"JAMIE!"

Jamie cringed at the angry yell directed at him from Danny, the only person at home who could save him and that was Joe who was in the backyard.

Jamie was in the living room and he had nowhere to run, he tried to make a run for the front door but Danny had already come down the stairs and had spotted him, Jamie still tried to make it to the door but Danny grabbed his wrist and hissed "oh no you don't!"

"Why did you do it Jamie?"

"Do what?" squeaked Jamie; he really had no idea what he had supposedly done wrong.

"How can you deny it?"

"Deny what? I don't know what you're talking about!" when Danny was this angry it made Jamie scared all he wanted was to get away.

"I found the evidence in your room!"

"Danny I really don't have any idea what you're talking about!"

"The chocolates you ate I was going to give Linda tonight for her birthday and I don't have enough time to get her anymore!"

"Danny I'm really sorry but I didn't know they were for Linda!" Jamie now felt horrible; if he knew they were for Linda he wouldn't have touched them.

"That doesn't matter! You don't just eat other people's chocolate, if you wanted them you ask first!"

"But they were on the table and you know mom says that whatever is on the table we can eat whenever we want!"

"So now you're saying it's my fault that you ate the chocolates?"

"No! I-"

"You know my life was a lot easier before you came along!"

"You don't mean that do you Danny?" pleaded Jamie, yes he and Danny argued constantly but Jamie secretly looked up to his eldest brother, and to hear Danny say that hurt.

"Of course I mean it! You're always following me around and bugging me all the time! You never understand that a 21 year old doesn't want to be hanging out with his 11 year old brother!"

"But you hang out with Joe"

"Because he's 15 and closer to my age, even Erin can be better company than you!"

"Danny!-"

"No I've had enough! I just wish you'd disappear and leave me alone!" yelled Danny,

Jamie's eyes widened in shock and then he pulled his arm from Danny's grasp and ran out the door and down the street not knowing where to go, but what he did know was that he had to get as far away as possible. Because he didn't want to upset Danny by staying any longer, if things were better without him, then fine, he would stay away.

####

It took two minutes for Danny to realize what he had just said and the look on Jamie's face as he fled the house. As soon as Danny took in what he had said he was out the door in a flash, Jamie always took what he said to heart and Danny had said he wished Jamie would disappear. What had he done?

Danny jogged down to the street and looked both ways to see if he could catch a glimpse of Jamie. No such luck. "Damn that kid is fast" murmured Danny, it would have taken him more than two minutes at Jamie's age to run down the street and be out of sight of the house. Danny thought for a moment where Jamie was likely to go, and remembered a few months ago Jamie had made a den with Joe in the nearby woods. So that's where Danny ran, he remembered where it was because despite not wanting to have a look Jamie had dragged him along anyway, and now Danny was thankful he had seen it. But when he reached the den no one was there.

"Damn it! Where are you Jamie?" said Danny looking around him for any sign of Jamie, but Jamie wasn't there.

In the next half an hour Danny searched the area surrounding the house and Jamie wasn't anywhere, Danny began to worry, in the half an hour he had been searching the nearby area, Jamie could well be near the busy sections of the city. Danny checked his watch and saw he should be meeting Linda soon and so rang her hoping she would understand having to put their date on hold.

"Hi Danny"

"Hey babe, look I need to postpone our date"

"What's wrong?"

"I shouted at Jamie and basically said I didn't want him around anymore"

"And let me guess he's run off"

"Yeah and that was half an hour ago and I've searched the area and I'm worried he's gone into the city, if he has who knows what could happen"

"Right, so you've checked everywhere you can think of"

"And other places"

"Have you told anyone else?"

"No! Mom and dad would kill me! Never mind what Joe would do!"

"Right where in the city do you think he would go?"

"I really have no idea! I know he likes central park and some other parks in Brooklyn"

"Right I'll look for him at central park and you go to Brooklyn"

"Thanks Linda, and sorry about our date"

"Never mind about that! We need to find Jamie and make sure he's ok and then once you've made up with Jamie we can go for another date"

"But it's your birthday today; I bet you didn't plan looking for an 11 year old on your 21st"

"Danny I already told you, finding Jamie is more important, now get going we have to find him before dark"

"Love you"

"I love you to, now let's go find Jamie, I'll phone you if I do or don't find him"

Danny made his way to Brooklyn and prayed that nothing would happen to Jamie, "please let him be ok, I would never forgive myself"

TBC