“Should we tell the rest of the family?” Summer asks.
“No,” I answer firmly. “Let’s wait a while longer, at least until we know more.”
They reluctantly agree, and we immediately launch into a debate over what could have happened and how all this could play out. I do my best to calm Blake and Summer every time they veer too deeply into negative scenarios, but my bravado begins to fade as no news reaches us.
“We should tell the others,” Blake insists after an hour during which we have no further news.
“I’ll do it in a few minutes.” I massage a spot on my temple where a piercing pain pulses every few seconds.
“We can do it together,” Blake offers. “Each of us call part of the clan.”
“Nah, I’ll do it.”
Next to me, Summer’s eyes are glassy, and by the way she keeps chewing on her lower lip, I can tell she’s really fighting to keep it together. This was her telltale sign when we were kids.
I could tell when she was about to cry by the way her lower lip would move, and I typically had just enough time to distract her with a joke or a change of subject. Now neither of those options will cut it. I don’t have an inkling what would. With an encouraging clasp on her shoulder, I rise from the table, moving farther away from the picnic tables to make the calls.
My fingers tremble over the screen of my phone as I decide whom to call first. In the end, I decide to start with Sebastian.
“What’s taking them so long to find him?” Sebastian exclaims the second I finish telling him everything. “I’ll make some calls to the local mayor and—”
“Sebastian,” I say gently, “their rescue team is already on it.”
“I’ll get on a plane right away.”
“Please don’t. It won’t make a difference. It’s frustrating, but all we’re doing here is waiting. I promise they’ll find him soon.”
“Okay. Please call me as soon as they tell you more.”
“Of course.”
My palms are sweating as I click off, my heart rate more frantic than before. Damn, I’m used to having to calm down my younger siblings, but usually when there’s a crisis, I can count on Logan, Pippa, and Sebastian most of all to be a calming presence. I won’t lie; a part of me was hoping Sebastian would impart some of his usual calmness over the phone, reassuring me that Daniel will be safe. A girl can hope.
I call Logan next, and he’s with Max and Christopher, so he switches to speakerphone and my younger brothers hear the news at the same time. I barely convince them to stay put, their reaction almost identical to Sebastian’
s.
Telling Pippa and then my parents almost breaks my heart. They’ve always been the pillars and the glue of the family, keeping everything afloat in crisis situations. I only ever saw my mother look completely lost a few years back, when my father had an accident. While he was in surgery, Mom seemed completely out of it. Pippa stepped up to the plate and calmed Mother down.
Right now, they are both distressed, and schooling my voice to sound reassuring and optimistic becomes more taxing by the second. By the time I head back inside to Summer and Blake, I’m on the verge on tears, but I stubbornly withhold them.
“Drink water,” Blake says the second I return to the picnic tables. “We’ll dehydrate in this heat if we don’t drink.” And I can’t help worrying about Daniel, and if he has enough water.
Sometime later Tom comes out to us. Summer locks her eyes on him, and Blake’s shoulders go rigid. At one point Tom all but begged us not to bust into his office again, assuring us he’d tell us when there is news.
“The rescue team got a hold of him, but his right ankle is blocked between two boulders. They’re working on getting him out.”
“Oh!” Summer drops her head between her hands.
“Is he injured otherwise?” I ask.
“There were no apparent life-threatening injuries at first sight.”
“At first sight,” Blake repeats, his jaw set.
“They have a paramedic with them.”
“How can this take so long?” I bellow, rising to my feet.