Chapter 218 - Not Here
Zac was gone from the bungalow in the morning.
Roxie knew before she opened her eyes. The other side of the bed felt cold beneath her hand, and the kitchen stayed quiet beyond the bedroom door. No cabinet opened. No pan touched the stove. His boots were gone from beside hers.
She pushed herself upright and reached for her phone.
The last message from Zac had arrived sometime after he left.
Went home because I couldn’t sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow. Text me when you wake up.
Roxie had answered almost an hour ago.
Are you coming before school?
There was no reply.
She typed another message.
Zac?
The message showed as delivered.
Roxie stared at the screen until it dimmed in her hand.
She climbed out of bed and crossed the bungalow in bare feet. The floor felt cold, but she barely noticed. She pulled the curtain aside and checked the road.
No truck.
She let the curtain fall, then lifted it again when headlights moved between the trees. A sedan passed without slowing.
Roxie returned to the bedroom and tried calling him.
The phone rang until his voicemail answered.
She hung up.
Maybe he had fallen asleep after getting home. Maybe his parents had been waiting for him and taken his phone. His father could have taken the truck too.
Zac had left her a message. That meant he had planned to see her.
Unless he changed his mind.
Roxie placed the phone on the dresser and pulled on her jeans. She tied her hair, stared at herself, then pulled the elastic out and started again. Her fingers caught in the ends hard enough to hurt.
She stood in front of the closet for several minutes before realizing she was already wearing the shirt she had been looking for.
Her phone remained silent.
By the time Roxie left the bungalow, she had checked the road six times.
The morning cold burned through her coat. She shoved both hands into her pockets and walked faster, listening for the sound of Zac’s engine behind her.
Every vehicle made her turn.
None belonged to him.
Her shoulders tightened higher with every empty stretch of road. By the time the school came into view, a dull ache had settled behind her eyes.
Zac’s truck was missing from the parking lot.
Roxie stopped near the entrance and searched the arriving cars. Dylan parked alone. Mason and Kyle crossed from the far side of the lot, but Zac was not with either of them.
She waited until Dylan reached the doors.
"Where’s Zac?"
Dylan slowed, but his hand remained on the door handle. "I don’t know."
"You were with him last night."
His eyes shifted toward her. "Who told you that?"
"Nobody."
Dylan stared at her.
Roxie raised one eyebrow. "You just did."
He dropped his hand from the door and rubbed it across his face. His hair looked like he had slept on it, and the front of his shirt was wrinkled beneath his jacket.
"That was dirty," he muttered.
"Where is he?"
"Give him some time."
Roxie’s fingers curled inside her coat pockets. "For what?"
"He’s being an idiot."
"That tells me nothing."
"It tells you plenty. You know him."
Dylan tried to move around her.
Roxie stepped with him and blocked the entrance. "Is he okay?"
Dylan looked past her toward the hallway. "He’s alive."
Her stomach pulled tight.
"What?"
His eyes returned to her face. "Shit. That came out wrong."
"Why would you say alive?"
"I meant he’s okay."
"Is he hurt?"
"He’s fine."
Roxie took one hand from her pocket and caught the edge of his sleeve. "Dylan."
"He’s okay. I swear."
"Where is he?"
Dylan lowered his voice as more students passed them. "He doesn’t want me telling you."
Roxie’s grip loosened.
"So you know."
"Yeah."
"And he told you to hide it from me?"
"He told me he needs a minute."
"From me?"
Dylan’s mouth tightened.
He looked away instead of answering.
Roxie swallowed and released his sleeve. Her hand remained raised between them for a moment before she shoved it back into her pocket.
"Did something happen with his dad?"
"He needs to tell you."
"Just tell me if he’s safe."
"He is."
"You swear?"
Dylan finally looked at her. "Yeah."
The warning bell rang inside the building.
Roxie stood there, searching his face for anything he had missed.
"Tell him to call me."
"I will." He disappeared into the hallway, fast.
Roxie stayed near the entrance until another group of students pushed past her. Dylan had said Zac was safe. She repeated it while walking to class, but the words never settled.
She kept hearing the first answer.
He’s alive.
AP Chemistry was the only class she shared with Zac.
His chair remained empty.
Roxie sat beside it with her notebook open and her phone hidden beneath the table. She checked the screen before Mr. Callahan began the lesson.
Nothing.
The empty chair seemed wider than usual. Zac’s name remained written along the edge of the table in faded pencil from a week when he had been bored.
Roxie ran her thumb across it.
Karen turned around from the table behind her. "Come sit with us."
"I’m okay."
"You’re alone."
"I can do it."
Karen looked toward the empty chair, then back at Roxie. "Fine."
Mr. Callahan handed out a worksheet and began explaining the first calculation. Roxie copied the numbers from the board, but halfway through the equation, she realized she had written the wrong thing.
She erased it hard enough to tear the paper.
Angela leaned closer from the next table. "You okay?"
"Yeah."
"You look sick."
"I didn’t sleep."
"Did Zac say he wasn’t coming?"
Roxie shook her head and checked her phone again beneath the table.
Mr. Callahan glanced in their direction.
Angela faced forward.
Roxie tried to follow the next calculation. The numbers blurred together while her mind returned to Dylan’s face.
Zac was safe.
Zac needed time.
Zac wanted Dylan to hide him.
Mr. Callahan said her name.
Roxie looked up. "What?"
Several students laughed quietly.
Mr. Callahan raised one eyebrow. "The limiting reactant."
Roxie looked toward the board. She had no idea which part he meant.
"Hydrogen?"
More laughter moved through the room.
Heat spread across her face.
Mr. Callahan glanced at Zac’s empty chair before returning to the board. "Try following the example."
Roxie lowered her head and copied the answer.
Zac would have leaned over and explained what she missed. He would have written the calculation in the corner of her page and tapped it with his pencil until she looked.
She glanced at the chair again.
It remained empty for the entire class.
When the bell rang, Roxie packed slowly. Her fingers slipped against the zipper twice before she managed to close her bag.
Karen and Angela waited near the door.
"Maybe he’s sick," Angela said.
"Dylan knows where he is."
Karen frowned. "What did he say?"
"That Zac needs time."
"For what?"
"He wouldn’t tell me."
Angela adjusted her bag higher against her chest. "Then talk to Zac when he comes back."
"I’ve been trying."
"He isn’t answering?"
Roxie shook her head.
Karen watched her pull out her phone again. "Maybe he did something."
Roxie stopped with the phone in her hand. "What’s that supposed to mean?"
Karen lifted one shoulder. "Maybe something happened after he left your place."
"You think he cheated?" Angela whispered.
Roxie’s head snapped toward her. "He didn’t."
"I was asking."
"He wouldn’t."
Karen lifted both hands. "Nobody said he did."
"You were thinking it."
"I was thinking there could be a reason he’s hiding."
Roxie pushed her phone into her pocket harder than necessary. "You don’t know him like I do."
Karen stared at her for a moment. "Okay."
The calm answer made Roxie’s jaw tighten.
"He wouldn’t cheat."
"I said okay."
Angela stepped between them and pushed the classroom door wider. "Can we go? We’re gonna be late."
Roxie walked ahead without waiting.
She found Mason before lunch near the vending machines with Kyle and two other football players. Mason had been laughing about something until he saw her coming.
His smile disappeared.
"Where’s Zac?"
"I don’t know."
"Dylan already used that."
"Then maybe it’s true."
"Mason."
He glanced toward Kyle.
Kyle turned toward the vending machine and pressed a button even though he had not put money inside.
Roxie stepped closer. "Did you see him last night?"
"No."
"Did you talk to him?"
Mason pushed both hands into his jacket pockets. "He’ll talk to you."
"When?"
"I don’t know."
Her eyes moved between him and Kyle. "Is he okay?"
"Yeah."
The answer came too quickly.
Roxie’s shoulders stiffened. "Is he hurt?"
Mason’s eyes flicked toward Kyle.
The movement lasted less than a second.
Roxie caught it.
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
"You just looked at Kyle."
"I look at Kyle all the time. He’s pretty."
Kyle gave him an irritated look.
Roxie did not smile.
"Is Zac hurt?"
Mason rocked back on his heels. "He’s okay."
"Dylan keeps saying that too."
"Because he is."
"Where is he?"
"I can’t tell you."
Roxie stared at him. "Why?"
Mason looked down and kicked the edge of the vending machine with his shoe.
"Because he asked us not to."
The words settled between them.
"So you talked to him."
Mason’s mouth closed.
"You did."
"I never said that."
"You just did."
He rubbed the back of his neck and looked toward the cafeteria.
Roxie’s stomach sank.
Zac had spoken to Dylan and Mason. He was awake. He had access to a phone. He knew she was looking for him.
He had chosen to stay quiet.
Roxie pulled her arms across her stomach. "Tell him I’m worried."
Mason’s expression softened. "He knows."
"How?"
"You’ve probably sent him fifty messages."
"I sent three."
"That’s low for you."
Roxie stared at him.
Mason’s attempt at a smile faded.
"I’ll tell him," he said.
Roxie nodded and walked away.
She returned to the cafeteria line, but the smell of food turned her stomach. She stepped out before reaching the counter and sat on a bench outside the gym.
Her hands felt cold even inside the building.
She checked her phone.
Nothing.
By cheer practice, the headache had spread behind both eyes. Her stomach felt hollow, and her arms seemed heavier when she pulled her hair into a tighter ponytail.
State was only days away.
Coach Miller stood beside the sound system with the routine sheet in one hand. He watched Roxie tie her shoes, then looked toward the untouched snack sticking from the top of her bag.
Roxie avoided his eyes and moved into formation.
"Full routine," Coach Miller called. "I need clean transitions."
The music started.
Roxie counted automatically.
One, two, three, four.
Her body remembered the routine, but her eyes kept moving toward her bag.
Maybe Zac was at Dylan’s house.
Maybe he was sleeping.
Maybe his father had taken the truck.
Maybe Dylan and Mason were lying about how badly he was hurt.
Roxie missed the next count.
Karen caught her elbow before their shoulders collided.
"Focus," Karen whispered.
"I am."
"You missed."
"I know."
"Then stop looking at your phone."
Roxie pulled her arm free and faced forward.
Fiona entered late on the tumbling pass, forcing the girls behind her to adjust.
Roxie kept moving until Coach Miller lowered the music.
"Fiona, you were late."
"I know. Sorry." Fiona turned toward the girls behind her. "That was me."
"Fix it," Roxie said.
Fiona nodded. "I will."
They reset.