“Hey!” he shouted, dumping his bag on the floor and coming over to me. He hugged me, slapping me on the back several times before letting go. “Where’s my lil’ sis?” He smiled, looking around.
“Erm…” I swallowed.
He frowned, looking around at all of us. Noticing how many people were here, he frowned. “Ty? What the hell is going on?”
“Kay was…” I took a deep breath, the words not willing to come out of my mouth. “She’s been taken.”
“Taken?” His hands clenched into fists as he stepped back. “You better fill me in Ty. Right fucking now.”
We’d been up all night, looking at everything and anything that we could find but we hadn’t gotten any further. The board was full of possible places that she could be and slowly each one was being crossed off, after it had been checked out and nothing found. We were now down to two places and I knew in my gut that she wasn’t at either one of them.
“Time to go and meet my nephew,” Corey said on an exhale. He was used to this, staying up at all hours, but you could see that not knowing where his sister was, was killing him.
I knew exactly how he felt. I couldn’t bare not knowing where she was, and as soon as that thought would hit me, all I could imagine was what was happening to her. Images of what that fucker was doing to her sped through my mind. I wish I could erase them because I was imagining the worst.
“Yeah.” I scrubbed my face, trying to prepare myself to see Eli. I hadn’t seen him since I said goodnight the night before. I dreaded to think what he would think this morning when he woke up and Kay still wasn’t there.
Although, secretly, I hoped that Corey being here would occupy his mind enough to not ask where Kay was.
Corey slung his bag over his shoulder and followed me over to the house. He stayed one pace behind me, and when I got to the bottom of the steps, I turned and saw how he was hesitating.
Frowning, I asked. “What’s up?”
His eyes were fixated on the door and his face had gone an unusual ashen color. If I didn’t know better, I would have said he was about to throw up.
“Shit, man.” He looked all around him and then back to me. “I haven’t seen him since he was a baby. What if he doesn’t recognize me?”
I chuckled at how much he was panicking. Corey was one of the most confident guys I’d ever known yet he was worried that Eli wouldn’t recognize him?
Kay would know just what to say to him so that he didn’t freak out.
And with that thought, my stomach rolled again, I was spending one hour back at the house and then I was getting back to it.
I shook my head and focused back on Corey, even though it pained me to look at him. Him and Kay were so different but so alike in so many ways.
“Come on,” I slapped him on the back, the force knocking him off balance. “He’ll know you. He’s spoken to you enough on video calls. I mean, who can forget that ugly face?”
“What the-”
Before he could finish what he was saying, the front door swooshed open and we were met with Eli, hands on his hips, and a stare to rival his mothers.
“Uncle Corey? Why are you standing outside?” Shaking his head, he stepped backed and sh
outed, “Nana E, my Uncle Corey is here. We’ll have to play hide and seek later.”
Looking back to us, he rolled his eyes and whispered. “She keeps making me play games.” I chuckled, knowing just what that was like.
“Yeah?” I asked, ruffling his hair as I stepped inside.
“I don’t wanna play girlie games, I wanna play superheroes.” He snorted.
I chuckled, then turned my attention to Corey who was stood there staring at Eli like he had two heads.
“Corey?”
“I…err…” he stammered.
Eli huffed and turned to me. “What’s the matter with him?” he asked, hooking his thumb over his shoulder.