Graffiti Casanova

Downhill From Here

I woke up late, threw on an oversized sweater and jeans and brushed my teeth, making it downstairs just as I heard Jared's car pull into the driveway. I opened the front door for them and headed to the kitchen to make coffee.

"Dad?" He hadn't been upstairs. "The guys are here!" I poked my head into the studio on my way, it was dark and empty.

Shuffling noises came from the front door. "Claire?"

"In here!" I called from the kitchen. Jared and Davey came in and sat at the counter.

The coffee machine started rumbling, and I turned to grab an apple from the fruit bowl.

"Is Reese here?"

"Hiding out somewhere. I'll go find him," I said between bites. "Help yourselves," I made a vague gesture towards the entirety of the kitchen before bounding back upstairs. Maybe I'd missed him.

"Dad?" I pushed open each door, but the rooms upstairs were all empty. Basement? I headed back downstairs, passing through the kitchen on my way to the basement. We didn't go down there much-- it was mainly storage and very much unfinished. My dad would kill me if I told anyone, but he was terrified of spiders. So I wasn't surprised to find it dark and silent, no one answering my call down the steps.

I wasn't surprised, but I was starting to panic. Outside? Sometimes he had spontaneous inspiration to take care of our usually very wilted gardens. I started out the door to the garage, intending to go out the back way and circle the house, but I stopped short. The garage was empty.

"Oh no."

"What?" Jared came up behind me, munching on a protein bar he'd found somewhere in our pantry.

"The car's gone."

Jared shrugged. "No big deal, we can get started without him."

A montage of all the possibilities was flashing through my head-- each one more ridiculous than the last. Dad getting lost. Leaving his wallet somewhere. Forgetting to come home all day. Forgetting who he was-- No. That was insane. I closed my eyes and took a breath. He wasn't anywhere near forgetting his own name.

"Claire?" Jared peered at me and Davey came up behind him, concern lighting his eyes. I snapped back to the situation at hand.

"Uh... yeah. Go ahead and get set up in the studio, I'll-- I'll be right back."

I darted down the hall and upstairs before he and Davey could see my fingers trembling. I was overreacting, that's all.

But my heart ignored my mind's logic. It kept on pounding irregular rhythms against my chest as I pulled out my phone to call Dad.

"C'mon, c'mon, answer!" I bounced up and down on the balls of my feet as it rang and rang and rang, then cut to voicemail. Immediately I dialed Bennie.

"Hello?" She answered on the second ring.

"Bennie," I whispered. "Dad's not here and I don't know what to do."

"What? Why are you whispering?"

"The guys are downstairs, tell me what to do!" My whisper turned raspy in panic.

"Well, first of all, I don't think they can hear you if you're in your room. So quit whispering. Second, what do you mean he's not there?"

"The car is gone."

"Oh." She paused. "Oh."

"Exactly."

"You called him?"