• • • • •
My house looms in front of us as we leave the woods, and looking at it, my perspective changes. My house looks . . . different. It’s like it doesn’t have as much power over me as before. Like it no longer has the power to bring me down. I have no idea why I feel this difference. Maybe because I’m officially the man of the house (at least until my dad gets back). Or maybe it’s because of the night I just had with Seth. One thing is certain, I don’t want my house and room to ever feel like a tomb again.
I call Ted, my dad’s friend, and he says, “Charlie? That you?”
“What’s happening, Ted? Where’s my dad?”
“Charlie, jeez, been trying to get a hold of you all night. Look. This here’s hard to say.”
“I already know he’s missing.”
Seth stares at me as we walk. He holds Tickles’s leash.
“It’s not that, Charlie.”
My stomach drops, and I hold my breath.
“We called the sheriff yesterday. A big search party went out, combed the area, and we found your dad.”
“Oh my god, he’s dead?”
Seth drops his side of the cooler.
“What?” Ted says. “No. No. But he’s mighty injured. Fell a ways off a cliff. Broke a leg, some ribs, shattered his kneecap. Done some other things too.”
“Where is he?”
“He’s at Memorial. Room eighteen.”
I hang up before Ted can say anything else. Seth looks at me with wide eyes. “What’s going on?”
“He’s at the hospital. They found him. But he’s injured.”
“I’ll bring Tickles back if you want to go?”
“It’s fine. Geoffrey’s house is literally right there.”
We drop off the camping supplies in the garage and head to Geoffrey’s. I knock quickly and we enter. Geoffrey is snoring loudly on the couch.
My forehead is pulsating again. I press my finger to it. I can’t feel anything.
“Geoffrey,” I say loudly.
He keeps snoring.
I let Tickles off the leash. He runs his little legs to the kitchen.
“I’ll have to come back,” I say, and head out the door. Seth follows me out.
“I’ll call you later to see how your dad is doing,” he says.
This stops me in my tracks. “You’re not coming with me?”
“Maybe it should just be you and your dad.”
The thought of being alone, without Seth, digs a pit into my chest. I hate the empty feeling. And I both hate and love that I need Seth in my life right now. “Can you please come?”
“I’ve never met your dad.”
“You can meet him now.”
“Why do you want me to go so badly?”
I shake my head. “Because.” Because you make me feel connected to the ground. Maybe you’re my anchor. “Just . . . come on.”