Chapter Thirty-Eight

Mason

Twenty. Twenty freaking voice mails. That’s how many come in during the hour that it takes my crap phone to charge. I’m done being lazy and making excuses. I’m going to get a new one. Like, tomorrow. Assuming everything is okay tomorrow. If it’s not…

My father picks up his cell on the first ring.

“Hello?”

The words just start to tumble out of my mouth.

“Dad, something’s going on with Emmet. We have to get to his dorm. My phone was dead and now there are like twenty voice mails and I don’t know how many texts. It’s something about a reporter and the front desk at the dorm—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down, son. What is it? What’s wrong with Emmet?”

I hear my mother in the background immediately after he speaks. “Emmet? What’s wrong with Emmet?”

I take a deep breath and try to relay the gist of the message from Pete Pokorny.

“Dad, it sounds like a reporter got past the front desk at the dorm and started harassing Emmet. He’s in trouble, Dad. I was down at the Minneapolis campus and I’m still like an hour out. Can you guys get there?”

Why hadn’t I just gone to the library on campus? Why did I feel the need to haul my butt all the way down to the Twin Cities? Because I was afraid of running into her, that’s why. Ever since I learned she’d been accepted at the U, I’ve known there was a possibility we’d run into each other in the sciences compound on campus. And I just don’t think my heart could take it—having her reject me. Or, worse, ignore me. But look what that cowardice has done. It’s put me too far away to be of any use to my brother when he really needs me.

“Your mother and I were just on our way to an event in Duluth. We can turn around, but it’ll be at least forty-five minutes from here.” I hear him exhale a frustrated, concerned breath before he regroups and speaks again. “Okay, Mason, do not speed. Do you hear me? I don’t want you getting into an accident on the way there.”

Yeah, like they’re not gonna break a few traffic laws on their way. But I don’t argue.

“Okay, Dad, I won’t. Pete and Ryan are there. I’m just afraid that if…you know, if the police get involved, things might get worse.”

“I know, I know. We’re just going to hope that doesn’t happen.”

…

When Ryan calls again, looking for my ETA, I can hear the fear in his voice. Things must be getting bad there. I know how Emmet can be when he has one of his meltdowns, and it’s not good. Things fly around the room and get broken. Furniture flips. Sometimes he yells. Sometimes he curls up in the corner and just rocks back and forth, covering his ears. It’s been a long time, but we always knew there could be more of this kind of thing under the right circumstances.

“How far out are you, man?” he asks me.

I feel my gut clench as I inch along in the bumper-to-bumper traffic on the highway.

“I can’t even tell you. I’m only like twenty-five miles away, but there’s been some kind of an accident and now we’re crawling.” I glance at the time on the dashboard clock. “My folks are closer and they’re coming from the opposite direction. So, with a little luck, they should be there soon.”

“Okay, okay.”

“Do you think you could get him to talk to me on the phone?”

“Doubt it. Pete and I haven’t been able to get him to listen to us about anything. Not likely he’ll start now. In fact, he’ll probably decimate my cell in the process.”

“He’s that bad?”

“Oh yeah. Listen, Mason…I was really anxious before you returned my call. And I didn’t have a number for your parents…”

“Okay, yeah…”

“Ummm…so I…uh, I called Walker O’Halloran.”

“You did what?” I say so loud that the guy in the next car turns to look at me as we both creep along the roadway.

“Dude, I didn’t know what else to do. She should be here in like two minutes. She’s been texting me since she left the pub.”

“She is? She did?”

“Yeah. She didn’t seem to think twice about it. Just asked what was going on and where she needed to be.”

“Wow,” I mutter under my breath.

I don’t know why I should be surprised, but I am. And, now that the shock has worn off, that shock is starting to morph into something different.

Excitement.