It starts the same as always.
Rory walks into the frame. The hoodie is pulled tight around her face. She angles her head, spotting the camera and turns back. Going into a restroom.
I watch with vigor like I don’t already have the whole thing memorized, looking for something—anything—I missed.
Eli has a fast-forwarded updated copy. Her coming back out seconds later now instead of minutes. Her face never directly meets the camera again before she climbs onto the bus and disappears.
I play it back again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
And agai—
Finn catches my hand before I can press the button. A defeated exhale falling from his mouth.
I ease back, grating my teeth. “Got something on your mind?”
“How many times are you going to make us suffer through this? I’m stuffed, exhausted, and I want to go home.”
I arch an eyebrow.
“You can do this on your own time at your own house.” Voice sterner now, he says, “…Alone.”
My molars lock. He didn’t need to add the “alone” part. That’s just him being an ass. I understood what he meant without the extra addition.
Leaning forward, I link the tips of my fingers together, eyeing them both. “Fine,” I snap. Cocking my head toward Eli. “Any updates?”
Nothing.
The quiet my answer.
I can see it though; they know something I don’t.
Furious all over again, my hand slams down on the closed computer when Eli goes to grab it. This isn’t about Rory any longer. This is about them and their bullheadedness.
Well, fuck that. They don’t get to decide when they are in and out of this friendship. We’re hellhounds. Besides, we all want to find her, so that means whether they like it or not, we’re in this together.
“Has Abram checked the place where she’d originally been picked up at?” My attitude less than chipper.
My attention is only on Finn, even though I can feel Eli’s icy glare from where I still refuse to move my hand.
“Seems like a good place to start. Going back to the only place she’s ever known.” My jaw is tight. If they aren’t going to share, then I’ll ask my own questions.
“That seems like not only a waste of our timeandresources but indifferent. Her ticket told us she’s heading in the complete opposite direction.” Eli scoffs a sneer. “Maybe she realized the past shouldstayin the past.”
My eyes dilate into pure malice. I get the double meaning and don’t appreciate one syllable of what he’s insinuating.
Slowly the joints in my neck pop, craning my head when his mouth turns crooked. Now is not the time to insult my intelligence, my love life, or anything else for that matter.
If I’m treading with my back to the water, then he’s floating with his head barely above it.
They don’t get it, either of them. It’s like when animals run toward the intense flames of a forest fire instead of away. The attraction, the heat, all of it. It sucks you in. Drawing you back to the only life you’ve ever known.
They don’t agree, but that’s fine. When has that stopped me before?