Missing You (Gawsten)

Run

///Eight Months Earlier///

His ringing phone wakes him up. It's usually a pleasant sound, but not so much when he's being woken up by it.

Without checking who it is, he answers it.

"Hello?"

"Geoff, he's out- we gotta go."

***

///One Month Later///

The hotel room is small, and the air smells like cardboard and dust. The walls are a muted eggshell, and the carpet is gray. The decorations throughout the small area are basic and common.

"This has got to be the most boring one yet," Geoff mutters.

The boy coming into the room behind him sighs. "Well, boring is safe, they can't all be five-star hotels, man."

Geoff puts his bag on one of the beds. "Yeah, but none of them have been five-star hotels."

The blond boy beside Geoff jumps slightly as his phone rings. He reaches for it and carefully checks the caller ID before answering.

"Alex," he answers with his name.

Geoff watches him carefully. Alex's facial expressions change as he takes in the information being given to him. He seems worried, but distantly- like how a parent would be worried about someone else's kid falling on the sidewalk.

"Just switch cars with Rian, we don't want them freaking out or anything. Between Geoff and I hiding and you guys trying to find Patty and keep an eye on us and them, we can't afford to have to follow them," he replies to something the other person says. Geoff figures it's probably Jack, since Zack's out trying to dig up any information on Patty's whereabouts.

"Just switch cars and back off for an hour or two. We can't afford to lose them. Out," Alex instructs and ends the call.

He sighs quietly and walks over to the second bed, preparing to unpack a few things for the three days that they'll be staying.

"What's going on?" Geoff asks, hoping to hear news of Awsten.

Alex looks at him hesitantly. "Jack was sitting outside of your house- keeping an eye on Otto and Awsten- and someone kept peeping through the blinds from inside. He thinks that they're getting suspicious of him. I told him to switch cars with Rian so he could continue without them knowing it's still him," Alex explains.

Geoff opens his mouth, but Alex cuts him off, "and before you begin, yes I know it makes you feel weird that I have Rian and Jack basically stalking them, but would you rather your dad get tired of not being able to find you and go after someone close to you?"

Geoff shuts his mouth and nods understandingly.

Alex continues hesitantly. "Also, Jack says that Awsten comes outside almost everyday and just sits in the driveway. It bugs him because he's scared the guys your dad is fucking around with might do a drive-by. Jack thinks he's waiting for you to come home," the blond boy mutters, looking carefully at Geoff.

He knows that Geoff wants updates on Awsten, but sometimes they're really hard to give, seeing as Awsten hardly ever comes out of the house, and when he does he looks like- as Jack described- 'a sock puppet without a hand.' How's he supposed to tell Geoff that?