Just Hit 'Send' By Grasshopper

Just Hit 'Send' - The High School Years by Grasshopper Ch. 13

Danny sat staring at the computer screen. He'd tried repeatedly to raise Jordy. There was something really wrong. He could feel it every time he took a breath. Something was wrong with Jordy. Reaching for his cell phone, he heard his mom tap on his bedroom door. The look in her eyes scared him. But he couldn't find his voice to ask the question.

"Danny, do you know where Jordan is?" his mom asked quietly. She watched her son's eyes, knowing he wasn't lying when he cried out, "What? Where IS Jordan? What's happened?"

He struggled to get out of the computer chair and up on his feet, his heart racing. "Where is he? Why.....what?" Tears started; he didn't even know why. "Mama......tell me!"

Fran Trainor hesitated, knowing what this was going to do to Danny. She didn't want any more pain in her child's life. Sighing, she spoke softly. "He ran away, Danny. Claire just called and asked if he was here. She is terrified. I would have already called her if he was; you know that."

Danny's mind was skittering in every direction. 'Jordy......Jordy !! Where are you? You didn't tell me.......why didn't you tell me?' He tried to reach out, find him through space and grab hold of him. 'JORDY!!' his mind screamed.

Nothing.

Slowly, Danny gripped his braces, straightened himself up and, as his father walked into the room, said calmly, "I have to go to Jordan's."

"But, Danny, it's the middle of the night. I'm sure Jordan will come home in the morning after he thinks things through. A boy his age can't be on the street," his dad answered.

For the first time in his life, Danny knew exactly what he had to do, what would help bring Jordy home. He knew what had happened....somehow Jordy's father had found out. He knew it as sure as he was standing there. Danny knew he had to talk to Mr. Lawrence, make him understand. 'If he wants to hit someone, take it out on someone, he can hit me, scream at me', Danny vowed, angrily. 'Not sweet Jordan.'

"No, Dad. Now. I need to go now," Danny said, the tone in his voice reaching for the understanding he had always found in his father's heart.

Quietly, locking the door behind them, the Trainors pulled out of the driveway and headed for the middle of the state. "I have something to tell you, Mom, Dad," Danny said quietly from the back seat. "It's about me. About me and about Jordy." Ben Trainor felt his wife reach over and slip her hand into his. "Here it comes," he thought quietly.

**

"What did he say?" Claire begged Griff for the thousandth time. "He just got up and walked out? You don't know where he went? You.......he......, Oh, God." She had given up trying to hold back the tears.

Griff felt so powerless. He had let his best friend just walk out of his life. He'd known something was wrong......felt it the whole time. And yet, he'd just let it happen. "We....Laney, Bren and me... we looked everywhere. As soon as I realized he wasn't coming back into the movie, we looked all over the mall, the parking lot........we had him paged, we told the security........we didn't know what else to do. We waited at the car for a long time, hoping he'd change his mind. I should have known. I should have known," his voice broke as he closed his eyes and remembered how Jordan had leaned over and whispered, "I love you, Griff" and then had disappeared from his life. Damn it all, he should have known way back in the car when he kept talking about the sun going down.....that was so unJordan.

"I'm........I'm so sorry," was all he could say brokenly, trying to keep the deep sobs from escaping. "I should have known."

David Lawrence stood staring out into the graying morning light; heavy guilt, anger, confusion all warring in his heart. He couldn't help what he had said.....it had been such a damn shock. He knew that Jordan had heard those horrible words, had heard his own father deny him love and a home. His chest rose and fell in unsteady gasps. He had driven his son to this.......to run away instead of being able to come to him and talk. David hated himself. He didn't know what to do, where to turn. 'Jordan,' he murmured, 'Be safe.'