“It’s okay, you’re worried. So am I.” Benji let out a sharp breath. “Can you think of any place he might go if he’s upset? Anywhere in town?”
“I’m not—” Joshua froze, one potential place popping into his mind. “Maybe. Listen, babe, I’m going to check this place out, okay? I’ll call you back whether I find him or not.”
“Okay. Be safe.”
“I will. Love you.”
“Love you back.”
“I’m coming—” Melody started.
“No.” Joshua shook his head. “You need to stay in case he comes back. Call me if he does.”
She pouted, but stayed put.
Joshua grabbed his coat off the back of a chair, shrugged into it, and raced down the exterior stairs to the ground.
Traffic in the area was less challenging in the winter than the summer, but the place still maintained steady tourist business, despite the cold temperatures and threat of snow showers early in the week. He jaywalked right across the main road, dodging the occasional car, and headed down a side street that led straight for the beach.
This far north, the narrow stretch of beach attracted fewer tourists than the beach south of them. Van had once commented he liked a particular patch near one of the oldest hotels within eight blocks. Only four stories tall and build on pylons at the turn of the century, the huge old cottage exterior was as charming as it was faded with the constant barrage of sunlight and salty sea air.
The sun had set almost an hour ago, though, and light from the nearby buildings didn’t reach all the way to the surf line. In the distance, a bundled up couple was walking a dog on a leash, but the beach seemed otherwise deserted. Joshua trudged through heavy sand, already shivering from the icy air blowing off the water. Van told him he’d sometimes do yoga at sunrise here, watching the sun come up over the water, allowing the constant crash of waves to center him. The spot was incredibly lovely and peaceful, but Joshua didn’t see his boyfriend parked anywhere on the sand.
A hunched shape sat at the shoreline, water swirling around him as wave after wave crashed not five feet farther out. Black hair glinted in the meager light.
What the hell is he doing?
Joshua took off at a dead run, because it was thirty fucking degrees out, and that water had to be freezing. It splashed his pants and his legs, cold enough to take his breath away. Van was sitting with his knees tucked close to his chin, staring straight out at the water, seemingly not feeling the cold water that had soaked into his pants and shirt.
“Van?” Joshua squatted in front of him. Van didn’t react, didn’t seem to see him. “Van, it’s Joshua. Can you hear me?”
Nothing. Water splashed onto Joshua’s ass, and he yelped.
“You’re going to freeze to death if you keep sitting here.” He moved behind Van, looped both arms beneath his pits, and lifted. Van didn’t protest, but he also didn’t help. Joshua half-dragged him backward several feet, until they were free of the icy surf, then dumped Van into the sand.
Van sat there, half-sideways, so totally vacant that Joshua started to panic. Except panicking was bad, because Van was wet and cold, and they needed to get indoors.
“Baby, you’re scaring me,” Joshua said. “Please get up and come home. Let me take you home.”
“I left home.” Van’s voice was so soft, Joshua leaned in to hear better. “Left it all behind. Left him behind.”
“Him who? Who did you leave behind?”
No response.
Okay, plan B.
He hoisted Van up again, and this time they both managed to stay on their feet. He looped Van’s arm around his shoulders and anchored it there, then held Van’s waist with his other hand. Together, they slowly shuffled their way back across the sand to the deserted side street. Joshua’s teeth were clattering by the time they’d made it across the main road, but Van didn’t seem aware of the cold. He didn’t seem aware of anything.
The stairs up to the second floor apartment loomed in front of them. Van was becoming unresponsive again, taking smaller steps. The door opened and Melody flew down to help him.
“I found him on the beach,” Joshua said as they began the very slow ascent, one of them on either side of Van. “Sitting in the fucking water. He barely spoke to me.”
“I’ve never seen him like this.” Melody’s voice was hoarse with barely contained tears.
Joshua kept a tight lid on his own fear until they got inside. The heated apartment was nice, but Van’s skin was ice cold. “Mel, run a hot bath, okay?”
She dashed into the bathroom.
