Dramatic Child Stars

Twenty-four.

Percy,
July 28, 2021,
7:44 am.

I woke up to the sound of banging. It was loud and obnoxious and incredibly intrusive. I was disorientated enough to be annoyed by it when it came instead of having a reasonable reaction.

"Riley, stop," I heard myself mumbling, although I wasn't sure why my tired brain would blame Riley. Maybe in a usual day I'd be able to pin loud and early morning commotion on him, but Riley had been gone for multiple nights now. It was unreasonable.

Consciousness gathered shortly after when the banging did not end. I realized my head was leaned up against something hard. I was sitting up, although slightly slumped. My hands felt carpet beneath my palms.

I blinked once, and found the room was bright with morning sun coming through the window. I was on my second round of blinks when I gathered the sound of whimpering. That brought me much more clarity. I realized I was in the babies room. I'd fallen asleep sitting on the floor with my back to the door.

"Shit," I mumbled.

The banging continued, persistent as ever. I pushed myself up from the floor and rushed to grab Flynn, who had managed to stand up in the crib with the support of the rails. His cries had gotten louder, but when he noticed me coming for him, he went back to a softer whimper and lifted his arms in a request to be held.

I retrieved him, and then headed in search of the banging. I'd now remembered Riley's absence. My next guess was that Leah was up to something.

Once in the hallway, I realized the sound was coming from our front door. Someone was very desperate to get my attention. That also told me that Leah was maybe not home. She would have answered it otherwise. I was not surprised to find she'd vacated the premises. That was regular for her. She clearly tended to flee conflict.

If I hadn't just woken up, I maybe would have hesitated more. Answering the door for an aggressive knocker like that was probably not a smart move, especially considering how Basil kept alluding to Riley having alarming enemies. I would have been lying if I hadn't thought about the danger that put our home in. People obviously knew where he lived.

Since I was half awake, I answered the door without thinking much about potential consequences.

I had no idea who I was expecting, but it wasn't Basil. As far as I knew, Basil had never actually been to my home, which was why finding them there was quite shocking. I was even more shocked when they gently, but firmly, pushed past me to gain entry into the house.

"Is he here?" Basil demanded, their voice high and frantic in a way I'd never heard from them before. All at once, I realized Basil's demeanor was incredibly frazzled. Their hair, which was normally clean and styled, was just a mess on top of their head. They wore no makeup, and no jewelry. They wore slippers that clashed horribly with their loose patchwork overalls and a very casual white knitted cardigan. "Please tell me he's here, Percy!"

I blinked once to get my bearings and then shook my head.

"Fuck!" Basil exclaimed, which was absolutely not like them. Their frame trembled. They looked around themselves frantically as if they'd find me to be a liar, then froze when they noted the baby in my arms. Flynn was staring quietly back at them with equal interest. It seemed to be the first time they'd noticed him. "Oh my god, the little one. Im sorry for the language. I'm so sorry Percy. I... I didn't..." Basil took a heavy trembling breath. "I tried to call you, but you didn't answer. He's gone. He left his phone, and wallet, and everything, and he just left...and I can't find him."

Basils hysteria suddenly made sense. They were close to a breakdown, it seemed, because Riley was gone?

"Tell me what happened," I demanded stonily.