When Sam and Ethan were fourteen, Sam’s parents had thrown a party, and the two of them had made off with a six-pack without anyone noticing it was missing. They’d sat on it for a week like a pot of gold, waiting for the right moment, before each chugging three warm cans and meeting up with some of their other friends at the park.This is what it must feel like to be Sam,he’d realized. He felt lighter, his inhibitions stripped away, making everyone laugh, saying exactly the right things. That is, until his head started to spin and he’d puked in the bushes. But more so than any of the other important relationships in his life—Sam, Nora, and now Grey—it had been love at first sight.
Ethan sat on the edge of the bed, hands pressed against his temples. His breathing was ragged and his head ached. His eyes drifted to the minibar.
He was going to make it through this afternoon. He didn’t have a choice.
—
GREY ARRIVED BACKat the hotel sweaty and out of breath. The hours had slipped by before she knew it, and she’d hastily said her goodbyes and dashed out of the restaurant. She fired off a few apologetic texts to Ethan as she dodged cars, running across the street against the light, to no response. By the time she pushed the door of their room open, it was twenty-five minutes after they were supposed to leave.
“Fuck, I’m so sorry,” she wheezed, darting into the bathroom to splash water on her face and touch up her makeup. No response. She poked her head out of the doorway.
“Ethan?”
Their suite was empty.
She returned to the bathroom and checked her phone again. Nothing. She swiped it open and called him. A faint buzzing came from the other room, and she dropped her eyelash curler into the sink with a clatter.
When she darted into the bedroom, her stomach plummeted. Ethan’s phone was sitting on the nightstand. Her mind raced. Maybe he’d just run out to get something from the bodega and forgotten his phone. As ten minutes passed, then twenty, this seemed less and less likely. It was possible he’d decided to go to Queens without her—but unthinkable that he’d do it without even sending her a text first.
After two excruciating hours, she did the only thing she could think of. She called Nora.
Thankfully, Nora picked up on the third ring.
“Hello?”
“Hey, can you talk?” Grey’s voice sounded overly perky.
“Sure. One second.” Grey heard her excuse herself, then the muffled sounds of the street. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. No. I don’t know. I’m really sorry to bother you, I just didn’t know who else to call.” Grey closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Saying the words out loud would make it real. “It’s Ethan. He’s gone. He left his phone; I don’t know where he is.”
Nora was silent for so long that Grey had to check to make sure the call hadn’t disconnected. “Hello?”
“How long has it been?”
“I don’t know. At least two hours. I came back to the room and he wasn’t here.”
“And he was supposed to be? You had plans?”
Grey sat down on the edge of the bed and rested her forehead in her other hand.
“Yeah, we were going to go to Queens and see Sam’s parents.”
Another silence. Then Nora sighed heavily. “Has he done this with you before?”
“No. Never. Do you know where he is? Should I be worried?” Too late for that.
“You shouldn’t. But I don’t blame you if you are. Trust me, I’ve been in your place before. There’s nothing you can do right now.”
Grey took a deep breath. She didn’t want to ask. She had a feeling she already knew the answer.
“Where is he?”
“If I had to guess, probably in the back of some shitty bar.”
Grey was silent.
“I’m sorry, Grey. I wish I had something better to tell you. But I’m sure he’s okay. Or as okay as he ever is. He always comes back eventually.” It sounded like Nora was talking about a wayward housecat that’d escaped their yard.
