‘Oh, that’s terrible.’ Her bright blue eyes bored into Lyndsey. ‘I’m guessing the trouble at school was to do with that?’
‘I’m saying nothing more.’ She mimed zipping her mouth shut.
‘Deke needs to know so he can help put that right. I’ll send him a private message now, so he can think it over before we chat later,’ Becca said decisively. She glanced at the clock and frowned. ‘Shouldn’t Theo be at Griff’s by now?’
‘Yes.’ Lyndsey pushed her chair back. ‘I’ll check on him when I go up, and if he’s not there, I’ll text Griff to make sure he turned up.’
‘Thanks. Now clear off.’
Upstairs, she knocked a couple of times on Theo’s door without getting any response. She popped her head in to find the room empty. After firing off a quick message to Griff, she dived into her own bedroom and debated whether or not to shower before trying to get some sleep. Before she was halfway through undressing, her phone buzzed.
Theo’s not here. I’m still waiting for him.
An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach and her brain started to race.Ifthe door she’d heard closing earlier was Theo heading over to Griff’s, he might’ve overheard her conversation with Becca.Ifhe’d taken some things her sister said out of context, who knew how he might react. Lyndsey dragged the rest of her clothes back on and raced down to the kitchen.
‘Griff hasn’t seen Theo and his room is empty.’
Becca stopped in the middle of pouring formula into a row of baby bottles lined up on the counter. ‘He might’ve gone to Deke’s studio. He’s got his own key and likes to go there sometimes, to be close to his dad.’ She frowned. ‘I hate that he’s let Griff down. I hoped we’d turned the corner.’
‘Shall I go and check?’
‘Yes, please, if you don’t mind.’ Becca exhaled a sigh. ‘See if you can talk him around.’
She’d only ever been to Deke’s workplace once, when he showed her around the old tobacco barn he’d converted into a state-of-the-art music studio. The sun beat down on her as she took the short cut across the grass instead of using the paved trail. It didn’t surprise her to find the doors locked, but she went through the motions of banging and shouting Theo’s name anyway. Her phone pinged with another message from Griff.
Any sign of Theo?
No.
I’m coming over.
Despite everything, a tiny smile played around her mouth. She needed him and he knew it.
Chapter Thirteen
Griff wrapped his arms around Lyndsey and hugged her, wishing he could brush away the strain etched into her weary face.
‘I think Theo might’ve run away.’ Her eyes filled with tears as she haltingly explained. ‘This is going to crush Becca.’
‘You might be jumping to conclusions.’
‘Do you honestly believe that?’
Griff shook his head.
They made their way back to the house, where he winced at the sight of Becca’s hopeful face when they opened the kitchen door. Her smile faded when Lyndsey shared the bad news that Theo wasn’t at the studio and Griff hadn’t seen him.
‘The kid probably just wants to give us a scare,’ Griff said. ‘I did the same thing at Theo’s age because I was angry with my dad for not letting me go to a party. We lived way out in the country, so I knew lots of great hiding places. My half-baked plan was to lay low for a while to frighten them.’ He shrugged. ‘But a bad thunderstorm started and that freaked me out, so I ran back home with my tail between my legs, blubbing like a baby.’
‘I’m sure you mean well, Griff, but that’s not exactly comforting.’ Becca exhaled a sigh. ‘Theo grew up in LA and isn’t comfortable in the outdoors the way you were.’ She threw her sister a despairing look. ‘Where on earth do we start looking?’
‘His friends?’ Lyndsey suggested. ‘We could phone around and see if he’s been in touch with any of them.’
‘Friends? He might have some at school, but I wouldn’t know.’ She sounded sad. ‘He’s never mentioned any names or invited anyone here.’
‘Even that noninformation helps. Now we know he’s probably not sneaked off to anyone else’s house.’
Griff admired Lyndsey’s ability to put a positive spin on the grim situation.
