Secrets of a Southern Belle

Chapter 11

"Rae?" My mom stated in an authoritative voice when I didn't answer.

"We got in a fight..." I finally answered her. "I tried to talk to him about it, but he wouldn't talk to me. I tried to find him before we left, but Blake told me that he already got a ride from Holden."

She sighed and put her hand on her forehead. I knew she would blame me for our fight. She always takes Sawyer's side.

"Rae..." she mumbled under breathe, showing her annoyance.

Suddenly, she ran out of the room. I jumped to my feet and followed her. I could hear my friends following me by how their feet slapped against the hardwood floor as I entered the kitchen. My mom was was dialing a number on our house phone and anxiously tapping her foot. Silence surrounded me like a blanket. We all stood quietly, waiting for whoever is on the other end of the phone to answer.

Finally, I heard a faint "hello" at the other end of the line.

"Mary-Ann? Is Sawyer at your house?" Mom asked in a rushed voice.

I couldn't hear what Holden's mom said back, but by the look of disappointment and fear, I knew that my brother wasn't there.

"Someone told Rae that Sawyer got a ride from Holden last night when they all left the creek. He never came home last night. Did Holden drop him off here?"

There was a pause. My mother's worried eyes drifted to mine. I assume Mary-Ann went to ask Holden what had happened last night. Gigi entered the room, clearly confused on what was going on. She was dressed and ready to go to church.

"What is goin' on?" She asked me.

I didn't get to answer because my mother interrupted and held her hand to the bottom of the phone.

"Rae got in a fight with Sawyer, so he didn't ride home with them last night. He never came home, mom."

Gigi was surprised that he didn't come home either. He never does that without letting them know. Instead of addressing my mom, so looked at me.

"He was still mad about that fight on Friday night?"

I shrugged, "I tried to talk to him about it, but he didn't want to hear it."

We both received an angry glare from my mom, who was still patiently waiting for an answer from the Ridleys.

"Mom, you knew about their fight?" She accused Gigi in louder voice, still covering the bottom of the phone so that Holden's mom couldn't hear our family problems.

Before we could answer, she had the phone pressed to her ear again from Mary-Ann returning.

"Are you sure? Did he see who he left with?" My mother asked, and I could hear the fear rising in her voice.

Sawyer never left with Holden. I could tell by my mother's response. A pang of guilt washed over me from not making up sooner. My brother was missing and it was because he was mad at me because of Rhett.

Maybe the Dixons were really not good after all. Maybe I should hate them like everyone else. Maybe if I did, then this wouldn't be happening.

Was I really blaming the Dixons like everyone blamed them for my father's death?

I wasn't that type of person.

"Thank you, Mary-Ann," my mother whispered before setting the phone on the table with a shaky hand.

"What did she say?" My grandma made her way across the room and set a reassuring hand on my mom's shoulder.

Gigi is probably the strongest out of all of us, but even she looked distraught.

A single tear rushed down my mom's cheek, and she wiped it away.

"She said that Holden never gave him a ride. He said that the last time that he talked to him was when Rae walked up to them, I guess. Holden has no idea what happened to him."

Dread filled my stomach. I was scared for my brother. The last time a family member didn't come home, they found him dead in the woods. Flashbacks to when they found my dad's body took over my mind. I couldn't go through this again. Losing my brother would shatter me, and I could never forgive myself. I had no idea that tears were rushing down my cheeks until my friends were at my side and Molly was wiping them away.

"It's gonna be okay, Rae," Savannah cooed while petting the rat nest on my head.

Her words sounded like Rhett's in my dream that I had. It gave me a sliver of hope that what happened to my dad didn't happen to my brother. The vague memory of him laying beside me calmed me down.

I look over at my mom and Gigi who are hugging each other and whispering. They both wore worry on their faces as they decided to call the police. Calling them would make this all more real. As my mom grabbed the phone to dial 9-1-1, the back door slammed. We all looked at each other for a second in disbelief before running to the back of the house.

It had to be Sawyer. He had to be okay.  I was the first one to reach where the noise resided from, but no one was there. My heart sank until I heard a rustling sound coming from my brother's bedroom.

Standing in the middle of the room without a shirt on and ripped pants was not my brother; it was a more muscular, taller version of him.

What happened to him?!

We stood quietly as all of us raked our eyes over the person standing in front of us. He just stared back, not expecting us all to be in his room.

"Sawyer?  What the hell?!"