Can You Keep A Secret?

Chapter Seven

       

-Brooklyn's POV-

            "How long has it been since Andy and Rye left?" Mikey asked, looking outside the window as the sun began to set, turning the whole sky into a brilliant masterpiece. It would be dark soon.

            "It's been hours," Liv said, wringing her hands as if something was eating her up from the inside.

            "They left right before we did, right?" I asked, trying to make a little more sense of the situation. Liv nodded. "Then that's been..." I tried to count backwards in my head but gave up, counting on my fingers instead. "Wow. Seven hours ago."

            "Somebody needs to go find them, make sure they're okay," Mikey said, already reaching for his hoodie – The temperature was finally beginning to dip along with the sun.

            "No," Liv said, beginning to pace. "I mean, yes. But I don't think it should be you or me." She lovingly set her hand on his back.
             "Are you still stuck on that idea?!" He snapped, both of their tensions running high – I'd just thought that they had lost track of time, but they seemed to think that it was something more than that.

            "I can't believe they didn't bring their phones," Jack said, which was a good point. It was unlike either of them to go anywhere without them.

            "They left in such a hurry," Liv said, sounding close to tears.

            "I'll go," I said, standing up. I hugged Liv. "I'm sure they're okay. I promise you, we're all nutters – You know that – I bet they were just enjoying the nice day."

            "I hope so," she said, her head buried in my chest. I hated to see her so worked up, and I hoped that returning them home safely would fix that.

            "Make sure you bring your phone with you!" I lifted mine from my pocket, waving it around.

            "Hey, chill, guys. It'll be fine." I shut the door behind me, cutting myself off from all the panic before it had a chance to proper rub off on me. When I stepped out into the night air, I wished that I would've thought to take my own hoodie. The wind was beginning to get wild, and goosebumps popped up all along my arms and legs. I didn't want to go back and scare everyone else even more, though, so on I went, braving the colder temperatures like a true warrior. It was better than the heat from earlier on, I supposed.

            It was growing dark quickly, so I started a light jog to the lake, hoping with all of my heart to find the two of them there. I still thought all the panic was a little silly, but...The first real worry rose within me when I got there and I didn't immediately see them. I swallowed hard, hoping that the darkness was simply playing an illusion on me...And sure enough, I heard a shout in the dark.

            "Brook?" I breathed a sound of relief.

            "Rye? That you? Where are you?" I yelled back, like some weird game of Marco-Polo.

            "Look to your left." I turned my head. "Your other left!" He laughed. I spun around, embarrassed, and then I spotted them, resting under a tree.

            "Thank God," I muttered under my breath, running over to them. "It's chaos back at the flat," I explained once I got to them. "They're all worried since you've been out so late." A look passed over Andy's face that I could decode, but before I had the time to try and figure it out, it was gone. It was then that I noticed how exhausted and horrible he looked.        

            "Wait, did something happen? You look awful."

            "Thanks, man," he spoke, and his voice sounded like he'd swallowed a frog. He cleared his throat before speaking again. "Just got a little overheated, is all."

            "Oh," I said. "You should've come right back to cool down, then."

            "It's okay. It's really nothing."

            "Well, I mean, you aren't looking too good, and Liv's about ready to send a police search out for yous, so we should probably start heading back now." Andy grimaced when I said her name, but I shrugged it off as nothing. I couldn't believe that they'd thought to stay outside – What if he'd gotten heatstroke? Idiots. At least they were okay.

            I quickly texted Mikey that I'd found them and that they were okay. His response was almost instant – "Hallelujah." I pictured him reading it aloud to the room, the tension fading, maybe Jack letting out a "WHOOP!," and I smiled. When I looked back up, Andy and Rye were still sitting there, looking as if they'd made no move at all to get up. Rye was whispering something in Andy's ear.

            "Well, what are you waiting for? It's already cold and it'll be pitch black soon." I rubbed my arms to try and warm up. They got up v e r y slowly, and I rolled my eyes, taking it for overdramatics. Yeah, it was nice out and all, and I understood why they'd want to stay, but they were keeping 3 people waiting, who'd nearly been in hysterics over worrying about them. When I looked closer, though, I noticed Andy leaning almost all of his weight on Rye – What if this was more than something small and silly?

            To be fair, he did look pretty bad, and Rye looked tired and worn down as well. I prayed that it was simply because it had been a long, hot day – But the fear bubbled back up in me when they separated, only for Rye to whisper for me to go ahead, and to call Blair and tell him to come over as soon as possible while I did – Whatever was going on, I knew suddenly, without a hint of speculation left in me – It wasn't good.