send.

missed calls

     The rest of the day was a lazy one, spent lounging around the house. It was at your suggestion, mainly because you were a bit uneasy about going out in public, but Jon didn't seem to mind. He just shrugged and curled up around you again, and that was that.
     It's dark out now, your dad off wherever it is he goes and your mom out with friends, so the two of you had relocated to the living room. There's a crappy movie on TV, but you aren't really paying attention anymore. You're far too comfortable at your perch in Jon's lap, knees curled to your chest with his legs sprawled lazily on either side of you. You play with one of his hands, curling and uncurling the fingers, while the other rests lightly on your hip.
     He's always so loving towards you, so gentle and sweet. You can't imagine him hurting a fly. Maybe that's why the stunt at Cass's house surprised you so much. That was a side of him you'd never seen before, so protective and angry and... reckless. It was appealing, to say the least.
     You squirm a bit when he leans down to nuzzle your neck, soft and warm.
     "Want me to get some more popcorn?" he asks softly, and you shake your head, more focused on the way his breath ghosts over your neck. Almost as if he can read your mind, he presses his mouth lightly to the column of your throat, pulling a grin from you. You turn your body to face him, and he looks pleased, adjusting his hands on your sides. You beam when you feel his fingers slide just underneath your shirt, tapping at your skin, and rest your chin on his chest to look up at him.
     "You know what I really want?" you murmur quietly, absolutely adoring the look on his face. His eyes are focused entirely on you, his lips pursed, and you feel his fingers curl into your hips.
     "Tell me." Your eyes scan his features, watching his mouth as he gnaws at his lower lip, before responding.
     "To go pee." And with that, you roll out of his lap and bound away to the bathroom, laughing as you hear him groan in the distance. You're feeling playful, adventurous, hoping maybe he'll do something silly when you come back.
     Much to your displeasure, however, when you're shuffling back down the hall towards the living room a few minutes later, you hear him talking softly. Is he talking to himself? No, you confirm, he is not, because there's another voice. A female voice.
     The thought of Cass makes your blood run cold.
     You fall entirely silent as you stop at the corner of the wall, peering just slightly around it to see what's going on.
     You can't see who the girl is because Jon is standing in front of the open door, but she sounds familiar.
     "What are you doing here?" Jon inquires, sounding confused and concerned. "It's late, April. You should be home."
     April. Cass's girlfriend. What the hell does she want from Jon?
     "I'm sorry, I know it's dark already, but I tried calling a bunch of times and nobody answered and I just got really panicked and I didn't know what to do and... Cass still had the napkin - you know, the one with the address and phone number and everything, the ones we exchanged at the restaurant." You swear silently. Those god damned napkins coming back to haunt you.
     "Yeah, I remember. Sock and I left the phones in another room. I didn't even hear it ringing. Is everything okay?" He pauses for a minute and your body tenses. Don't do it, don't do it...
     "Do you wanna come in?"
     Damn it.
     You know you'll probably be spotted from the couch, so you pretend to be surprised when you walk into view, eyes widening.
     "April? What are you doing here?" you ask, hoping you sound convincing. Hoping she isn't suspicious. Luckily, the pain in her eyes when she looks at you tells you you're in the clear.
     "I'm so sorry to barge in out of the blue like this," she apologizes as Jon moves aside, making her way into the house. She fidgets with her hands in her lap as she sits on the couch, looking down. "I didn't know who else I should come to. I don't know too many of Cass's friends, especially addresses."
     You open your mouth to ask her about the fight last night but stop yourself. That's not something you'd know if you hadn't seen Cass at the park. You really need to be more cautious with this.
     "Me and Cass, we got into a fight last night. Big. Really bad." April's eyes are filling with tears as she talks, and you feel a slight sense of pity. She never did anything wrong. She doesn't deserve to hurt. You remember that it's you who caused that pain and it feels like a knife is lodged in your lungs.
     "She walked out - that happens sometimes, so I wasn't worried at first. She just needs space, time to cool off. It's a Cass thing. But she... She never came home." The tears overflow, and you reach out to grab her hand, trying to comfort her the way she did you that night. She offers you a weary smile.
     "Did you try calling anyone?" Jon asks, his tone dominated by concern now. "Her parents?" April's lower lip trembles.
     "They don't care. They were always happy she moved out. They think it's just another reckless thing she's doing, abandoning this place like she did with her last house. They barely even know who she is anymore." She sounds angry now, voice trembling. "They say she's causing more trouble than she's worth, that she got tired of me and everything else and needed an out..."
     You feel absolutely horrible.
     "I'm so sorry, April," you try to say, but your voice is a hoarse whisper. She looks at you with such kindness in her face, and you know she'll never understand what you're really apologizing for.
     "You couldn't have done anything about it, Sock. It's okay. I just..." She pauses, wiping her eyes with her sleeve and taking a breath. "I just wanted to ask for your help. Both of you. They don't want to look for her, but I know she's out there. I know she'll come back. We just... We have to let her know we want her to."
     You fall silent as she starts chatting with Jon about making posters, contacting the police, spreading the word. Your brain urges you to tell them that you know exactly where she is, that you can show them, that this is all pointless because she's only a few minutes away, sleeping peacefully, and she won't hear them calling because her ears are full of dirt and she won't see the posters because her eyes have rolled back in her head and she won't walk back in because her muscles are already rotting.
     You keep your mouth shut and follow at Jon's side as the three of you set off for the police station.

((note: yay another chapter! i know this took forever so im hoping to finish ANOTHER one today because i dont have school and im totally in the writing mood. this is where things get serious B) i wanna see if you guys can guess where this is gonna go. if you want, comment your predictions! i wont tell anyone if theyre right or wrong, but im really curious. as always, thank you so much for reading ❤️))