The Summer We Changed

missing

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It had been 5 months since Jeremiah and Jewel had broken up, Susannah passing away only a month ago. Jeremiah always knew the day would eventually come, but he also always assumed that he would have Jewel there to lean on when it did. That he would have somebody there to lean on. Conrad was missing, not just gone to college, but actually gone, only reminding Jeremiah of how alone he truly felt.

Jeremiah bit his lip as the phone rang, his knee bouncing impatiently as he sat on the edge of his bed. He waited as the dial tone played, the sound of someone picking up finally coming through after a minute.
"Belly?" He spoke, hearing the girl's movement on the other side.
"Jeremiah, hey. I'm so glad you..." She answered, Jeremiah quick to let his worry cut her off.
"Are you with Conrad?" He asked, solely relying on the hope that Conrad and her would be together.
"Uh, no. Why would I be with Conrad?" She asked, Jeremiah shaking his head despite her inability to see.
"I don't know. I just thought maybe you guys would..." He rambled, allowing his sentence to fall off.
"Jeremiah, what's going on?" She questioned, Jeremiah's anxiousness beginning to rub off on her.
"Conrad's gone."
"Wait, what do you...what do you mean gone?" The girl spoke, sitting up more in her bed as she heard the words.
"He's not answering my texts or picking up my calls." He explained, clearly worried over his brothers whereabouts.
"Since when?" Belly questioned, finding herself growing worried upon hearing the news.
"Yesterday." He answered, putting his arms on his knees in an attempt to stop them from anxiously bouncing anymore.
"I mean, isn't he in the middle of finals? Maybe...he pulled an all-nighter at the library." She offered, hoping to ease Jeremiah's worried mind.
"No, no, I don't think so. Apparently he told his roommate that everything is fucked, and then just took off." Jeremiah explained, having heard the news by calling Conrad's roommate.
"Okay, um...he probably just went to see Jewel then." She suggested, Jeremiah's eyebrows furrowing at the thought.
"Why would he go to see her?" He questioned, not seeing why Conrad would've got to New York.
"You don't know?" She asked, taking Jeremiah's awaiting silence as an answer.
""My mom was on the phone with Mr. Barlowe last night, and he was flipping out." She explained, Jeremiah's eyebrows furrowing as he heard.
"Why?" He questioned, knowing that Mr. Barlowe wasn't exactly the emotional type.
"I couldn't really hear, but apparently him and Jewel got into a pretty bad fight, so she just took off." Belly explained, having overheard the conversation the night before.
"Where?" He asked, knowing it was a real possibility the two of them took off together as an escape from everything.
"I don't know, somewhere in Lake Sutter. She's staying with her Uncle Neil, I think. Maybe Conrad and her met up there?" She suggested, despite knowing that meant one of them calling Jewel.
"Uh, yeah...I'll try calling her." Jeremiah spoke, deciding to be the one to talk to her first.
"I can go to Brown in the morning and see if I can find out anything." Belly offered, hoping to provide some kind of help in the search for Conrad.
"Yeah...thank you." He agreed, hearing Belly mutter a soft 'of course' into the phone. He hung up a moment later, scrolling through his contacts to the name he had avoided seeing for months. He took a deep breath, pressing the call button before pressing the phone to his ear. Thoughts of their last encounters raced through his mind as he listened to yet another dial tone, knowing that it'd be a shock if she answered his call at all. The longer he waited, swept along with an anxiety-provoking buzz, the more it felt like her answering wasn't coming. But to him, with her and Conrad's random disappearances and the lack of communication between them, the chances of finding Conrad with her at Lake Sutter were only growing higher in his mind.
"She's not answering. I'm gonna drive to Lake Sutter in the morning, find out if Conrad's there with her." Jeremiah texted Belly, hoping between the two places Conrad was at one of them. His eyes scanned through his contacts once again, finding Jewel's dad among the list. He knew it wouldn't be a simple call, the last time Jeremiah spoke to him being the day of the funeral. He knew Mr. Barlowe wasn't his biggest fan, but he needed to find Conrad and Jewel; even if it meant calling his ex-girlfriend's dad.
For the last time that night, Jeremiah listened to another dial tone. Mr. Barlowe answered on the second ring, something Jeremiah wished Jewel could've inherited.
"Mr. Barlowe." Jeremiah spoke upon hearing him answer.
"Jeremiah, what is this about?" The man asked, an unwavering tone in his voice. Jeremiah had heard the tone only once before; the same night him and Jewel had broken up.
"I know it's late, sir. I'm sorry...I think Conrad took off to go see Jewel, and I really need to know where she is." He explained, chewing his lip as he waited for Mr. Barlowe's response.
"Jewel left to clear her head, and honestly, kid, I really don't think she wants to see you right now." He reminded Jere, who took a deep breath in response. It hurt hearing that Jewel had no interest in seeing him, especially after everything, but he knew better than to believe that Jewel would be okay with him after what had happened.
"I know, Mr. Barlowe. I really wouldn't be asking this of you if I didn't have a good reason to." He begged, hoping to somehow change Mr. Barlowe's mind. Jere could hear a reluctant sigh on the other end, followed by more movement.
"She's staying with her mom's brother, Neil, at Lake Sutter. I think you two might've met once. I can send you the address, but I can't promise she's gonna want to talk to you. I figure maybe you can get through to her, at least." Mr. Barlowe conceded, Jeremiah quickly thanking the man before they hung up. He waited until the address was sent before falling asleep, a long roadtrip prepared for the morning.