Page 112 of Striking Range

Henry rolls his eyes from behind her. “He’s probably just fucking some sorority girl and not checking his phone. You guys are being dramatic.”

“He is not,” I insist, albeit a bit defensively.

They both stare at me for a long moment, confused and startled, before Kelly clears her throat and says,

“Have you checked our usual hangouts?”

“I have. He wasn’t there. Do you happen to have Ashley’s phone number?”

Henry tilts his head curiously. “Ashley who?”

“From the business department. She’s blonde and pretty and a little sassy,” I explain, but they’re both looking at me like I’m crazy. “Ugh. Never mind.”

“Have you tried calling his house? Maybe he’s home,” Henry offers.

“No, I… I haven’t called them.” I don’t explain further, and this fact seems to interest them both.

“It’s a Saturday; let’s just head over there,” Kelly suggests, shrugging casually as she turns toward the hallway.

“Wait!” I shout, stumbling out of bed. “It’s probably best that we—”

“He’s been missing since yesterday afternoon,” she deadpans. “We’re going to talk to his parents. Come on.”

And suddenly I’m in her car, watching the houses fly by as we head toward Rockhill. I’m happy to have their support and their company, but just in case something bad is happening inside that house, I can’t allow them to go inside.

Not only is it not my secret to tell, but it might only enrage his father more. I couldn’t bear being the reason Everett is put in such a difficult situation. I love him too much.

His absence is killing me, and it’s only been roughly a day. Every moment that I cannot find him, a piece of me disappears alongside him. Where am I meant to go, if not to where he is?

Where am I meant to place my love without him here to carry it?

And sure, if one day Everett woke up and decided to leave me for good, I would survive it. I would heal over so many years, and I would wake up in the morning and sleep through the night. I would revert back to who I was before I met him, before I truly understood him—I would become less, but I would still become.

But I’d rather not. I am not suited for torment, and that is all that experience would be. I need him by my side; I do not want to learn how to survive without him.

“We’re here,” Kelly suddenly says, and my head snaps up to see the Carmichael residence standing like an omen before us.

She begins to open her door.

“Kelly, wait.” Grabbing her arm, I pull her back into the car. She watches me expectantly, and my gaze flickers between her and Henry in the backseat. “Let me go alone.”

“What?” Henry questions. “Why alone?”

“Listen, there are things about Evie’s home life that you don’t understand. Things that he should be the one to say, if he wishes to. So, just… let me go alone.”

Henry raises his hands in surrender, leaning back against his seat. Kelly shifts awkwardly before giving me a subtle nod and a weary frown.

“I’ll be okay,” I assure them.

Slipping out, I shut the door before they can say another word.

The walk from the curb to the front door takes an eternity. I walk and walk for forever, my hands shaky and my mind fuzzy. I know for certain that if I am pushed too hard, I will blow up.

I will become the version of myself that I cannot get rid of.

Taking a deep breath, I knock on the door. Ash Carmichael answers a second later, as if he’s been expecting my arrival.

I have met the man only a handful of times, and not once on his own property, but he’s never looked at me like this before. With resentment.