Don't Let Go

Chapter 12

I packed most of my clothes into two gigantic suitcases, and left the rest in my closet, not counting on seeing any of it again. I took a couple stuffed animals and some books, leaving behind my cell phone and computer. That stuff could be replaced. Then I brought all the stuff downstairs to be met by Aaron. 

He gave me a worried glance which I pretended not to notice.

"Here let me take this." he said, reaching for the two suitcases full of clothes. I let him take it and watched as he went out the door to pack it into our cars.

After a few more hours we were packed and ready to go. The apartment was just 10 minutes from my house - old house I guess. I noticed that I was even closer to my school now than I was before. 

I stared out the window of my new room. We were on the second floor of a two floor building. Then I looked around me, at the already made bed that was pushed in one corner of the room. It was a good sized room, definitely smaller than my old room. but it was nice. 

My cell phone rang. 

I stared at the bed where my phone sat and hesitated to reach for it. FInally I took it. It was from an unknown number.

"Hello." I answered.

"Where's Tristan." a sharp voice demanded from me. 

"What?" I asked confused.

"Where is my boy." the voice said again. It was his mom.

"How should I know?" I asked exasperated.

"Don't you dare lie to me." she spat.

"I don't know where he is." I pushed. The line went dead. I frowned. Tristan was gone?

I called his phone knowing that he didn't even have it.

"What?" a voice answered on the other end. Just the guy I was looking for.

"Your mom just called me." I stated to Bradley.

"I know." he said flatly.

"Where's Tristan?" I asked him.

"If I knew, she wouldn't have called you." he said, annoyed.

"Do you really not know where he is?" Bradley continued.

"No." i almost whispered.

"Tristan wouldn't talked to me." he began.

"After you left the other day -" he clarified. I didn't say anything.

"What happened?" he asked finally. There was a long moment of silence. Then -

"He has trust issues." I said simply.

"For good reason." Bradley replied, referring to Tristan's jailtime.

"Well you aren't helping that!" I exclaimed - and regretted it afterward.

"Did he say something to you?" I heard an urgency in Bradley's voice.

"A while ago -" i said.

"What did he say?" Bradley pushed. 

"Just that everyone's treating him like anything they do or say might break him." I said, knowing Tristan had trusted me not to repeat what he had told me.

"That's because anything we do might break him." Bradley said. I could hear the anger in his voice.

"You got to give him some credit -" I began.

"Stop." he interrupted me. "The last time I hugged my brother, he broke down crying." he began.

"Why?" I interrupted.