Chapter 6: Chase

Saturday evening, April 25th

I trudged up the stairs to my apartment, unsure if Kyle was home and secretly hoping he wasn’t. I needed time alone to process everything that happened, and ever since Haley stayed the night all those months ago, I had a hard time being in my room without thinking about her. The way her long brown hair fanned out in her sleep, the smell of her on my pillow, how good it felt to wake up with her in my arms.

I scrubbed my hand over my face, frustrated with myself for allowing thoughts of Haley to distract me, yet again, when so much was already going on. Being around her definitely clouded my judgment; first, I kissed her, then I avoided her like a coward, and then I confessed it all to Ethan, thinking it would make me feel better. What an idiot, I chided myself. Jackson placed the blame on himself, but if anything, my actions were the reason for our current predicament.

Ethan is leaving the team. I still couldn’t wrap my head around it, no matter how many times I rehashed Jackson’s news. Out of all the guys, Ethan was my closest friend—he was the one who encouraged me to join the program, specifically mentoring and training me, and later recruiting me to join Team Jaguar. His decision to sever ties with us left me feeling completely blindsided.

I opened the apartment door, surprised to find Kyle watching TV. He had been absent more and more lately, often staying over at his girlfriend’s house on the weekends.

He signed “hello,” then I signed and spoke my own greeting.

“How’s Gran?” I asked.

“Good. She asked about you, said she hadn’t seen you in a while.”

“I know,” I replied, hanging my head. “I’ll go over later this week for dinner.”

“Have you decided what you’re going to do about the apartment?” Kyle asked, his timing uncanny since Ethan had planned to move in with me when Kyle graduated. Guess that’s not happening now, I thought regretfully.

“I don’t think Ethan will be moving in with me, so I may be looking for a new place to live.”

“Everything okay?”

“Change in plans,” I responded, not wanting to elaborate. Even if the team voted to contest Ethan’s dismissal and he relented, I still didn’t see him wanting to live together anymore.

“Okay. Well, just remember we need to let the leasing office know by May fifteenth.”

I nodded and collapsed on the other end of the couch.

Hours later, my phone rang, signaling an incoming call from Jackson and interrupting the show Kyle and I were watching. I’d been dreading this all day, waiting for the moment he would finally confront me about Haley and reprimand me for violating a team agreement. I wanted to let it go to voicemail, but that wasn’t an option. Jackson’s calls were not to be ignored, and I needed to get this conversation over with sooner rather than later.

“Hey, Jackson. What’s up?” I asked, hoping my voice sounded calm.

“Can you get logged into the system?”

Concerned by his brusque tone, I said, “Yeah. Is everything okay?”

“No. Haley left and we need to track her.”

“What?” I jumped from the couch. “Why?”

I listened in silence while Jackson described the efforts already made to find her and the plan of action going forward. As usual, he was brief, to the point, and I appreciated that now more than ever as I paced behind the couch.

“Chase?” he said after finishing his instructions. “You got all that?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Unless you have any questions, I’ll let you get to it.”

I ended the call without so much as a goodbye, and ignoring Kyle's questioning glance, I stalked into my bedroom and slammed the door behind me. What the hell is going on? First Ethan and now Haley. My life was spinning out of control, and I was powerless to stop it.

Pacing back and forth on the carpet, my muscles were coiled like a spring wound tight and my jaw ached from clenching it so hard. In a burst of panic, I shoved the random computer parts from my desk, sending them crashing to the floor.

I braced my hands against my knees and stared at the mess, struggling to remember a time when I had felt so helpless. And, now, everyone was counting on me to find Haley. What if I didn't succeed? As the youngest member of the team, I still aspired to prove my value on a daily basis.

Yanking on my short hair, I growled, “Enough.” My petulant outburst was wasting time. Jackson and I were both working different tech angles, but I knew that if anyone could discover where Haley had disappeared to, it was me.

I stepped over the debris littering my floor, ignoring it for now, and grabbed my laptop. Sitting on my bed, I leaned against the headboard and plugged in my headphones to stream music. I lost track of time scanning the bus routes, pulling camera feeds from various cities, and trying to determine where she went. It took hours, but finally, around one in the morning, I had something—a clear shot of Haley. What is she doing in San Francisco?