Fanboy (boyxboy)

"I thought I deleted that."

"Papa?" Bryce peeked into Clay's room. "Dad says dinner is ready."

"I'll be right there," Eli didn't move. He was standing in Clay's bedroom, as if the room held some answers he just hadn't seen yet. It was where he always ended up no matter what else he'd planned to do. Somehow his feet just kept leading him back there, day after day.

Aside from a few visits from the police, no one had touched anything in Clay's room. Eli could imagine him walking in and being furious with them for messing with his stuff. No matter how many times he found himself in the room, Eli made sure never to move anything.

"It's okay, come on," Bryce took Eli's hand. "You have to eat a little."

Eli let Bryce guide him out of Clay's room. They reached the stairs and Eli snapped out of his thoughts. He'd promised himself he wouldn't do this, that he wouldn't make things harder on Bryce because his older brother was gone, but he'd obviously failed.

"I had a lot of help from Bryce," Adam said when they reached the kitchen. "We followed the recipe exactly so it should be safe."

"It looks okay," Eli meant to sound excited but his voice came out flat. It was just that Clay loved cooking and knowing Bryce had stepped up to help Adam in Clay's place was hard.

"Dad said chicken and rice was your favorite," Bryce looked disappointed. "I said we should make macaroni but he said it should be this."

"Next time," Adam promised. "Will you please get the plates out?"

"Okay," Bryce went to the cabinet. He came back and started setting plates out but he'd picked up 4 plates and froze after he put a plate in front of each of them and still had one left. Clay's plate. Bryce looked at Clay's empty chair and then at Adam, like he was asking what to do.

"Just put it out," Eli told him. "If Clay walks in I don't want him to think we didn't want him here."

"Do you think he would just come back?" Bryce set the plate down but stayed by Clay's chair.

"We have no idea," Adam said. "Come on, let's eat before the food gets cold."

Eli didn't think he managed to convince Bryce he was happy with his dinner. He said thank you as many times as he could but Eli had a feeling it all sounded flat and forced. Even sitting with him to help with his math homework after dinner felt like it wasn't good enough.

"I'm trying so hard," Eli admitted when he crawled into Adam's arms that night. "I know Bryce wanted to cheer me up and I'm sure I let him down."

"It was my idea, I'm trying to keep him busy so he doesn't worry," Adam said. "He's been texting Clay almost nonstop and every time his phone goes off I see his heart break when it's not his brother."

"That makes three of us," Eli sighed. He'd seen the same look on Adam's face too.

"Have you thought about letting the FBI go through his computer? I know you didn't want to spy on him but if there's a hint or something on there," Adam didn't finish his sentence.

"Bryce tried," Eli reminded him. "I know the FBI are experts or whatever but if they mess up he'll lose everything. He must really not want anyone in there."

"Well, it's been almost 3 weeks, Eli," Adam cleared his throat. "I'm starting to think we shouldn't worry so much about upsetting Clay and just do whatever it takes to find him."

"But if he left because of us," Eli had to stop before he started crying again. It was still so hard to believe that Clay was gone. He kept thinking Clay would show up, just like he'd never left.