Hazy Love: A Treebros Fic

Chapter 15: Search for the Missing Murphy

A/N: Hey guys! So sorry this chapter took so long, but I hope it was worth it! I'll explain what took so long in my next AN. Hope y'all are having a great day, enjoy the story! TRIGGER WARNING: Blood, Drug Use, Panic Attacks, Mental Breakdowns.

-

Evan let out a wail, crumpling. He started to breath heavily, unable to control it. He cried, looking about the room. Connor not being there wasn't the only thing out of place: Evan also noticed that the window was open, and so was a box on Connor's bed. Evan shut his eyes tight, trying to stop the tears running down his face. It was no use; he continued to cry even as he heard rapid footsteps approaching.

Larry, Cynthia, and Zoe had appeared behind him. Cynthia gasped, tears brimming her eyes when she realized her son was missing. The last time this had happened, she'd had to confront the reality that her son could have died.

Larry was angry, but for once it wasn't directed at Connor. Larry was mad at himself. If he had just been a better father... he could have prevented all of this... he walked into Connor's room, searching for anything that could help them find the boy.

Zoe's heart had leaped into her throat the second she saw Evan, crumpled on the floor, gasping for breath, crying harder than she'd ever seen anyone cry. She leaned down to Evan, pulling him into a hug, crying as well.

After only two minutes, Larry had practically torn apart Connor's room and all he could find was the open window, and the open box. He noticed the heavy smell of weed in the room, but he couldn't care less at the moment. Evan had finally calmed down enough to talk, though he was still panicked and unsteady. He pushed away from Zoe, trying to stand up. Once he did, using Connor's doorway for support, all eyes were on him: this added to his panic, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. They needed to find Connor.

And fast.

-

Connor was alone again, tears pouring down his reddened cheeks. He was screaming, slamming his already bloodied fists into the trunk of a large tree. He was hyperventilating , trying to regain control of his thoughts. He fell to the ground, exhausted. He just gritted his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut and trying desperately to block his thoughts. He needed to smoke. He just... he needed to. He was glad he had remembered to grab some. He lit up a blunt, taking a few inhales, hoping to numb himself.

-

The Murphy's, plus Evan, gathered some supplies before running to the driveway. The plan had originally been for Zoe and Evan to take her and Connor's car, while Cynthia and Larry would take their car. But, when they got outside, it became apparent that Connor had taken the sibling's car.

"Let's just take the van!" Cynthia called, now in full maternal-protection mode. They had already wasted so much time. They needed to hurry if they hoped to find Connor alive.

Evan threw himself into the passenger seat of the Murphy's minivan, trying hard to concoct a plan to find Connor through his anxiety-jumbled thoughts. He racked his brain for somewhere, ANYWHERE, Connor might have ended up. The park? Maybe. A La Mode? No, it was too late for that. Lulu's? Connor wouldn't want to be near people, so that was out... suddenly, it hit Evan.

"T-the O-Orchard..." Evan mumbled, as Larry sped down the street, window open, scanning for any sign of his son. Cynthia ,too, had the window down, and was calling for Connor, while Zoe frantically texted Alana for support and comfort; just because she and Connor had a broken bond didn't mean she wanted him gone. Once she heard Evan's garbled mumble, she leaned forward, straining her neck to look at him.

"Do you know where he might be?" Zoe's voice was remarkably calm, as she stared intently at the upset boy. Cynthia and Larry also turned to Evan, but Evan chose to ignore them, instead focusing on Zoe. He hesitantly nodded.

"Th-the old O-Orchard. W-we... we w-were th-there last n-night. He- I t-think he m-might b-be there." Evan said, tear still rolling down his cheeks. Zoe gave him a weird look. Orchard? What did that... she suddenly realized what the panicked boy was talking about.

"The old apple orchard?" She  questioned, eyebrows raised. Evan vigorously nodded, praying that Zoe would trust him. She gave him a slow nod, turning to her father.

"D-Dad, we need to go to the Orchard, remember where that is?" Larry looked at his daughter for a moment in the rear-view mirror. He opened his mouth to protest, to say 'that place has been closed for years', but he was cut off by Zoe.

"DAMMIT DAD! SERIOUSLY?! OUT OF EVERYONE HERE, EVEN THOUGH HE'S THE ONE WHO HAS KNOWN CONNOR THE LEAST AMOUNT OF TIME, EVAN IS THE ONE WHO KNOWS CONNOR BEST!" Zoe had some tears coming from her eyes, her frustration and anger towards her family boiling over. "We need to give it a try. If Evan thinks Connor is at the Orchard, that's where we need to check."

Larry didn't answer, he just bit his lip and slowly nodded, setting a course for the Apple Orchard.

And, hopefully, Connor.

-

After nearly thirty minutes of driving in total silence, save for Evan and Cynthia's sniffling and crying, they reached the Orchard. They sighed collectively in relief when Connor's car came into view, sitting alone in the dark gravel 'parking lot'.

Even before the van was fully stopped, Evan had swung the door of the car open, searching for a possible entrance into the Orchard that didn't involve scaling a fence, in the dark, with a broken arm. He managed to discover a small area where the fence was broken. But he suddenly hesitated, looking to the rest of the 'Connor Murphy Search Party'.

"I-I t-think I s-should go a-alone. I h-have a b-better chance of g-getting C-Con to cooperate i-if I g-go alone." Larry made to protest with Evan's statement, but Cynthia placed her hand on his arm.

"Evan is right, Larry. Connor... he won't listen to us, but-" she smiled at Evan. "Maybe he'll listen to Evan." Evan smiled weakly, grateful.

"Z-Zoe, I m-might need you t-too. J-just stay o-out of s-sight, b-but, i-if something g-goes wrong, c-can-" Zoe cut him off by nodding, ducking under the broken section of fence. He smiled again, mumbling a thank you, joining her on the other side of the fence.

They took off, Evan running faster than he ever had before. Zoe followed suit, making sure to stay a good distance from Evan, as to remain unseen by Connor. They ran like this for almost five minutes, until Evan heard crying and screaming.

It was Connor, bloodied and slamming himself against the tallest tree in the yellow field.

-

A/N: I'll try to get the next update out sooner, but I can't make any promises because I don't know how this week will go. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I'll catch ya in the next one! <3