“Don’t worry about it,” I assured her. “What’s going on? Is everything okay?”
“Probably. Maybe. I have no idea,” she answered. “I woke up and Patrick’s not here. There’s a note that says he’ll be home later, but that’s it. And he’s not answering his cell phone. I guess I was hoping maybe you’d come by and he was with you.”
“No, sorry.” Now my heart was racing. My stomach quivered as I bounded down the stairs. This was definitely a situation that called for coffee, because sleep sure as hell wasn’t happening. “I’m sure it’s nothing. Have you checked the garage?”
“Yeah, and my car’s still in there,” she told me. “That was the first thing I checked because I was worried he’d gone for a drive the way he used to. But he’s not supposed to be driving, Linc. The last time he did, he wound up over two hours away and had no clue how to get home. If it wasn’t for that tracker app on his phone, we might never have found him.”
I remembered that day well. I’d been at one of Hunter’s games when Angie texted me to let me know what was happening. And like today, I was the one who’d suggested she check the app. “And did you do that now?”
“Do what?” she asked, obviously rattled and not thinking clearly. I couldn’t blame her. Patrick rarely left the house anymore, and yesterday had lulled all of us into a false sense of security.
“The app, Angie. Log in on your computer to see where he’s at,” I instructed her. I kneaded at the back of my neck, hoping to push back the forming headache.
“He’s all the way on the other side of town,” she told me. I grabbed my keys and the mug of coffee. Looked like Hunter was going to get his wish. There was no point in waking him up while I ran out to find my friend. “Lincoln, the dot’s moving. Fast. He has to be in a car. Do you think he called a cab?”
The morning sun was blinding, but I wasn’t going to waste time running back in for my sunglasses. Once I found Patrick, I was going to strangle him for worrying his wife. Adrenaline coursed through my body and I struggled to keep my foot from pushing the gas pedal all the way to the floor. Angie told me where Patrick was and I raced to the freeway, hoping to catch up to him. My stomach soured as a thought popped into my head. “Ang, I need you to go check the shed out back.”
“You don’t think…” She didn’t finish her question, likely because we both knew the answer.
What Patrick missed more than anything else since he’d surrendered his driver’s license was heading out in the Mustang he’d restored with his old man to clear his head. Before he’d been diagnosed, anytime he was stressed, he’d get in that car and just drive. The day he’d gotten lost, he’d been worried about whether Angie and Tanner would be okay after he died, because he’d finally accepted that was his guaranteed fate. There was no miracle cure, there were no doctors who could reverse the damage he’d done by putting everything he had and then some into the game.
“Oh, Patrick…”
“He took it, didn’t he?” I asked, pressing down a bit harder on the gas pedal. Worst case scenario, I’d get pulled over and explain to the cop that I was trying to find a friend who wasn’t in his right mind. Because he obviously wasn’t if he was driving that damn car. “Text me the info to log in to track him. Do you have any idea where he might be going?”
“No, none.” It was difficult to hear her over the wind blowing across the microphone on her phone. The noise stopped, letting me know she was back in the house. “I really thought he was doing better. I know that’s stupid to say, but he hasn’t been as agitated as he was for a long time. He was almost, I don’t know, hopeful. You saw him yesterday, Linc. I wasn’t imagining it, right? He was laughing with us and he remembered things that happened years ago. God, maybe I’m the one who’s crazy now.”
“No Ang, you’re not,” I reassured her. Hell, he was so happy Hunter made a point to mention it. Hunter. Tanner. The appointment notice. Shit. “Angie, is Tanner up yet?”
“No, I figured I’d let him sleep until I found Patrick,” she admitted. “He’s been carrying so much of the burden for his dad and I don’t want to worry him. It’s like he’s forgotten how to be a kid.”
“You need to wake him up,” I demanded. “Hunter made a comment last night about Tanner finding a reminder for a doctor’s appointment. He asked Patrick about it and apparently it caused a bit of a fight. I’m grasping at straws here, but maybe that’s what’s going on.”
“He doesn’t have any appointments until the end of next month,” Angie responded. “I’m sure of it, Lincoln. And he gives me all of the information for those because he tends to forget otherwise.”
“Angie, please,” I begged her.
I pulled off on the shoulder long enough to log into the tracker app. The green dot indicating Patrick’s location was no longer moving, which made no sense because he was out in the middle of nowhere. My entire body shook as I rushed to the next exit and turned around.
If he was pulled over on the side of the road, disoriented, I needed to get to him before a passing cop or motorist. When he forgot where he was or what he was doing, his mood turned volatile. Luckily, I was the only person he’d ever lashed out at physically, but on the heels of such a high period earlier in the week, there was no telling how he’d react.
“Okay, it looks like he’s pulled off to the side near Sherman Park. You go wake up Tanner and ask him if he can remember anything about that appointment. From the way Hunter was talking, Tanner was pretty upset about the situation. Find out why. I’m going to let you go so I can pay attention to the road.”
“Okay, call me as soon as you get to him,” she begged.
I promised her I would and disconnected the call. I started to feel dizzy as I wound my way through the country roads. This wasn’t a good area for anyone, much less someone in a questionable state of mind, which Patrick obviously was if he thought getting behind the wheel of his car was a good idea.
Why couldn’t he have just called me if something was bothering him? Why didn’t Angie know anything about this doctor’s appointment? Why did Patrick get upset when Tanner asked him about it? So many questions and not a single answer.
I looked down at the display of my phone, seeing that I was less than a mile away from Patrick’s still stationary blinking light. A police cruiser sped up behind me and I was forced to pull to the side of the road. I clenched my eyes tight and prayed my gut was wrong.
No way could this be happening.
Not today.
When an ambulance raced by, my stomach turned sour and I opened the door just in time to expel my morning coffee.
No. Don’t think that way. It’s probably a coincidence.
