved closer. "What guy?"

"I don’t know his real name. But he sells."

"What did he give her?"

"I said I don’t know."

"Did you see her take anything?"

The girl hesitated, and Roxie’s heart immediately started racing.

"Did you?"

"I saw her put something in her mouth. That’s it. It could’ve been anything."

Angela made a quiet sound beside Roxie.

"What did it look like?" Mason asked.

"A pill. Maybe. White, I think." The girl shook her head quickly. "I really don’t know. I wasn’t paying attention."

Roxie couldn’t move for a moment because Friday came back too quickly. Karen barely standing. The pill. Everyone trying to figure out what she had taken while Karen acted like none of them needed to worry.

Angela grabbed Roxie’s arm. "Rox."

Roxie forced herself to look at the girl again. "How was she when she left?"

"Fine."

"Fine how?"

"I don’t know. She walked out by herself. She was talking. She wasn’t passed out or anything."

"Was she driving?"

"I think so."

Mason cursed under his breath while Ethan already had his phone out.

"Who was the guy?" Ethan asked.

The girl gave him a nickname and a vague description.

Ethan stepped aside to start calling someone while Roxie stood there trying to keep her thoughts from running ahead of her. Karen had been drinking before noon, someone had seen her swallow a pill, and then she had apparently gotten behind the wheel and driven away alone.

Angela’s fingers tightened around her arm. "Maybe it was nothing."

Roxie looked at her.

Angela swallowed. "Should we call her aunt?"

Roxie already had her phone out.

The aunt answered after several rings.

"Roxie, I’m still working."

"We think Karen took something."

That finally changed the woman’s voice.

"What?"

"Someone saw her take a pill this morning. She’s been drinking too, and we still can’t find her."

There was a pause.

"What kind of pill?"

"We don’t know."

"Well, then how do you know it was anything serious?"

Roxie stared ahead in disbelief. "That’s exactly the fucking problem. We don’t know what it was."

"Roxie, calm down."

Roxie closed her eyes because that phrase nearly made her lose it.

"She’s been drinking since this morning and nobody knows where she is."

"I’ll call her."

"We’ve been calling her all day!"

Another pause followed before the aunt finally said, "I can’t leave work right now."

Roxie’s eyes filled immediately.

Angela looked at her face and seemed to understand what had been said without hearing it.

Roxie’s voice dropped. "Okay."

"I’ll try her again."

"Okay."

She hung up.

Mason looked furious. "She’s not coming?"

"She’s working."

"Jesus Christ."

Roxie shoved her phone into her pocket and started walking toward the car.

Ethan caught up beside her. "I got another address."

"Then let’s go."

The next place was empty.

At another house, somebody said Karen had been there yesterday but hadn’t shown up today. Then they found someone who had seen her at a gas station less than an hour earlier, and the news gave Roxie enough hope to make her hands shake.

They drove there immediately.

The cashier remembered her.

"She was here."

"When?"

"Maybe forty minutes ago."

Roxie leaned against the counter. "Was she okay?"

The cashier frowned. "She looked upset."

"Was she alone?"

"Yeah."

"What did she buy?"

The cashier looked toward the register, thinking. "Water. Gum."

Roxie’s stomach dropped at the word.

"Anything else?"

"No."

"Did she look drunk?"

"I don’t know. She walked fine."

Mason stepped closer. "Did you see which way she went?"

The cashier pointed toward the highway.

They rushed back outside, Roxie already calling Karen while they walked.

Voicemail.

She tried again.

Same thing.

Roxie sent another message.

Karen, please answer me. I don’t care about yesterday. Just tell me where you are.

Angela sent one too.

Mason called.

Nothing.

They followed the highway and checked another house Ethan had heard about.

Karen had already been there, but she was gone before they reached it. Every place felt like the same thing now. They would arrive, somebody would recognize Karen, and then they would hear that she had left thirty minutes ago or an hour ago.

They were always behind her.

By four, Roxie had lost track of how many houses they had checked. Every person seemed to know a different version of Karen. Somebody had seen her at a party the previous weekend. Someone else remembered her coming around alone more than once. One guy casually said Karen usually stayed quiet until she drank enough and then became fun.

Roxie wanted to punch him.

Mason nearly did.

He stepped forward so quickly Ethan had to grab his arm and pull him back.

"Don’t."

"She’s missing and this asshole thinks it’s fucking funny."

"I know. Punching him won’t find her."

Mason glared at the guy for another few seconds before backing away.

Roxie dragged both hands through her hair. She was tired. Angela was tired. Mason looked like he was barely holding himself together, and even Ethan had gone quiet between calls.

The houses they had been walking into barely looked livable in some places. Broken porch rails. Beer cans near driveways. People sleeping on couches in the middle of the afternoon. Places Roxie never imagined Karen would willingly go alone.

When had this started?

How many times had Karen been somewhere like this while Roxie thought she was home?

Roxie couldn’t tell how bad it had become because she still had no idea how much of Karen’s life they had never seen.

Angela touched her arm.

Roxie pulled away without meaning to and immediately regretted it. "Everybody keeps saying they don’t know. She’s been drinking all fucking day, somebody saw her take a pill, and nobody knows what the hell she took or where she went."

Nobody answered because there was nothing useful to say.

Ethan reached for her arm carefully. "Roxie, we’ll find her."

Roxie dragged both hands through her hair again and turned away. She could feel herself losing control. She wanted Karen standing in front of her so she could scream at her, grab her, drag her home and lock every fucking door if she had to.

Yesterday she had thought alcohol hidden inside a tumbler was terrifying.

She wanted that problem back.

Her phone vibrated.

For half a second she thought it was Karen.

Zac.

A message.

Training ran late. Dylan and I are finishing the Tennessee stuff after. Might stay there tonight since we have to be back early.

Another message followed.

You okay? You’ve been weird all day.

Roxie stared at it.

Her thumb hovered over the keyboard long enough for her to type the first few words.

Karen is...

She deleted them.

Then locked the phone and put it away.

They tried another address.

Nothing.

Another.

Nobody had seen her.

For the first time since they started searching, the trail simply stopped.

Almost two hours passed without anyone being able to tell them where Karen had gone.

Roxie stood beside Mason’s car staring at her phone while the sky slowly darkened. She called Karen again and listened until voicemail answered. Angela sat inside the car crying quietly while Mason walked back and forth near the curb, calling people. Ethan stood beside his motorcycle checking every new message that came in.

"Maybe she went home," he finally said.

Roxie called Karen again. "Maybe."

She wanted to believe it.

She couldn’t.

The call went to voicemail.

Again.

Her hands started shaking.

"What if she’s passed out somewhere?"

Mason stopped walking.

Angela looked up from inside the car.

Roxie hated the words the moment they came out, but once they were there she couldn’t stop thinking about them.

"What if she took whatever that guy gave her and she’s somewhere alone?"

"Roxie," Ethan said carefully.

"What?"

"We don’t know that."

"I know we don’t fucking know. That’s the problem."

Her voice broke. She turned away and pressed the heel of her hand against her forehead.

Her phone started ringing.

Zac.

Roxie stared at his name.

Angela got out of the car and looked at the screen. "Answer him."

Roxie didn’t move.

"Rox."

She finally accepted the call.

"Hey."

"Roxie."

Something in Zac’s voice told her he already knew she was hiding something.

She closed her eyes.

"What’s going on? You didn’t answer my message."

Roxie tried to answer normally, but after everything that had happened that day, the lie wouldn’t come anymore.

"We can’t find Karen."

There was a short silence.

"What do you mean you can’t find Karen?"

Roxie looked at Mason, Angela and Ethan before forcing the words out.

"She didn’t come to school. Her aunt said she came home last night, but she left this morning and we’ve been looking for her since lunch. She’s been going to different parties and drinking and..." Roxie stopped because saying the next part aloud made her stomach twist. "Someone saw her take something."

Zac went completely quiet.

Roxie covered her mouth for a second before continuing. "She’s been driving around too, and we keep getting to places after she already left. Now nobody’s seen her for almost two hours."

Her voice cracked badly.

"I’ve been calling her all fucking day."

Zac’s voice came back immediately. "Where are you?"

Roxie closed her eyes. "Near the highway."

"Send me your location."

"Zac, you have training."

"Roxie."

She stopped.

"I said send me your location."

Roxie swallowed.

In the background she heard movement and Dylan asking something she couldn’t make out. Zac answered him away from the phone, then came back.

"We’re coming."

Roxie looked toward the road.

For the first time all day, she stopped pretending they had this under control.