Page 83 of The Crush
Where is everyone?
A soft breeze greets me where I stand, making me turn to see the front door standing open. On the porch step, a lone figure sits hunched over, hat in his hands.
I move closer, the screen door creaking when I push it open and step outside. At the sound of my approach, he straightens slightly, turning on the step to look up at me with red-rimmed eyes.
“Where’s Danny?” I ask Tadeo, afraid to hear the answer. “Is he okay?”
His shoulders sag before his gaze falls back to the ground. “I don’t know.”
I shake my head in something like refusal, stepping closer to him as my eyes search the surrounding area, but I find nothing except the confirmation of Daniel’s missing truck.
“The barns,” I suggest, the growing anxiety evident in my tone. “He hasn’t been sleeping well. He could’ve driven down to the barns and—”
“I’ve checked the barns, mija,” Tadeo says gently, pushing himself up to his feet. “And the roads.” He meets my gaze, clearly reluctant to add, “All the routes between here and your parents’ house.”
“My parents’ house?” I repeat, confused. “Why?”
“Gabe and Eli,” Tadeo tells me. “He drove them home last night.”
“And he hasn’t been back?” I ask sharply, any nausea I felt before paling in comparison to what I feel now. “He never came home? Why didn’t you wake me?”
“Figured it was better that you got a good night’s sleep if… I went searching for him when I felt like too much time had passed. I thought maybe one of the boys had gotten sick on the road. But then when I couldn’t find them, I figured maybe your mamá might have insisted Danny stay rather than drive back.” His fingers clench around the brim of his hat. “But, when I called a little while ago to check, your father was quick to remind me that Danny is still not permitted in his house.”
I roll my eyes, biting the inside of my cheek to keep from screaming a string of profanity as I hold myself tighter. “That’s all he said? He didn’t offer to help or… What did my mom say?”
Tadeo frowns, uncharacteristically hesitant as he says, “Didn’t get a chance to talk to her. Or Gabe, or Eli. Which is why I was getting ready to head over there myself. See if they might remember something.”
I nod, opening my mouth to tell him I’ll go with him right when the kitchen phone rings out from behind us and makes both of us turn. Impressively, Tadeo gets there in what feels like no more than three long strides, me hot on his heels right up to the moment he grabs the handset.
“Hello?” he asks, sounding apprehensive, and I swear even my heart stops to listen. A second later, he places a hand against the wall as he breathes out, “Danny.Where are you?”
Relieved beyond belief, I, too, sag against the kitchen wall as I silently repeat,Please let him be okay. Please just let him be okay.
Across from me, Tadeo continues to stare straight ahead, listening intently, and I knit my fingers together in front of me to keep from grabbing for the phone.
“Mijo, you’ve been out all night. You haven’t slept. Why don’t you come home, and we can talk about it?”
There’s a long pause, and when I look to Tadeo again for an explanation, his eyes are still looking far away, his brow creased deep as he shakes his head back and forth in evident disagreement with whatever is being said on the other end of the line.
“You don’t. I know you think you do, but you don’t.”
I step closer, enough that I’m able to make out how much noise there is wherever Daniel is calling from. Other phones ringing and voices speaking and so muchactivityand…Where is he even calling from?
“Come home. You can talk to me about it. To Isa.” There’s a pause and then, “Mijo—”
With a heavy sigh, Tadeo holds the phone out to me, placing a hand on my shoulder when I take it and giving me a squeeze before he moves to sit in one of the kitchen chairs.
“Danny?” I say as soon as the phone is against my ear. “What happened? Are you okay?”
“I’m sorry.” I hate the way his voice sounds, distant and tense in the same way it does when he wakes up from his nightmares. “I’m okay. I’ve been trying to call but I had trouble getting a phone.”
“You had trouble getting a phone?” I repeat, trying to make sense of what he’s saying. “Why? Where are you? Why didn’t you come home?”
“I wanted to but…I’ve had some time to think, and I need to do this. It’s better,” he tells me, offering an explanation that isn’t onewhile I hear a muffled noise on the line. “I have to go. I’m sorry. I’ll be back later, and we can talk.”
“No, tell me what’s going onnow,” I plead with him. “What’s better? Danny, tell me where you are.”
“I’m sorry, Isabel. I’m so sorry.” There’s someone louder than everyone else in the background, a sharp commanding voice that I don’t think is used to waiting. “I need to go.”
