I Can Hear Your Silence (A Heartstopper FanFic -- BOOK 2)

17. Gone

After a long night of tossing and turning, Sarah finally gave up on trying to sleep and got herself up and dressed for an early breakfast. The kitchen was bright and quiet this early, Nick and Portia both still asleep, Nellie only snuffling up sleepily from her basket.

"Sorry, Nellie," Sarah murmured as she pottered about, making tea and toast.

This was nice. This was good.

She had to keep herself busy or she'd fall apart. She must trust the police to find David. All she could do was hold down the fort here until he returned.

Sarah sat down at the table and was glad of Nellie's company as she shuffled over and plonked her head onto her knee. "Good girl," she said, patting the dog's ears. "Are you missing him too?"

Nellie whined softly and tilted her head. Sarah sighed. "And what are we going to do with the other one? Do you know why he came home so late last night, Nellie?"

"Boof!" said Nellie but she did not elaborate.

"Hm," said Sarah. "Fine. I know where your loyalties lie."

Nellie whined again and rested her head back on Sarah's lap. Sarah breathed a laugh and took a bite of her toast.

She was halfway through her first slice when her phone rang on the table beside her. Nellie looked up at the noise and whined particularly loudly this time.

Sarah felt like whining too at the sight of the name on her screen.

"Good morning, Jane," she said. Sarah was not in the mood for feigning politeness this morning, but it had to be done.

"I'd like to speak with my son, please," Jane barked, by way of greeting.

"Um... well, maybe try his bedroom?"

"Don't be clever, Sarah. Do you think I don't know where he's run off to?"

"I apologise, Jane. I thought Nick was staying the night at yours."

"He --" Jane paused. "He was. We had a bit of a -- a disagreement -- the three of us, and I sent Nick home."

Sarah blinked in shock. "But it was so late --"

"That's besides the point," Jane cut in. "I need to talk to my son, right now."

Still fuming internally, Sarah muttered. "Fine, fine. Hang on. They're still asleep."

"I don't care," spat Jane. "Wake them up. It's their fault if they're so tired."

Sarah used the motion of walking up the stairs to help calm her frustration.

"Are you there yet?"

"I'm going as fast as I can..."

Sarah made it to her son's door and knocked quietly. As she had suspected, there was no answer. Hoping against all hope that she was not about to walk in on something she really did not want to walk in on, she edged the door open slightly and poked her head inside.

"Oh," she murmured.

"Hello?" came Jane's sharp voice. "Are you still there?"

Sarah thought she might be getting a migraine. "He's not here."

"What? Of course he is!" Jane's voice was less steady now.

Sarah shut the door again on her sleeping son and headed quickly down the hall to the bathroom. The light was off and there was no sign of Charlie.

"Jane..." Sarah tried to swallow her sudden dread. "I don't think Charlie's in my house at all."

There was a lot of thumping and loud footsteps and doors opening and closing from the other end of the line and Sarah suspected Jane was experiencing a very similar kind of dread while searching her own house.