Boys Like You

And I knew how easy it was to consider a way out.

“I need to find him, Gram. Can I borrow the car?”

She nodded slowly and pulled the keys out of the pocket of her light gray sweater. “Take your cell phone. I’ll let you know if he shows up here.”

My mind was already racing ahead, wondering where he could be. I started down the steps, nearly falling on my face as I tripped over the last one, and I was halfway to the car before I pulled up cold.

My cell.

I whipped it out and called him, but after three rings it went to voicemail. I left a message asking him to text me or call me as soon as possible, and then I sent a text to Brent.

Have you heard from Nate?

He answered almost immediately.

No. You? The guys are worried. He’s not picking up his cell.

Shit. I slid into the car.

Me: Let me know if you find him.

Brent: Will do. His car is missing.

Me: What? I thought he wasn’t supposed to drive.

Brent: He’s not. His parents are freaking out.

I stared at the flickering screen and sent one last text.

Me: Sorry to hear about Trevor.

Brent: It’s so screwed up.

It was so much more than that. I gunned the car and hoped like heck Gram wasn’t watching, because honestly, I barely missed her prized geraniums as I barreled down the driveway and headed for town.

It was the only place I knew to go, but once I got there, I wasn’t exactly sure where to look. I drove past the fairgrounds where the Peach Festival had been held but it was empty. Nothing going on.

The baseball diamond next door was dark as was the football field behind the high school. I drove down Main Street and followed the signs to the hospital, retracing the route I’d taken only a few weeks earlier.

Weird. It felt so long ago. The festival. That first “non-date.” How had he managed to mean so much to me in such a short time?

I thought that maybe I loved Nathan.

No. That was wrong. I didn’t think anymore. I was sure of it.

I loved Nathan Everets, and I couldn’t picture my tomorrow without him in it.

“Crap,” I said aloud, glancing in my rearview mirror to make sure no one was behind me.

I had no idea if he would come to the hospital, but it was a place to start. I parked as best I could, considering I had to parallel-park Gram’s giant-ass car, and two minutes later, I ran through the front doors.

Trevor was on the fifth floor, and when I got off the elevator, the lounge area near the nurses’ station was empty. The whole place was quiet.

It smelled.

It smelled like pain and fear and death.

A walk around the nurses’ station and a quick glance down each hallway that led from the main desk told me the place was deserted. More than a little nervous, I returned to the lounge, unsure what to do.