Disclaimer: The usual rules apply here. If you aren't legal in your area to be reading material(non erotic, mind you) about homosexuals and the activities they may or may not participate in, then please don't read. This story has been copyrighted and is not to be used elsewhere in any way without the express permission of the author (that would be me). For everyone else, enjoy!
Wayward People
Chapter Twenty Five-"Just a Ride"
Open door.
Set bags down.
Turn on light.
Look around.
Empty.
Huh.....so.....so that was camping....
Pretty uh....interesting....experience.
Not a pleasant one.
But definitely interesting.
Evan trying to kiss me had taken me totally by surprise.
And everything that happened afterwards was just as surprising, though, it probably shouldn't have been.
The rest of the week went by pretty awkwardly, to say the least.
Everyone pretty much ignored Evan and me.
I didn't care, as I had experience with being ignored.
But it seemed as though it affected Evan more than I thought it would.
He really seemed down and depressed.
Much worse than I'd ever seen him behave before.
And sure Clark, Andrew and Frank all had their jokes, which I could take.
They got to Evan.
I could see it.
If any of them saw it, they didn't care.
They weren't very friendly people, but as I was realizing now, it was exactly what Sienna, Max, and even Troy had been trying to tell me.
Granted, I pretty much knew that about all of them all along.
You don't get to be popular without hurting a few, or in their cases, a lot, of people's feelings along the way.
They were all bad people who went to church acting like they were one thing and showed up to school as a completely different thing.
Two faced.
And I was done with all of that.
"Uh......hello?" I called out.
I knew that my parents and Max had gone to Hawaii for the break, but I figured they'd at least be back by now.
I wasn't sure whether or not I should have been worried that no one seemed to be home or not.
I didn't want to start thinking bad thoughts.
I had a whole week to do that.
"Uh...anyone here?" I called out again.
I mean, no lights and no sound should have told me all I needed to know, but a person still wants to make sure.
I let out a sigh and was about to start towards the stairs when the next thing I knew, I was being flung forward by the front door opening behind me.
"I think I hit something," Troy spoke.
"You hit a lot of things Troy," I heard Sienna laugh.
"Yeah, he's never driving again," Max replied.
"Let's just say I haven't had a lot of practice with.....Mike-"
I stood up and faced all of them.
They all looked highly surprised to see me.
Almost too surprised.
I mean, spring break was only a week long.
We all had school tomorrow.
They knew I had to be coming back sometime.
I noticed, while everyone was just standing there staring at me, that they'd obviously gone out to get something to eat, from the bags they were holding.
"You guys get any for me?" I asked.
I even put on a smile when I asked.
There was a moment where they all just stared at me.
I wasn't sure what to do.
But then I noticed Max shuffling around.
"That depends," he started. "Are you still an asshole?"
Was I still an asshole?
That was actually a good question.
I guess now that I had to think about it, the way I'd been acting since Pete had died would be considered horrible asshole worthy behavior.
I didn't want to admit it, but now I had to.
"Uh..."
"Of course he isn't," Sienna spoke, walking over to me and pulling me into a slow hug.
I hugged her back staring at my brother and Troy.
"Right Mike?" Sienna asked.
She smelled like roses.
Or maybe her hair smelled like roses.
Either way, she smelled nice.
Just something I noticed.
Nice.
It'd been awhile since I'd viewed anything that way.
I definitely didn't feel I was an asshole anymore.
"Guys, I'm really sorry," I started as Sienna released me from the hug. "I've been a jerk to all of you."
"No I think we established the word is asshole," Sienna smiled.
"Anyway, I'm really sorry," I replied. "Can you guys forgive me?"
I wasn't sure what they'd say.
I had to think about how I'd have felt had either one of them treated me as badly as I'd treated them the past couple of months.
Would I forgive them?
"Well....it happens," Max replied. "I mean, all three of us were friends with Evan at one time or another."
I remember a time when all three of them were friends with Evan at the same time, but I chose not to bring that up.
"We forgive you," Max replied.
I knew how Sienna felt.
I knew how my brother felt.
But Troy?
I never knew how he felt.
He was always so stern.
So unreadable.
He never let his guard down.
And for some reason, I felt like I needed his approval of me the most.
I looked over at him, staring at me with his arms crossed.
Then he just walked over to me and pulled me into one of those typical `guy' hugs, patting me firmly on the back.
"Welcome back man," he spoke.
"Thanks," I replied.
"Awww, ain't that just touching?" Sienna spoke.
"Sorry about hitting you with that door man," Troy spoke. "You fell kinda hard."
Speaking of the door, which yes, had hit me pretty hard, it was still wide open.
Something my dad pointed out once I noticed him and my mother walking towards it.
"Letting all the air out of the house," I heard him mumble.
"Here kids, come help us with these bags," she spoke.
Troy and Max each rushed over to the car.
"Hey son," my dad spoke, regarding me carefully.
I was also fully aware, now, of how I'd been treating my parents.
Despite all of the shit I felt they put me through, and it was a lot of bad shit, they hadn't given up on me completely.
Even with all of the shit I'd put them through, they still kept me around and tried to treat me normally.
And for that, I realized that both of them really did love me.
I don't know why I hadn't seen that before.
"Hey dad," I smiled as my dad ruffled my hair and walked past me into the house.
"Hi Mr. Carson," Sienna spoke.
"Hey Sienna," my dad replied.
"You'll be happy to know that as the one female companion your two boys had around this past week, I made sure they stayed in line," Sienna replied.
"Oh, well then I'm happy to hear that," my dad replied.
It just now hit me.
Nobody had gone with my parents to Hawaii?
Who passes up Hawaii to stay......nevermind.
"We brought presents," my mom spoke as she approached me.
"Really?" I asked.
"Oh yes, lots," She replied. "Nice to see you Michael."
I smiled back at my mom.
"Nice to see you too mom," I replied.
And I think for the first time in my life, I actually meant it.
"There better be some pooka shells in one of these bags or I'm gonna seriously be pissed," Max spoke.
"Language, Maxwell!" my mom scolded him.
"Sorry," Max replied.
Troy smiled at me as he passed, carrying a few bags, and I smiled back.
Everyone seemed happy.
Everything seemed great.
For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was ready to embrace life.
I knew it would be what Pete would want for me.
"Right on schedule," Troy spoke, smiling at me.
Yep.
Once again, we'd come out of our rooms at the exact same time in the morning.
I'm sure that had to be some kind of freaky record.
We each walked forward until we met up in the middle of the hall, facing each other.
"You want the bathroom first?" he asked.
I looked over to the open door.
"Do you want it first?" I asked.
Now that we could practice diplomacy around here, which had been a far cry from the usual rush to the bathroom and hog it for as long as possible just to spite each other way of living for the past few months, we were a bit unsure of how to act, it seemed.
"Um...."
"No one asked me," Max spoke, walking past the both of us and into the restroom. "But what the heck, I don't mind going first."
Both of us stared at the shut door for a few seconds before turning back to each other.
I don't know why this seemed so strange.
Wait a sec, yes I did.
It was because as much as I didn't want to admit it, I was actually starting to grow more and more attracted to him.
And that scared me.
I mean, how in the world could I be attracted to Troy just months after my first boyfriend died so unexpectedly?
I guess it may have been possible because I was finally starting to come to terms with Pete's death.
Pete wasn't the kind of guy that would want me to stay hung up on him long after he died.
He'd want me to move on.
He'd always been a free spirit.
And I'd always had that faint attraction to Troy from the very beginning.
Now, I was realizing it was there even more than before.
I was staring at him.
He was staring at me.
I felt...like it was right for some reason.
His gaze was so strong.
I didn't even want to look away.
But I did.
As attractive as Troy was, and believe me he was.....whew....he was up there......he was still Troy.
The same Troy who refused to do something as simple as tell me whether or not he had any brother or sisters.
I didn't know one real thing about him.
I'm sure that's not entirely normal.
Did I really want to have a relationship with someone like that, let alone a romantic one?
"Okay then," Troy smiled his gorgeous killer smile at me.
As he turned and walked away, I had to work extra hard to keep my knees from falling.
Seeing that smile pretty much gave me my answer.
Hell yeah I wanted somebody like Troy, if not for looks alone!
I can't exactly say that I was thrilled to be returning to school today.
I'd spent the better portion of three months as something I'd never ever imagine I'd end up being.
Popular.
It was....fun, while it lasted and I got to get a good look at the type of people that ruled my school.
It just showed me that I was pretty much right in my depictions of popular high school teens in any of my stories.
But things had changed with the revelation from my own lips to those mean kids own ears that I was in fact, a queer.
A rumor was a rumor, but when I told them to their own ears that it wasn't a rumor......
Suddenly, I knew that things were going to be a lot different than they had been.
"You know, I think you're right when you say that surviving high school is like surviving a jungle," Sienna spoke, as she Max, Troy, Sadie and I all walked down the hallway.
Something else I wasn't quite used to but at least seem before was people pointing and staring at me.
At least this time I knew what they were talking about.
But I was past caring what any of them thought.
I had a lot of different people to thank for that.
"They really are like animals," Sienna added.
"Remember when you were popular Sienna," Troy said. "It seems like it was so long ago."
"I'm still popular," Sienna replied. "It's called captain of the cheerleading team."
"Oh and that's such an accomplishment," Troy spoke sarcastically.
"I consider it something," Sadie spoke up, as I remembered that she was on the team as well.
"Thank you Sadie," Sienna spoke as we approached my locker.
I didn't care that people were talking about me but that still didn't mean I wanted to see them do it.
I was choosing to ignore them completely.
"So, what next?" Max asked as he got comfortable next to me. "Where do we go from here?"
I wasn't sure.
I still had two and a half months left of school.
And another year on top of that.
Wherever things went from here, I was definitely going to have to come up with a way to deal.
"Well hello all," Clark spoke, approaching with Andrew, Frank, Janet and Shannon in tow. "Gee, ain't this a lovely sight? But wait, something's missing? What's missing Andy?"
Andrew pretended to think about it for a moment before responding.
"Could it be Carson's new boyfriend?" he replied, which caused Janet and Shannon to giggle like the vapid little girls they were.
"You know, I never really pictured Evan to be one of you guys," Clark spoke, obviously referring to both me and Troy for some reason. "But looking back on it all now, it kinda makes sense. I mean, he did always seem to pick on you the most."
"Why don't you go blow that straw house over there down and leave him alone," Sienna spoke.
"Oh a big bad wolf reference," Clark spoke. "I'm making my way up already."
Sienna rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.
"And anyway I don't take orders from two bit fag hags," Clark replied.
No just two bit bully in-the-closet fags.
"Seriously though, where is Evan this lovely Monday morning?" Clark asked. "Is he out somewhere with his flagpole stuck in some loser's gopherhole?"
Again, they were proving that they were horrible people, what else was new?
But they were talking like they knew all there was to know about all that was gay.
I could honestly say that up until a few months ago, I hadn't even thought the word gay other than when Reverend Thomas brought it up in church, let alone heard people joking about it at school.
They just saw an opportunity to be cruel and they were taking it.
"Sorry but we don't exactly keep track of that asshole's every horrible minute on Earth," Sienna spoke.
"Oh but from what I hear, Carson does-"
"Do we have a problem, Clark?" Max growled, starting towards Clark but Sadie and Troy held him back.
The last thing I wanted was for someone to get into another fight over me.
"What is it with all the little people wanting a piece of all the people on top?" Clark asked. "You think you're doing your school some kind of favor and then you get all this...."
"You're all nothing but a bunch of assholes," Troy spoke. "God, people like you really do exist everywhere."
Maybe I was supposed to be getting something out of that statement, but I decided to just let it go.
Clark smirked at Troy before he uncrossed his arms and let out a sigh.
"As fun as this is, and believe me, it's been fun," he started. "I have class to get to."
They always realized they had somewhere to be directly after making fun of someone.
Amazing how that works.
All of us watched them leave before Sienna turned to face us.
"Like any of us care Evan isn't here," she mumbled. "I can't believe I used to be friends with those people."
I can't believe I used to be friends with those people as well.
Still, it had me thinking about something else.
Even though I'd taken a turn for the worse after Pete's death and pretty much abandoned my friends in the process, none of them had abandoned me.
They never gave up on me and had always wanted to help me.
Evan and his friends obviously had a different relationship.
It was kind of sad when I thought about it.
But I wasn't going to think about it too hard.
Evan certainly didn't deserve to have me thinking about him as hard as I was.
"Well," Sienna started. "At least we can all rest easy knowing Evan isn't here to bother anybody."
Yep.
Because we all knew that was definitely a good thing.
You know, the last time someone I knew skipped school, something major was going on.
This was a small town.
I couldn't reiterate that enough.
So people here didn't skip class mostly because they'd have nowhere to go if they did.
When Pete was skipping class, it was because there was more going on with him than anyone really knew about.
It was unfortunate that I couldn't help him, but I was learning to get past that and accept my part in his death.
Pete needed help, it was obvious, and no one gave it to him.
But now, the proverbial shoe was on another foot.
Now, somebody else was doing weird things and I was trying to determine if it was a cry for help.
The only problem was the person in need of help.
Evan.
There was no one that I hated more than him.
He had made my life over the past few months a living nightmare, and I wasn't sure I'd ever forgive him for that.
But also in the past few months, I'd also gotten a chance to see his personality up close and personal.
It was like....Evan was almost this bruised kid.
He had his issues, that much I knew.
The problem was, with so many issues, how could I be sure that something was wrong with him?
For starters, Evan certainly hadn't skipped school before.
At least, as long as I'd been aware of his presence this school year.
Yet, Evan had been noticeably absent from class for the past three days.
First the guy tries to kiss me, then he runs away?
At least, that's what it seemed like.
It would be so easy just to assume that Evan just didn't want to face his problems.
People always ran away from problems when they first arose.
I knew that better than anyone.
Pete had done it.
And I'd done it.
And now....Evan was doing it.
And I had to decide if that was something I gave a damn about.
Evan certainly deserved no sympathy from anyone let alone me.
But I knew firsthand what happens when people need help and don't get it.
I had the chance to help Evan, if there was something that could be helped.
Was I going to let my personal feelings stand in the way?
"It's like this tall and only a wee bit thick-"
"Oh come on Max-"
"You just want me to tell you what it is, Sadie-"
"Duh!"
Sadie wanted Max to show her the present he keep bragging that he'd bought for her, but he wouldn't give it to her.
I was able to at least act like I was a part of what was going on when the truth was, I couldn't have been further away from the conversation.
I was thinking about Evan.
I hated that.
I tried to keep myself from thinking about him.
Tried so hard.
But the fact of the matter was, I just couldn't.
I wanted to know why he wasn't here.
And better yet, why none of his own friends seemed to care.
"Hey," Troy spoke, nudging me softly. "You alright?"
I looked over at him.
He had a slight smile on his face, and for the first time...possible ever, I could actually tell something from his face.
He was concerned.
That was something I didn't want.
For people to be concerned about me anymore.
I'd already caused enough heartache and grief.
There was no need for me to cause anymore.
I found myself looking down, unable to hold his gaze before I looked down the hall to where Evan's friends were laughing and talking like today was just another day.
And why shouldn't today have been any different from any other day?
Their friend was missing and hadn't shown up to school in days, not since the disastrous camping trip, yet today was just another day.
Andrew had already found someone else to be a lackey to, and Clark looked perfectly happy taking Evan's role as most popular.
After all, they all knew about that damn kiss.
My friends didn't know.
Maybe that was what needed to be done.
In order to get people to care, they needed a reason.
"He...kissed me," I sighed.
`What?" Troy asked.
I let out a sigh and looked up at him, feeling slightly defeated.
"On the camping trip.....Evan...he kissed me," I replied.
Troy stared at me for a few seconds before looking down.
It was obvious he didn't know what to say exactly.
"Hey Mike, you think I should show her?" Max asked, laughing a little.
I was staring at Troy.
He was staring back at me.
"Mike?"
Everyone got quiet and focused their attention on me.
"He what?"
"Troy-"
"That stupid sonofabitch!"
"Guys, whoa, what's going on?" Max asked.
He was angry.
Of course he was upset.
I already knew how he felt about Evan.
Him and the rest of my friends and family now.
Troy ran his hands through his hair, doing these weird little half circle turns.
Honestly, he looked like he was trying to keep from punching someone.
Anyone.
"Troy-"
"What's going on?" Sienna asked.
"Did you kiss him back?" Troy asked.
"Kiss who back?" Max asked, sounding extremely concerned just then.
"What? No, of course not-"
Troy stormed away from our group and over towards Evan's friends.
This so wasn't good.
"Troy!" I called after him, following him.
He rushed straight up to Clark and pinned him against a wall so quick that no one saw it coming him.
"Where's your fucking friend Clark!"
"Let go of me!"
"Troy!" I shouted, trying to pull him off.
"I'm not a big fan of this public display of your affection for me-"
"Where's Evan-"
"We don't keep in touch these days. I like to not know people who are going to hell-"
"Troy!"
Troy let Clark go and started down the hallway, looking like a bull that had just seen red.
I, Sienna, Max and Sadie all started after him.
"Hey tell your boyfriend he still has my Ipod!" Clark called after us.
"Troy-"
"Does anyone wanna tell me what's going on here?"
"Troy would you just stop?"
"Why don't the both of you stop-"
"Troy-"
"What?" Troy asked, stopping abruptly and turning around.
And in that moment, I literally was at a loss for words.
I didn't exactly know `what'.
I just wanted him to stop so badly.
"What Mike?"
"I..."
"Oh my god...I think I just figured it out," Sienna spoke, covering her mouth with her hand.
Max and Sadie looked back at her while she was looking over at me.
"You.....kissed Evan?"
"Sienna-"
"What?" Max asked.
Even though there were a bunch of people in the hallway, things seemed to grow unnervingly quiet just then.
"Guys, I can explain-"
"Okay, go ahead?" Max started, crossing his arms.
Except, there really was nothing to explain.
Evan had kissed me, plain and simple.
And I hadn't seen him since.
"I'm more interested in finding the asshole," Troy growled.
The way he pinned Clark back then and the way he sounded now.....he was upset.
Really upset.
"I didn't....I mean-"
"So he kissed you then?" Sienna asked.
I just looked over at her trying to convey some sort of agreeing look.
"But he's gone," Sienna spoke.
Now that people realized that, it was as good as time as any to bring up my concerns.
"I think something's wrong," I said, carefully after swallowing hard.
Everyone just stared over at me.
"What do you mean Mike?" Max asked.
"With Evan," I replied. "I think something's wrong. I think he might have run away."
That path of action just made the most sense to me.
For some reason, I felt like I got Evan.
Understood him.
I felt like I could understand what he was going through.
And for that, I felt like it was my duty to at least try to help him.
Before anything bad happened to him.
"What?"
The bell indicating that we should all have been in class now had sounded, yet no one moved a muscle.
I was surprised by how serious this all was right then.
"I think....I think maybe we should go look for him. See if he's-"
"No."
I stopped and looked over at Troy.
My breathing was shallow and I felt like I was against all of them in something that was going way over my head.
"Troy-"
"After everything he put you through, he misses a couple of days of school and now you wanna go on a hunting party?"
"He's been gone three days Troy," I said.
"Well after today it'll have been four," Troy replied. "Because I'm not looking anywhere for that bastard. Ever."
Now that I knew how he felt....
I turned to face everyone else.
"He could just be sick Mike," Sadie spoke.
"Besides," Max started. "I'm with Troy. I couldn't care one way or the other what happens to Evan."
Okay...now that I knew how THEY felt...
There was still Sienna.
She had to care.
I mean, she HAD to.
She'd been the guy's boyfriend for years.
"Sienna...."
I looked her in her eyes.
I tried to hold her gaze but she looked down.
She looked fragile just then.
Broken.
Like she was torn about what to do.
"Mike.....I.....can't..."
So that was it?
A guy could have been missing...kidnapped, have run away from home...something....and none of them cared?
Why did I care?
I don't know why, but for some reason I did.
I didn't want to, but since I did care....
"Mike, just forget about him," Max spoke, putting his had on my shoulder. "You're better off with him not around."
I had to wonder if that was the way they all felt.
But seeing everyone's determined faces.....I knew they all had their minds made up.
"Well," I started, taking in a big breath. "I guess I can't force you to do anything then."
If they didn't want to help, then what could I do?
I was just one person.
And it wasn't like I could blame them for not wanting to help.
"Come on Mike," Max said. "We're all already late for class."
He was trying to pull me along with him gently, but for some reason I found myself not wanting to budge.
All I could do in that moment was stare at Troy staring back at me.
Him getting so upset behind the very thought of Evan kissing me sent shivers down my spine.
I had no idea he cared about me that much.
What was I supposed to think?
"Mike..." Max replied.
I started to let myself be pulled to Max's side, while getting one final glance at Troy before he he started walking behind us.
They never strayed.
Once they really saw how evil a person Evan was, they made sure to stay away from him.
Me?
I was his right hand man for a couple of months.
I hadn't liked it, but it was just a way for me to cope.
Yet, I'd still put myself in a position that would lead to Evan's eventual trying to kiss me.
And what if he's actually kissed me.....
"Fine," I replied.
Evan was gone. And there was nothing I could do about it.
"I'm just saying, if Walmart and Starbucks were really out to take over the world, then we'd have both here in Wayward by now," my dad spoke.
Max had a theory that Starbucks and Walmart were both trying to take over the world and that eventually one or both would win.
I hated Walmart. I'd never been to a Starbucks, but I could understand where Max was coming from.
"Do you have Walmarts and Starbucks in Canada, Troy?" Max asked.
Troy finished chewing his food and briefly glanced at me before responding.
"Yeah," he replied. "We do."
I think we could all tell he was on edge this evening.
And only I had a full idea of why that could be.
My mind was mostly elsewhere tonight.
I knew I shouldn't have been, but I couldn't stop thinking about what might have been wrong with Evan.
There had to be something wrong for him to try and kiss me.
And now he wasn't even around for me to even question him about everything.
He could have been, quite frankly, dead, and no one seemed to give a damn.
It was his fault things were that bad.
It was still sad to think about though.
We'd barely even started dinner before the doorbell rang and my mother got up to go answer it.
"It's probably Sienna coming to borrow Candyland to whoop some poor freshman's as...butt," Max spoke, catching himself before my dad did.
I had just started chewing some of my food before I almost choked on it once I saw who'd come into the kitchen with my mother.
"Uh, hello everyone."
That was Evan's mom.
And his dad.
But...here...
They were here.
Why were they here?
"Uh, hello everyone....um..." Evan's mother started.
"You all know Evan's mother Claire and his father John," my mother spoke.
I noticed my dad looked a bit put off to see them, but in the face of guest, he didn't let it show too much.
I didn't know what to do or say accept to just watch as my mother showed them both a seat.
"Or, no, I'm uh...too upset to sit still," Evan's mother spoke.
My mother and father exchanged glances as did Max and I.
We, along with Troy, knew why they had to be here by now.
Evan had been missing all day at school.
I didn't want to think much of it, even though I'd been worried for some odd reason.
I wasn't sure why.
Maybe I just didn't want Evan to feel like he had to do something as rash as Pete had done.
I missed him....
"So what's going on?" I asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible while looking over at my mom.
"Well," my mom started. "Apparently Evan is missing."
"What?" my dad asked, sounding shocked.
Troy rustled in his seat while I just tried to look like this was all news to me.
"It's just not like him," his mother spoke, sounding crushed. "I'm worried."
Only, Max, Troy and I all knew better.
Evan wasn't a good guy in the least.
For all we knew, this sort of bad-ass missing for a day deal was something the guy relished.
This all could have been part of his next big scheme to hurt someone.
Then again, maybe it wasn't.
I didn't know what to think.
"Wow, that's..." my ad started. "I'm sorry to hear that."
I was probably the only person who noticed that he almost sounded like he was trying to keep from laughing.
I knew he didn't like Evan.
In fact, we all knew it.
There was silence for a few moments before my dad cleared his throat and looked down.
"Look uh, I know my boys done some...pretty cruel things to your son," Evan's father started. "And I'm sorry for that. I'd at least hope that the four of us could still be civil towards each other."
My dad looked over at my mom.
"How would you feel if it was your son?" Evan's mother asked.
Actually, at one point it was me.
And I think that must have been what prompted my dad to finally speak up and show some concern.
"What do you two need?" he asked.
"We were going to look around town for him," his mother spoke. "I mean I don't know where he could be."
My dad stood up and walked over to the refrigerator, where his keys were located on the top of, and grabbed them.
"We'll all look," he spoke. "Together."
"Dad," I spoke, starting to get up, but he put his hand out to stop me.
"You guys stay here," he said. "In case he drops by."
Which I highly doubted.
But for the time being, I guess I could oblige.
Troy looked upset but he wasn't facing either mine of Evan's parents, so they couldn't tell.
Max just looked confused about the whole thing.
"Thank you," Evan's mother spoke.
My dad looked over at me before turning back to everyone.
"It's what I'd do if it were my kid," he said.
I just sat back down and messed over my food while simultaneously watching as all the adults went out the front door en route to search for the apparently missing Evan Parker.
Things were quiet for a few moments.
I didn't like that.
Max let out a breath and looked over at me.
"Wow....did...that really just happen?" he asked.
"Unfortunately it did," Troy replied.
I was just about to reply when the doorbell rang.
"I hope that isn't him," Troy mumbled.
A small part of me hoped the same thing.
But at the same time I couldn't help but to be worried.
I knew what I had been going through that eventually possessed me to run away.
I wondered if Evan was going through something similar.
Or worse.
"I'll get it," I sighed, heading for the door.
I had this really strange feeling as I headed towards the door.
A feeling I didn't want to be having.
It was hope and fear all at once.
I was expecting or not expecting but mostly expecting Evan to be at the door.
"You'll never guess who's parent's just swung by," Sienna spoke just walking all into the house. "Ooh, is that steak?"
I shut the door and followed her into the kitchen, speaking behind her.
"If you're talking about Evan's mom and dad, you just missed them," I spoke.
Sienna walked over to the kitchen table and started fixing herself a plate.
"God, I'm starving," she started. "I got stuck with dad again. Love him, but he seriously needs to invest in some cooking classes or something."
"So does anyone really think Evan's `missing' as his parents so aptly put it?" Max spoke.
"Please, the guy obviously loves attention," Troy started. "As witnessed by his insane decision to kiss Mike."
And why was that so insane?
I wasn't really in the mood to get into that right now.
"I don't know what to think," Sienna spoke. "That's sad too. I mean, I dated him for two years and have no clue what to think about him right now."
"Yeah well don't even waste your time thinking about him," Troy mumbled. "He's not worth it."
I knew enough to know that it wasn't up to us to decide if he was worth it or not.
Everyone had their own reasons for doing what they did, no matter if it was good or bad.
I just wondered what Evan's so called `reasons' were.
"Well, I guess you're right," I sighed.
I did at least agree that it wasn't really healthy for me to waste my time thinking about him.
That much he didn't deserve from me.
I had just started thinking about something else before the phone started ringing.
"Damn," Troy mumbled. "They found him."
"Somebody's bitter tonight," Sienna spoke. "Might it have something to do with news of a certain kiss?"
I looked over at Troy and chuckled at him when he turned red before jumping up to answer the phone.
"Hello?" I asked, trying to kill my chuckles.
"Carson?"
No one called me that but-
"Evan?"
"Look I messed up...I didn't wanna call my folks and I didn't know what to do...I...."
"Evan, what-"
"Can you come see me? I got something I want to say to you,"
I turned back to look over at Sienna, Troy and Max who were staring at me wondering what was going on.
"Uh...Evan, where are you?" I asked.
"I'm uh....I'm in the hospital," he replied.
Now how did he manage that?
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Copyright 2006