Page 15 of Lost in the Current of You

I’m worried.

And then I locked my phone and shoved it in my back pocket.

“Did he say anything about where he was heading?”

Jake shook his head. “He walked over there to take a call —” He pointed over about five metres from where we stood “— and five minutes later when I looked over, he was gone.”

Just as I opened my mouth to reply, my phone dinged. I pulled it out and my shoulders sagged in relief when I saw the name.

“It’s Reece,” I said.

“Little shit,” Jake replied as he stood behind me to look at the text.

The contents of the message was just a live location about a five-minute walk from here along the beach.

“There, problem solved.” I turned to Jake. “Want me to send it to you?”

His forehead creased as he stared at my phone and then looked up at me. He shook his head which in return made me frown. “Maybe you should go see him. I mean, he texted you back and not me.”

I stared at my phone, confused as to why that was. Jake was his best friend. I wasn’t anyone to him. Just someone who stomped on the heart of one of his friends. A nobody in his life really. Should have been left at that.

I pushed my phone towards Jake. “I shouldn’t. He's your friend.”

He should have taken it, texted himself the location, and been on his merry way.

But no.

He stepped back and I looked up at him. His eyes were a mix of stern, sincere, worry for his friend, and a glint of something like sadness. I found it strange, and that made me worry more.

“If I know anything about Reece, by the looks of things, I think he just needs you.” He nodded in a way that said okay?

“Don’t worry,” he added, the swirl of emotions gone, replaced by a glint of mischief as he wrapped an arm around a scowling Avery. “I’ll make sure your friend gets back safe.”

She pushed him away. “I don’t need you.”

He grinned as he stared down at her. “Honey, we’re in a strange place where we know no one. I know I at least need an escort.” He bowed, offering her his hand. “Will you do me the honors, oh brave tiny one?”

She scoffed and whacked his hand away as she brushed past him with a muttered, “Idiot.”

He stared after her for a moment with a hand on his heart, looking like he just fell in love. “Wow.” He turned to me. “Let me know if he’s okay,” he said, before catching up to her.

Alex turned to me then, his blonde hair damp around his temple. “Text us when you find him, okay?”

I nodded then squeezed his hand. “I’ve got a pack of ibuprofen in my toiletry bag in the bathroom. Go get some rest.”

He smiled and squeezed my hand back. “Thank you. Pray for me though. I have a feeling I’ll be third wheeling the whole trip back.”

I chuckled, wishing him good luck as Avery waited for him to catch up to them. I stared at them for a moment, my curiosity piqued at Jake and Avery’s interaction.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders again, whispering something in her ear. Moments later she shoved him off, making him almost trip over himself. He laughed as she scowled, but I could just see the tiniest twitch in her lips.

Cute, I thought.

And then I started on my way to the location, wishing I had been more stern about not going to. I should have pushed Jake to go himself.

6

My toes dug into the sand as I made my way down the empty beach with my shoes dangling from my fingers. It was past two in the morning, and not a soul was on the beach this far out save for him and I.

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