Ragged✔|18+

TWENTY

REYNA

Dad wants to talk to you

The message from my annoying brother comes at a time where I wish I had something to bash with my fist. This entire day already looks like it'll turn to shit and the premise is my brother.

We live in the same house, and he has a mouth, I text back.

I'm just passing along the message. Overheard him talking to a psyche doctor

That makes me stop in my tracks. What the hell?

Maybe he was setting up an appointment for you, I type back.

I think we both know who's the emotionally-deprived, problematic person in our family

I'm blocking you

And text with who? You have no friends. It's actually embarrassing

Fuck you

It's a pathetic reply, but I power off my phone, unable to continue with the conversation. I have more pressing issues to get to, namely — what the fuck happened on Saturday with Clyde. One second, he was in front of the camera as we talked, and the next, his screen went black. I was quick to notice, however, that it was his younger brother who interrupted. I got the tail-end of what he said, something about someone being on the floor.

Clyde's not in school today, so that confirms that something serious did happen. He's not picking up his phone and hasn't replied to any of my texts, but I bet his friends know something.

Timing Andre's class wasn't that hard and once the bell rings and the halls fill with students, I start the manhunt for the guy. I notice him when he exits his English class.

"Hey," I call out to him, almost shouting. Several people look back, but I wave at Andre, catching his attention. I break into a run, apologizing as I bypass the ones who looked back.

"Hi," Andre says when I finally reach him.

"Yeah." I take a breather, before continuing, "I need to ask you something."

"You want to know my apartment's address?"

It takes a second to realize he's talking about his party. "Right, yes, of course, I'm going to be there. I already know the address." I don't — honestly, I'm not even sure that I will attend his housewarming.

An awkward silence ensues until Andre breaks it. "You good?"

"Yes, I actually was going to ask you if you've seen Clyde. I have two classes with him and haven't seen him in either. Can't even reach him on the phone."

It's as if I've said I kill kittens for fun because Andre's entire face falls flat. He scratches the back of his head and looks around before saying, "Oh, yeah. I haven't seen him, too."

If the flatness of his voice doesn't give him away, it's the constant eye contact avoidance. I guess whatever Clyde's situation is must be serious if this is the reaction. Problem is, my mind's running wild with the guesses. Drug bust? Trafficking gone wrong? Or maybe it's murder? I'm way too familiar with the last one, and even thinking about it makes me nauseous.

Silence from Andre confirms that waiting for an explanation isn't going to get us out of this weird exchange, so I decide to end the torture.

"Okay, thanks." I nod and start walking away, but thinking better of it, I turn around and ask him, "Is there something wrong?"

His brows furrow in confusion. "What?"

"You're hiding something or lying. The last time we talked, I got the feeling something bad happened, and I've been overthinking since then."