𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐆𝐀𝐍² , 𝗧𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗣.

𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞, 1

after i change, i quietly pack my stuff and then sneak out of the house.

i open the car door and smile at conrad.

"hi." i smile and chuckled.

"hey." he said and i sat in the car.

"you didn't bring a coat?" he asked.

"i forgot but i'm not cold." i said. he starts to remove his sweater and i laugh.

"wear this." he said.

"wanna go to the beach?" he asked.

"yeah!" i exclaim and he smiles as i start to wear my seatbelt, keeping his warm sweater in my lap.

i sit on the bus, watching outside the window. i reach the brown university and for some reason, i feel like throwing up.

i call jeremiah up and he says he's heading to conrad's dorm and the hangs up on me. i decided to grab coffee for jeremiah maybe i could make up to him because of the fight. when i reach him, he declines the coffee but thanks me for being there.

"i'm glad you're here. i don't know what floor he's on or his dorm number." he said.

"i don't either. i know he's on the top floor but nothing else." i said.

"you never visited him at brown?" jeremiah asked and i shook my head.

we reach his dorm, and jeremiah knocks on the door but then steps in when no one answers.

"hey, look, his bed is made." i said, as i look around.

"woah, excuse me, this is my room that you guys are rifling through." a guy said as he entered.

"hey, man, i'm-i'm conrad's brother. we talked on the phone earlier. it's nice to finally meet you." jeremiah said, shaking his hand.

"okay, jeremiah, right?" the guy asked.

"yeah." jeremiah said.

"cool." the other guy said.

"connie's not back, is he?" jeremiah asked.

"i haven't seen him since thursday afternoon." the guy said.

"did anything else happen before he left?" i asked.

"he got into it with someone on the phone." he said. "like he was yelling and shit."

"and then he just took off? do you have any idea who he was yelling at?" jeremiah asked.

"i don't know, bro, the government who's surveilling us through our devices as we speak." the guy said and me and jeremiah share a look.

"is that the last time you heard from him?" jeremiah asked.

"no, he texted me this morning saying that he was gonna miss bio lab and asked if i could take notes. i'd be annoyed but i spent the whole year copying off of his shit, so i can't really complain. yall feel?" he asked and chuckled.

"mm. would you mind just, like, trying to call him from your phone and seeing if he answers?" i asked, smiling.

"yeah, sure." he said, and taking out his phone, calling conrad.

"trusky, did i leave my sweater in here?" a girl asked, and my smile slightly faltered.

"i don't..  one sec, i don't know. maybe..." trusky said and then he declined the call.

"nope, straight to voicemail." he said and i sighed.

"but sophie might know where conrad went." trusky said.

why the fuck would she? did something happen..?

"they're tight." trusky said.

"hey." sophie said. i keep quiet and jeremiah glanced at me before looking back at her.

"hey, sophie, um, you wouldn't happen to have any idea where my brother disappeared to?" jeremiah asked.

"um, i think he said he was going to hang out with his cousin by the beach." sophie said and me and jeremiah immediately look at each other.

"all right, rose, let's go." jeremiah said and i nodded.

"oh, yeahhh, you're rose. yo... when you guys broke up, my man fell into a depression." trusky said and i feel a harsh pang in my chest.

"i don't think it was because of me." i said, giving him a small fake smile, glancing at jeremiah.

"no, yeah, it definitely was. like, he was always looking at your picture on his phone." he said and i looked away.

"uh, anyway, when you guys find him, tell him that he has to be back for this bio final on thursday or he doesn't pass the class." trusky said.

"wait, seriously?" i asked.

"yeah." trusky said.

"okay, um, i'll grab his computer. you grab his books and stuff so he can study. okay?" i said to jeremiah and he nodded.

i grab his laptop, and look around removing a book when i see my rose necklace.

"let's go, rose." jeremiah said, and i put the book back down following jeremiah.

"the next bus takes off in an hour.. so.." i said as jeremiah snatches the laptop from my hands and out it in the backseat.

"why would he take off like that to cousins?" jeremiah asked. "i don't think he's missed a day of class in his life. not even when my mom was sick." he said.

"i'm not sure." i said, quietly.

"who was he yelling at on the phone? imean it had to be dad, right?" jeremiah asked.

"what could they possibly be arguing about?" jeremiah asked.

"yeah, no, it was probably adam. i mean, he and conrad are always disagreeing on something." i said.

"i really don't want to get dragged in the middle of whatever bullshit conrad's in right now, but if something were to happen to him, i wouldn't be able to forgive myself." jeremiah said.

"hey, no, no, no. nothing has happened to conrad, okay? he probably missed susannah's summer house and went there. he's still probably going through grief so.. maybe he went, to be closer to susannah." i said.

"maybe. it's only been a month since." jeremiah said and i don't need him to finish the sentence.

"we know how he is, he just bottles up all that shit until at some point it explodes. and i don't think he has anyone." jeremiah said. "he definitely hasn't been talking to me."

"uh, all right, do you want me to come with you to cousins?" i asked.

"i didn't need you to come here." he said, looking at me. i nod after a while.

"i think i can handle things fine on my own." he said.

"i know you can, but you don't have to. i mean, if you need me to come-"

"i don't." he cuts me off.

"maybe, conrad does. he still cares what you think about him." he said and then sat in the car.

jeremiah is afraid. and i know that he wants me to come. he couldn't handle conrad on his own and he knows it..