The Misadventures of Jake Foley

Jake's Misadventure #28: Summon.

The front door of the Foley residence slams with a residual thud, leaving Jake and Gerry to collect the pieces that are left from the clash of what appears to be former friends. 

"I left you two alone to talk. Not to put your hands on each other in my own house!" Jake sighs, rubbing his aching right wrist. 

"Thing's got out of control pops. If only I had an exit to cool off. . . " Gerry rolls his eyes, resting his tiresome hands on his waist. 

"Don't try to turn this around on me, both of you are acting immature about this entire thing. Must've underestimated on how immature you both are." Jake whips out his phone from his back pocket and begins to tap the screen furiously. 

"We have to find Tristan. He doesn't have a home to go back to pops." Gerry sighs, 

"I thought I was doing the right thing and having you two talk thing's out." 

After a few minutes of waiting by the front door, a soft knock is heard from the other side. Jake swings the door open, to reveal Beth. 

"Let's go and find Tristan. He shouldn't be too far." Beth quickly walks alongside Jake, careful to not stare at his scratched lips. 

"What happened? I thought you two were supposed to talk?" Jake shrugs his shoulders,

 " And I thought so, but thing's escalated pretty quickly. A lot of resentments resurfaced." Beth nods, trying to figure out the resentments without asking. 

"And yes, you were brought up." Jake flashes a sly smile. 

After hours of searching, Tristan has yet to be found. After what feels forever, Jake hangs his head low. 

"I can't believe he's gone." Beth rests a reassuring palm atop of his arm, 

"He's not gone, Jake. He's just waiting to be found." Jake turns to her, revealing glossy eyes. 

"It wasn't supposed to be like this. This school year has been nothing but drama with the people I love." Jake rests his tiresome hands atop his waist. 

"I'm just afraid that this is the last straw for him. He's had such a tough life and the only person he ever called a friend kicked him out of his house. Maybe he's done with it all. And I'm afraid if I don't find him, I can't stop him from making the stupidest decision of his life." Beth closes the space between them, 

"Thing's are going to be okay Jake." For the first time, Jake crumbled under her arms. She holds him while tears escape his eyes. Jake shakes uncontrollably while Beth's steady arms comfort him. The smell of her is stirring. The stress and anxiety begin to trail away. Calmness and stability reside on the shoulders where resentment and regret once overstayed it's welcome. "We got to find him." 

After spending what appeared to feel like hours walking up and down streets, Jake begins to shout Tristan's name across the still neighborhood. 

"This isn't Marco Polo Jake." Jake begrudgingly smacks his hands against his hip, "What other choice do I have? I've been such a shitty friend, of course, he'd want to go as far away from me as possible." As the two travel down the road, Jake instinctively looks to the neighboring gigantic trees and the park that's across the street. As the sun descends into darkness, Jake whips out his flashlight and breathes a huge sigh of relief when he saw the familiar black jacket. Jake runs, towards the limp body on the ground, Beth follows with disturbed eyes. 

"Call an Ambulance!"