Unapologetically, Juliet

Chapter Twenty-Six

"THAT'S right, Joe. In tonight's top story, a deaf fourteen-year-old boy has been missing for thirty-six hours now. According to police, his family went out for a hike in Briarwood State Park yesterday and sometime during the excursion, they noticed he'd disappeared. Search and Rescue teams are out looking for him, and we've been told that he is extremely resourceful and had a backpack with supplies when he disappeared. Anyone who may have seen this boy are urged to report it to authorities immediately."

I dug into my pocket and pulled out a crumpled twenty, which I did my best to smooth out when I set it on the table. "Thank you! Good night!" I called in Vietnamese, hurrying out of the restaurant with Chance hot on my heels. I heard Minh calling goodbye, but she sounded surprised and a little hurt by my quick departure. "I'll come back soon!"

"Juliet! What's going on? Why are you acting crazy?" Chance followed me to my car, looking worried and a little angry.

"That boy is Saber's little brother. I need to talk to him. Can we finish this later?" I questioned, pulling open my car door.

"No. I'm coming with you." Before I could say a word, Chance hopped into the passenger seat.

I whipped out my phone as I ducked into Yasmin and clicked my seatbelt into place. "Fine. Whatever. Just be quiet for a minute." I found Saber's number and hit call at the same time I started the car, and headed out toward my apartment. The first thing I had to do was change out of my weird dress. I wanted to be in normal, warm, clothes.

"Why do you look all dressed up?" Chance asked while the phone pressed to my face just kept ringing and ringing and ringing.

"I had some stupid work shit to do." My vague answer seemed to satisfy him right as Saber finally picked up after the third time I called him.

"Hello?" He sounded tired and exhausted, and I really just wanted to give him a hug the second I heard it.

"Look, I know you're probably busy but-"

"Goddammit. I told them not to run that stupid fucking story. What do you want?" he snapped irately.

I took a deep breath before saying, "I want to help you find your brother. Were you guys hiking by-"

"I appreciate it, Juliet. But honestly, I don't need a damn thing from you right now." He hung up abruptly and I felt like I'd just been slapped.

"Everything okay?" I was pretty sure Chance heard his side of the conversation too, but for once, he was nice enough not to say anything about it.

"Yeah. I'm just going to run in and change really quick. You can either stay out here or come in. It's up to you." I pulled up to my building and parked in the loading zone. Howie would've flipped if he saw what I was doing.

"I'll stay." I only faintly heard my brother as I ran up to my apartment and slipped out of the satin-y dress, leaving it in a heap on the floor. I changed into tight black leggings, with a pair of loose gray sweats over them and a tank top a long-sleeved shirt, a hoodie, and my heavy coat. Shoving my feet into my snow boots, I slung my backpack over my shoulder and grabbed a scarf and gloves before I left.

"I didn't mean for that to take so long," I said when I got back into the car.

Chance shrugged. "It was only ten minutes. Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"There are snacks in the trunk." I shot him a teasing grin and he shook his head.

"That wasn't my question, but thanks." I felt his gaze zeroing in on my face, so I kept my eyes focused on the road. "What's the plan here?"