Absent

Two

I nearly screamed is surprise as I sat in my room when my phone rang. I reached down and answered the call faster than anything I have ever done. I knew that ringtone anywhere.

"Mitch?! Oh thank god, you are okay! In was beginning to get worried, especially after you didn't respond to me!" I hugged my pillow close, worried out of my mind for him. Where was he? What was he doing?

There was a pause, with what sounded like whispering, but could have been him breathing for all I knew.

This ticked me off and I added to my earlier statement. "Why the hell would you worry me like that!? I am going to kick your skinny white ass to the middle of next month!"

I could here a chuckle, then he responded to me.

"I am fine, Princess. Got home safely. I guess I was just so tired I forgot and I couldn't hear when it went off. Sorry for worrying you." Princess. He said it. He said Princess. Oh no!

"It's almost time for the late bell to ring. I guess you aren't coming?" I lied. I still at home, dressed and ready for the day. We both still had about half an hour until the first bell.

"Nope. I'm too tired to even drag my sleepy ass out of my bed." I knew he was lying. I could hear it in the way his voice took a certain edge. And he would never miss school on a day with a project. What was wrong!?

Okay." I paused, snatching up a paper. "I'll talk to you later, love." I finished my thought, scribbling down notes about this.

There, there was a slight static, as though the phone were being moved and another voice, a male voice, spoke up tiredly. "Mitch, sweety, who is on the phone? It is awfully early for someone to be calling you, my precious." I didn't even have time to register what happened before the line went dead. With no goodbye. Strange. What irked me even more was that voice at the end. Had he not responded to me because he slept with someone?! I had to call his parents. They would help me with this.

I was tempted to call him back, but decided against it. Next time I saw him, there would be hell to pay.

I seethed to myself for a few minutes before I called up his mother.

"Hello?" The lady's sweet voice answered me.

"Hey Nel. It's Kirstie." I replied, smiling.

"Oh! Kirstie! How can I help you?" I loved Nel. She was always so supportive and helpful to both Mitch and I.

"Is Mitch there?" I asked, feeling my anger flare up again, his SOS plea forgotten.

"No. I thought he stayed the night at your house." Nel replied. I cursed.

"Damn it." I growled. Then stopped. "Has he contacted you as to his whereabouts?"

"Haven't heard from him since last night when he called to tell us he would be home late. Why? Is there something wrong?" Her voice was worried.

"He called me Princess." was all I had to say before I heard her gasp. She knew the code. She knew that he was not safe where ever he was when that was mentioned. "But the reason I called was because before he hung up, someone, a boy, no less, asked him who was calling him. And I began to think he got home and refused to call me because he slept with someone."

"That doesn't sound like him at all. Especially since he has never slept with anyone before. I'm really worried. He knows his father and I won't judge him, so I am sure that whatever happened to him, it is worthy of 'Princess'." Leave it to Nel to bring reason to the table. "Let's give him until the end of school to call before we go to the police. They might be able to track his phone and find out just where our Mitchie went."