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Nora
Nora didn’t know where Kendall Cooper lived, and thanks to Shane, didn’t have a phone number. That kid had been lying. But why? Was he afraid of what Kendall would do if he gave her his phone number? Was Kendall really that bad of a dude? A chill raced through her. If he was, she really didn’t want her son hanging out with him.
A wave of guilt rushed over her. This was her fault. She hadn’t been paying enough attention. She hadn’t been firm enough with Levi when he was little. No. She shook her head. Levi had better sense than that. He wouldn’t hang out with a kid that bad, a kid that dangerous.
She turned on the windshield wipers. Great. Rain. Just what she needed.
Thanks to the size of Carver Harbor, she did know where a few of Levi’s classmates lived. They weren’t kids that Levi would hang out with, necessarily, but they might know where Kendall lived.
Which classmate lived the closest to where she was right now?
Jason DeGrave.
At least, he used to live close by. His parents had split up, and she didn’t know if he still lived in the same house or if he’d left with one of his parents, but she decided to try it anyway. She turned onto his street. Was she really going to do this? Expose herself as an overprotective, overly emotional mom? Would Levi be tortured about this later? She didn’t care, she told herself. Served him right for not calling and telling her where he was. She slowed down to turn into Jason’s driveway but then saw someone jogging down the street. Was that him? She accelerated, hoping so. Much less weird to pull up alongside him than to knock on his door.
Or was it?
She drove beyond him and then stopped and got out to face him. She shivered and pulled her jacket tighter around her. Wherever Levi was, she hoped he was indoors, warm, and out of the rain.
Yes, that was Jason. Good. “Hey, Jason.”
He looked surprised, but he slowed his jog to a walk. “Hey.” He pulled an earbud out of his ear and draped the cord behind his neck.
“Sorry to interrupt your exercise ...” She winced at the dorkiness of her own words. “I’m Levi’s mom.” Doubts overwhelmed her. “Levi Langford’s mom.”
Jason stopped moving altogether and smiled. “Yes, I recognized you.” Rain dripped out of his hair and down his face.
She couldn’t believe this child was choosing to run in the rain. Or maybe he’d started before the rain had. “Good. Thank you. Well, he never came home last night, and I’m kind of freaking out.” She forced a laugh.
Jason didn’t join her in her laugh. He furrowed his brow instead.
His taking this seriously made her feel much better. So maybe she wasn’t freaking out over nothing. Words rushed out of her then: “I heard he was with Kendall Cooper, and I would like to go to Kendall’s house to check and see if he’s home, but I don’t know where Kendall lives. I was hoping you might know?”
Jason’s frown deepened, and Nora’s feeling of foolishness returned. Jason was probably wondering why she’d picked him of all people. Carver Harbor was a small town, but there were still social layers to it, and Jason didn’t belong to Levi and Kendall’s layer. She cringed at the thought of Levi and Kendall being in the same layer.
“Kendall moves around a lot.”
How could someone move around a lot in Carver Harbor? There were only so many places to move. Nora nodded, embarrassed. “Okay, sorry to bother you.”
“No, no, hang on. I think I can figure it out.” He pulled his phone out of the front pocket of his sweatshirt. He scrolled for a few seconds and then held the phone to his ear. “Hey ... yeah, yeah, yeah”—Nora got the impression he’d woken someone up— “I need an address for Kendall.” He rolled his eyes. “Just tell me.”
It was clear that whoever was on the other end of the line thought it strange that the likes of Jason DeGrave would be asking for Kendall’s address.
“No, no, it’s a long story. It’s for a friend ... okay, great. Now, was that so hard? I owe you one.” He hung up and gave her a small smile. “He’s on Canal Street. She didn’t know the number, but she said it’s the gray one with all the junk cars out front.” He frowned. “You want me to go with you?”
“No, no,” she said quickly. “Thank you, though.”
He nodded. “Let me know if you need any help. There are other people I could call, ask if they’ve seen him.”
His offer stunned her. Why was this young man so pleasant? “Yeah ...” She had trouble finding words. A sense of urgency was pushing in on her from all sides, making it hard to think. “Can I give you my number?”
He nodded, holding his phone up again.
She told him her number and then felt self-conscious. “I’m not trying to make drama. He’s not in trouble or anything. If he’s safe, then I just want to know it.” But she knew that he wasn’t safe.
The sober expression on Jason’s face suggested he knew the same thing. “I’ll make some calls.”
“Thank you, Jason.”
