Page 173 of Saving the Halfback

His phone started vibrating again, and I drew back. With narrowed eyes, Lachlan reached into his pocket and pulledit out. He frowned at the name and stepped back from me, answering the call.

“Hey, I—” Whoever was on the other line had cut him off, and that’s when his entire demeanor changed. I wasn’t even sure if Lachlan was breathing. His whole body went rigid, still, as he listened to whoever was on the other line.

Lachlan swayed like he might fall. I reached out to steady him, but his hand snapped, grabbing my wrist firmly. When his blue eyes locked with mine, he loosened his hold but didn’t let go. I stayed as still as I could.

“Do they know if it was him?” Lachlan asked. The longer whoever was on the phone kept talking, the more I watched Lachlan lose control. His body vibrated, not with fear, but with malice. He ground his teeth, a snarl playing at his lips.

Nolan and Chase joined us, Chase taking my hand from Lachlan and forcing him to release me.

“I’m coming,” Lachlan said before hanging up, and then he let out a scream of pure anger and pain. I could hear my mom step out onto the porch, but I couldn’t look away from Lachlan.

“What happened?” Chase asked.

“Grace went to school this morning, and they can’t find her. I have to get to town now, police are just arriving.”

“Go,” I demanded. “Take my truck.” Chase pulled the keys from his back pocket. “Go with him.” I shoved Chase in the arm. Lachlan had remained sober through all of this, but I still wasn’t sure if he could drive in the state he was in now.

Chase nodded. “We’ll keep you updated.”

They didn’t slow down or stop as they jumped into the truck and took off down the driveway.

I looked back to my mom, seeing the worry on her face before she went back into the house. Nolan reached out and slipped his arm around me, pulling me into his side. “I should’ve asked if it was Ed,” I said. “I forgot to ask.” If something happened toGrace, that would be on me. Rightfully so, Lachlan would never forgive me, but worse… What if they didn’t find her in time?

Mom wason and off the phone for the next few hours. Nolan didn’t push me to do anything or try to distract me. I was floating around outside, going from barn to garage, not really looking for something or doing anything, just lost. Chase hadn’t gotten back to us, but I didn’t want to call or message in case he was busy.

We were sitting on the steps of the porch, Pops, the old farm dog, laying down at our feet. He seemed to be a good dog, though he didn’t move much. He liked to stick close to Ethan, and with Ethan gone, this was the first time I had seen him so close to the house.

Nolan’s phone began to ring with an alarm half a second before mine did, the alarm loud and obnoxious, a siren. An emergency alert. I pulled my phone out and read the alert that displayed on the screen, trying my best not to completely lose it.

Amber Alert

Child abduction reported by Cloverton PS. Victim: Grace Lynn O’Riley. Female, 13 years old. Red hair, blue eyes. Last wearing purple “Go Sabers” shirt and dark blue jeans with a black and silver sports jacket, number 32 on sleeve and chest. Suspect: Kenneth P. Walters. Wearing black and red shirt, black sweatpants. Last seen 0832. If seen, call 911, DO NOT APPROACH.

Nolan’s phonerang and Chase’s name popped up in the screen. “You’re on speaker,” Nolan said. “It’s just Bailey and me.”

“Did you see it?” Chase asked.

“Yes,” I quickly said.

“They are organizing a search for her. Police don’t think they got far, they set up roadblocks and checkpoints too.”

“They know for sure it was him?” I asked.

“Yes,” Chase said. “The school surveillance shows her getting into a stolen car. You can see he was the driver.”

Nolan frowned. “She just got into the car on her own?”

There was silence, and in the background, I could hear chaos before it quieted down, as if Chase had walked away from it. “Lachlan’s parents said they hadn’t told her what was going on. They thought it would scare her.” After a pause, he added, “He must have said something convincing to lure her into the car.”

What the fuck? I buried my face in my hands.

“How is Lachlan?” Nolan asked quietly.

“Not good. Really not good. He’s going off the deep end.”

“We should go help.” I raised my head. “We should join the search.”

“That’s not a good idea, Bails,” Chase said, and I could feel my heart crush under the weight. “I talked to the search and rescue lead, and it’s best if you stay where you are. That way, they don’t have to worry about you. It might be good for Lachlan to focus on his sister as well.”

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