𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 (𝙵𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝙱𝚡𝙱)

Track 47 | 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗜'𝗺 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝘄

"Does anyone even know, like, what happened?" Torrence spoke up, unaware of the truth that only Eden and I knew about. "I mean, like—how did that happen to him? Did he rupture his ear drums or something? Will his hearing be okay?"

Eden and I shared doubtful glances.

"I don't know anything," Eden spoke aloud for all of us to hear. She was partly telling the truth. "I just took him to the hospital, that's it."

School felt especially long today. Long and unbearable. By the time it was over, we had all gone over to Rian's for our scheduled band rehearsal—all of us except Eden, who went to Ari's to check up on him. About an hour had passed and no real progress was made since we couldn't really generate anything of substance with two integral members of the band missing in action. There were no messages from Eden the entire time she was gone. Impulsively, I went out on a limb and just decided to head over there myself. I ditched the rehearsal and hopped onto my bike, pedaling faster than a cheetah can run.

Initially planning to climb up into his window as I approached his house, my plans were instantly diminished once I noticed a cop car parked just out front. Then I saw Eden on the front stoop, joined by—who I believed to be—Ari's foster parents, his little foster sister Dahlia, and a police officer, who was jotting down notes into his notepad as he questioned the foster mother. I think I remember her name being Bonnie, and the foster dad, Steven.

I pulled up right beside the cop car and hopped off my bike, leaving it on the concrete. Eden noticed me first before the others did and instantly came forward, meeting me on the sidewalk in front of the stoop.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" She said in a whisper, crossing her arms. She probably didn't want me disrupting the police officer's interrogation process.

Speaking of which: "What's going on? Why are there police?" I asked her, trying to stay calm and collected but it was very obvious how worried I was.

But, from the looks of it, Eden was also on the brink of losing her mind. From her body language alone—her shaky breaths, her panicked lip-biting, her trembling limbs—it was clear that something had happened to Ari.

Apprehensively, she looked back at the police questioning Ari's foster parents before turning her head back around to me. She took a deep breath and reluctantly opened her mouth, filling me in on the news:

"...He's missing. They woke up and didn't find him in his room. The window was left open."

Denial—the first stage of grief—hit me like a brick. "He always leaves his window open. It's so he can come back inside."

Behind Eden, I noticed Bonnie now approaching us, a confused look on her face as Steven continued to keep the officer occupied. She was obviously weirded out by my presence, not knowing who I was or what I was doing here. Wrapped around her arm was Dahlia, who would not let go of her foster mother.

"Hi, excuse me, who are you?" She interrupted our conversation, coming up right behind Eden and staring me down like I was an intruder. She was certainly fierce, just like my own mother.

Eden was quick to respond. "Oh, I'm sorry, Bonnie, this is—"

"—Harvey," I answered for her, reaching out a hand for Bonnie to shake. "Um, I know Ari."

Before Bonnie could take my hand, Dahlia had sprung into the air, pointing at me with excitement like a fan recognizing a celebrity. "Wait, I remember you! You were in his room!"

If Bonnie and Steven were, in fact, aware of Ari's "pastimes" like Ari said they were, that must've come off as incredibly suspicious to Bonnie. And judging by her reaction to Dahlia's reaction, she definitely thought it was suspicious.