No More Secrets (Book 2)

5. Tracking Him Down

Dylan

"I can feel that."

Jenny smiled, taking her hand off my arm. "It's like I'm almost not dead anymore!"

"I wouldn't go that far..." It was one thing to touch a couple things and for me to feel her. It was a whole other story when she starts talking about not being dead.

We've been practicing all day, since I really didn't have anything better to do with my time. Plus, this was basically a breakthrough in everything we know about ghosts. Of course I was going to practice with Jenny.

It was only when I made Jenny turn the living room light on because it had gotten too dark did I realize how late it was. Travis should have been home hours ago. Where was he?

I grabbed my phone, expecting a text from him. Instead, there was one from Nina that I missed from this morning. I didn't read it, though. She could wait. I needed to call Travis.

As the phone rang, I wondered if maybe he stopped to pick up food on the way home. Or maybe he had to stay late at the store and didn't have a chance to let me know yet. There were a ton of possible explanations.

When his voicemail picked up, I hung up and called the bookstore. If he was still there, he'd probably be the one to answer.

Instead, a woman picked up. "How can I help you?" she asked.

"I'm Dylan," I started. "I'm looking for Travis? Is he still there?"

She scoffed. "Yeah, right. He's been gone for hours. Oh, and if you happen to see him, let him know that he's fired." Then she hung up.

I looked at Jenny. "He was fired." I couldn't believe it. He's been there for years! What could he have possibly done? "Then why didn't he call me?"

I stood up, dialing his number again. It wasn't like him not to talk to me like this. I was starting to worry.

"Maybe he just doesn't want to tell you yet?" Jenny suggested.

I shook my head, hanging up when I got his voicemail again. "I don't believe it. Maybe it was some sort of joke. I'm going."

I grabbed my keys and hurried out of the apartment. Jenny followed, easily sliding into the passenger seat of my car. "You sure that's a good idea?"

"No, but I don't have any other choice right now." I pulled out of the parking space and into the street. "Unless you want to pop on over to him and let me know he's okay."

"He's wearing that pendent. I wouldn't be able to find him even if I wanted to."

She was right. Despite her new abilities, that pendent was way too strong. If I was going to find Travis, it wasn't going to be with the help of the ghosts.

When I parked in front of the bookstore, I saw Travis' car parked in the corner of the lot. I let out a sigh of relief. He was here. Thank god.

I went inside anyway, needing to see him. And maybe tell him that he needs to answer his phone every now and then. Anything to keep me from worrying.

Inside, a woman was standing behind the counter counting the money in the register and a girl was stocking the bookshelves. The woman looked up at me. "I'm sorry, we're closed for the night."

"Actually, I'm here for Travis? I'm his boyfriend? Dylan?"

She nodded. "Right. You're the one who just called. I thought I told you, Travis doesn't work here anymore. I don't know where he is."

"But his car is still outside and he never came home. I was worried."

Jenny suddenly appeared next to me. "His phone's in the back office," she said.

"Can you at least tell me what he did?" I asked. "He loves this job. I can't imagine him ever getting fired."

The woman sighed. "I'm only going to tell you because you're practically his family. He left the store unattended. Door wide open, money within easy access for anyone to take. It was irresponsible and completely unprofessional."

I shook my head. "His car is outside! And his phone his here, according to his location on my Find My Friends App. Something happened to him, I'm sure of it." So maybe there was a slight lie in there, but she wouldn't exactly believe me if I told her the real reason I knew his phone was here.

She shook her head. "I didn't see his phone or car. All I know is that he's not here."

"Please, just check the back for the phone? His case has a picture of me and him on it." Cheesy, I know, but I was the one who had it custom made for his birthday last year. He's the one who loved it so much he was putting off getting a new phone even though his was practically on its last legs.

She disappeared into the back and came out a minute later with Travis' phone in her hand. "Okay, maybe you were right," she said. "But this doesn't prove anything."

I took the phone from her. "Don't you have cameras or something here?" I knew he wouldn't willingly leave in the middle of his shift, so someone had to have forced him. I just didn't know who would do something like that. Or why.

She shook her head. "A guy's coming tomorrow to fix them. It wasn't a priority because who robs a bookstore? It should have been fine." She sighed. "Look, Dylan, I know you're worried. But even if we called the police, there's nothing they could do right now. Here-" She grabbed a pen and wrote her phone number on a piece of paper next to her name, Dawn. She handed it to me. "Call me if he turns up. I'll be here in the morning to cover Travis' shift. If he's still missing in the morning, we can call the police."

I nodded. I didn't exactly want to wait that long, but maybe she was right. Travis could turn up at home or something, completely fine with a perfectly good explanation as to where he's been.

Once I left the store, I spoke to Jenny. "I need to find him. You sure you can't even try to find him?"

"I mean, if you really want to me try, I can," she said. "But I can't promise anything."

I nodded, getting into my car. "Please, Jenny. I need to know what happened. I'm going to Mom's for now. I can't be at home without him tonight."

She disappeared and I really hoped she would be able to find Travis. I didn't know what I would do if he never came back.

Jenny reappeared when right after I walked into Mom's house. She stood right next to Mom, her eyes wide in panic.

I think I cut Mom off from whatever she was saying to ask Jenny, "Did you find him? Do you know where he is?"

"I found him. But Dyl... You can't get to him. I think it's those ghosts. I knew you should have told him what's been going on recently."