Chapter 42

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Clay POV.

"George hasn't been back for hours. It's been hours." I yell at the startled group in front of me. "First Patches, then George!" I choke on my words, terrified as to why George hasn't come back yet.

Tears flood my eyes, and Katie jumps up and hugs me again. I feel her start to cry as well, and I think how scary is this for Katie? Really her only family just went missing.

"Katie.. are you okay?" I ask, petting her hair tenderly. Her small body was shaking as she nods into my chest.

"It'll be okay, guys. Well find him, he always turns up. Right?" Nick says in a reassuring voice. I'm kind of pissed at him for not panicking, but it's not the time for that. I start trying to calm down, and Katie does the same. I release her from my grip, and she stops crying and starts typing a number on her phone. I peek over her shoulder, and my heart drops at the number. 9-1-1.

"Hello? Katie says frantically as the officer picks up on the other end.

"Hello, 9-1-1, what's your emergency?" Says a calm female voice.

"My brother- he went into town for something and he's missing. He's not picking up his phone, and none of us know where he is. He's been gone for three hours."

"Okay honey, can you tell me your name? And the people around you?"

"Uh.. I'm Katie, his sister, and his boyfriend Clay, and our friends Karl and Nick. His name is George."

"Ohh, we're you the kiddos who's house got broken into?"

"Yes, my brother and Clay were home at the time."

"Ohhhh okay, hon. I'll send someone over to investigate, can you stay on the line with me?"

"Y-yeah." Katie says, sniffing. I feel my eyes well up again, and I turn away with my face in my hands.

Not even a minute later, three police cars appear in the driveway. Two cops get out of each.

"Hey, kids. Need help finding your friend?" A big male officer says, a little thunder in his loud voice. I wince, and continue walking further away.

"Hey, where are you going?" Another officer, this time a female with kind eyes, approaches me.

"He's- nothing.. he's missing." I whisper, wiping my eyes.

"That's George's boyfriend, Clay. He's freaking out."

"That's understandable, honey. Do you want some water? We need to talk to all four of you separately." She says, walking into the house. I wince as she stops in her tracks, and kneels down at Patches body.

"Oh.. I'm so sorry." She sniffs, gently reaching out to stroke her the way I did. I feel tears start building up again, and I quickly blink them away.

Following her into the kitchen, I get a glass from the cupboard and fill it with ice water. Collapsing in a kitchen chair, I slam it on the table water splattering everywhere. She silently gasps, and I turn red.

"S-sorry. What do you want to ask me about?" I avoid looking her in the eyes.

"How long have you and George been together?" She asks, a smile on her face.

"A few months, but we were both pretty much in love with each other years before we started actually dating. We were just too scared to admit it to each other." I smile shyly, remembering the first night I really, really kissed him. His soft lips, his smooth jaw, the way he moans when I bite his lips. But I'll leave that part out.

"So.. you've been friends for a few years?" She asks.

I nod. "Four. He moved here from Britton, and I completely fell for him." I blush, remembering his sweet face. His eyes always full of kindness and love for me.

"That's so sweet. When my daughter came out to me, she was nervous and very excited. I was very proud of her. I know it's not an easy thing to do, especially in the world we live in." She smiles lightly. I smile back at her.

"Okay, so. When did you last see George?"

"When we were walking into our house, he said he had to do something and he'd be right back. I should have gone with him.. I was sad about my cat Patches. She died for no reason." Rage suddenly fills me up, and I take a deep breath to calm down before I start screaming and punching things.

"I'm so sorry. I saw her. She looked really sweet."

"She was.." I choke out through my damned tears. I sigh.

"Okay. What was George wearing last?" She asks, looking for clues.

"He was wearing my lime green hoodie, black skinny jeans, and white sneakers. He has brown hair, brown eyes, and really white skin." I give a description of him, and I pull up a picture of him and me together to show her.

"This is him." I say, showing her the picture. She smiles.

"He looks very sweet. You both seem very lucky."

"Thank you so much." I say, gazing at the picture of us together before putting my phone away. "Is that all?" I ask her.

"Yes. You've been very helpful. Thank you so much." She holds my hand for a minute. "Good luck with George. It seems like you two are in real love."

"Thanks you. We are.. we have plans to get married after high school." I smile. Her hand flies to her mouth.

"Congratulations! I hope everything goes smoothly. Well do everything we can to find him." She gives me an encouraging smile before letting go of my hand and standing up. I take one final gulp of my water before standing up and following her outside. Then I get an idea.

I run to the pantry, and dump out a box that has food in it on the floor. Then I gather some towels, her toys, and her favorite blanket and pillow. Carefully, I set up a little area for her.

Being very, very careful, I gently pick up Patches body and set her in the box, covering her with her favorite blanket. I take a flower from the bouquet on the table, and set it on her side.

"I love you, Patches." I whisper.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~
Hey guys! Hah, the plot twist 🤣
Sorry bout that, but I hope you like the journey! Love you!
This is the picture he showed of them:

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~Hey guys! Hah, the plot twist 🤣Sorry bout that, but I hope you like the journey! Love you! This is the picture he showed of them:

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