“Thanks, Mom!”
“Oh, you know what I mean.” She narrowed her eyes as if remembering something. “It took some work to make him smile for the camera, though. Arthur, do you remember how serious he was the first time Ethan brought him for a visit?”
“I remember. A bit of fishing and I got him to open up.”
“Of course, dear.”
Both Ethan and Anthony’s phones rang with an incoming message, meaning it was either Chris or Jay in their group chat. Anthony didn’t bother checking since Ethan pulled out his phone. A frown grew on his face as he read the message.
“What’s wrong?” Anthony asked.
“It’s...” Ethan met his eyes. “Let’s step outside for a moment.”
“Is everything okay?” Ruth asked, holding the photo album to her chest.
“Yeah, I just need to speak with Anthony. We’ll be right back.”
Anthony followed Ethan outside into the quiet rural neighborhood. When they stopped at the end of the short path leading to the house, Ethan held up his phone for Anthony to see. The message in their group chat was from Chris.“I need to take some time away guys. Need some peace and quiet. Please don’t try to contact me until I figure things out.”
Anthony looked up. “What do you think happened?”
“No idea, but I need to find out who wrote this message.”
“What do you mean? Chris wrote it.”
Ethan shook his head. “He didn’t put a comma in front of ‘guys’. You know he’s a grammar freak.”
“Aren’t you reading too much into a single comma?”
“I know how he writes, Ant. He would’ve also likely added an ‘I’ before ‘need some peace’.”
Anthony was no grammar expert, but Ethan seemed confident.
“I’m calling him.” Ethan dialed and held the phone to his ear. After a few seconds, he lowered it back. “It’s going to voicemail. Should I call Melissa? If he hasn’twritten her anything, I’ll end up worrying her.”
“Did Chris tell you anything lately that sounded off?”
Ethan frowned. “Not really, but the part about Melissa and the twins staying at her parents’ sounded strange.” He let out a breath. “I have a bad feeling about this.” His phone rang before Anthony could respond. “It’s Jay.”
“Put him on speaker.”
Ethan did. “Hi, have you seen Chris’s message?”
Jay didn’t answer immediately, and when he did, his strained voice made it clear something was wrong. “Yeah, I’ve seen the message. Are you and Anthony at your parents’?”
“Yes, but we can head back if we need to.”
Jay sighed. “Yeah, you should. We need to talk.”
*
Arthur and Ruth weren’t happy with them leaving so soon. Ethan didn’t mention that they were leaving because of Chris, saying instead that one of his neighbors had smelled gas from his apartment, and he needed to check it out.
They drove mostly in tense silence for over two hours until they reached Jay’s apartment in Brooklyn. Jay opened the door before they could knock. He looked stressed yet relieved to see them. He went to take three beers from the fridge and brought them to the smallliving room area. Ethan and Anthony sat on the couch, neither of them reaching for their drinks.
“I’m sure that Chris didn’t write that message,” Ethan said. “I tried calling him ten times and only got his voicemail.”
Jay took a long sip of his beer, his right leg resting on the small table between them. “Yeah, he didn’t write it—Trevor did, Chris’s adopted brother. It could also be the other brother, Andy.”
