Waves

𝐭𝐞𝐧

"Isn't it?"

At that, almost everyone turned to the eldest Jones boy. "She was the one who made the tape. No one held a gun to her head."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Christopher questioned. "She's your sister."

"My sister would have never put herself in this position."

"She was a kid," Leena stressed. "She didn't know any better."

"She knew how to spread her legs, didn't she?"

"Fu*k you, Isaiah."

"That is enough."

The tension was palpable, the animosity overwhelming. It was a situation that no one imagined transpiring between the lovable family. Lighthearted bickering was vastly different from the pending fist fight between two headstrong men.

"Now, ya'll all just need to sit your hard headed as*es down and think," Grandma declared, waiting for both Chris and Isaiah to stand down. Neither did. "Out of all the people in this room, ya'll mean to tell me no one can figure out where she is?" Silence befell the room. "Maybe none of ya'll know her as well as you think."

The challenge both incensed and enlightened Isaiah.

"Look, grandma–" He paused, eyes focusing on the wall adjacent to her as he shook his head. "I know where she is."

The car ride, unlike the conversations that followed the drive, was silent. Eyes focused on the scenery, Chris could only think about what he would do if Summer wasn't there. He knew her to isolate herself when she needed to think, but not like this, and certainly not for this long. He was starting to grow concerned, even if he refused to show it.

Isaiah, meanwhile, retained a firm grip on the steering wheel while focusing on the road in front of him instead of the man beside him. He would also never admit it, but he too was growing slightly concerned. Similar to Chris, he knew Summer would never go this long without reaching out to at least let everyone know that she was okay.

Then again, she'd never been in a situation such as this.

None of them had.

"What the fu*k?" Chris murmured as Isaiah pulled into a vacant parking lot. "What are we doing here?"

Isaiah took a deep breath as he pulled into the spot. "This is where she is."

Chris gave his brother-in-law a double take. "You shi*ting me?"

Rolling his eyes, Isaiah shut off the car and unbuckled his seatbelt. "Give me a few minutes."

Chris scoffed. "Because you did such a good job last fu*king time."

Isaiah blew out a breath and clenched the steering wheel. "Look, I fu*ked up. Okay. I acknowledge that. I'm asking you to give me a chance to fix it."

Christopher looked away. The only thing he wanted to give Isaiah was a swift kick in the a*s, or maybe not so swift. This was all his fault, anyway. Chris still didn't know what exactly was said to his wife, but he knew enough to know it was nothing good. Summer was one of the strongest women he knew. It took a lot to get to her.

A lot.

Chris kept his focus on the vacant lot, searching for any other cars. "You've got ten minutes."

Isaiah nodded and moved to exit the car, but not before saying, "thank you."

"Nine."

Isaiah rolled his eyes and shut the door, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he made his way into the abandoned building.