'Tyrell, you're freaking me out. What's wrong?'
Tyrell stumbled back, seemingly in a daze. He tripped, and fumbled with his hands on the arm of the sofa as he tried to regain his balance. His breath came in short, sharp gasps, and Elliot could see that he was shaking.
'Sit down, talk to me. What's going on?'
Tyrell just shook his head and whispered, 'No, it's not possible,' as he made his way over to the front door on wobbly legs.
'Tyrell, wait! Where are you going?'
'Elliot, I'm sorry, I have to go. Please, just let me go…'
'I can't do that Tyrell, not when you're like this. Please…'
'Elliot, no!' He put his hands out as Elliot came towards him. Elliot stopped, a safe distance away, not wanting to spook him any more than he already was.
Tyrell mumbled something Elliot couldn't decipher, and then louder, 'Please don't follow me.'
Before Elliot could react, Tyrell had left.
'Shit!' Elliot ran after him, but Tyrell was too quick. He got outside just in time to see Tyrell's car pull away. 'Shit!' he shouted again. He was fairly sure Tyrell was in no fit state to be driving. Doing the only thing he could think to do he pulled out his phone and called Joanna.
'Joanna, it's Elliot.'
'Elliot, hi!' he could hear she was smiling. In a weird turn of events that Elliot could never have foreseen, he'd grown fairly friendly with Tyrell's ex-wife. He saw her when she dropped off Otto, and though it had been awkward at first, he'd go as far as calling her a friend now. It wasn't as if they socialised, but they certainly got on well enough. All in all, their situation was comfortable.
'Joanna, I'm worried about Tyrell. Does the name John Masters mean anything to you?'
'The E Corp exec who just killed himself? No, why?'
'Tyrell saw the news report just now, and completely freaked out. He left, and I have no idea where he's gone.'
'Elliot, I'm sorry, I have no idea. Do you want me to help you look for him?'
'Yes! No, I don't know. I'm sorry, I don't think…'
'Elliot, don't worry, he'll be fine,' Elliot would have believed her if she hadn't sounded so worried herself.
'I think you should stay at home. He might come to you.'
'Okay. I can try calling him as well.'
'Okay, thanks. I'm going to try looking for him. He might have gone to your old house, I'll start there.'
He hung up and hailed a cab. A few minutes into the journey he got a text from Joanna.
'His phone's off, will keep trying. I'm sure he's ok x'
The drive to Tyrell's house was slow, and Elliot drummed his fingers against the window anxiously as they sat in traffic.
Eventually they arrived, and Elliot's heart sank as he saw that Tyrell's car wasn't there. Nevertheless he let himself in with his spare key, and ran around the house, frantically calling Tyrell's name. There was no sign he'd been there at all, until Elliot reached the bedroom. A box sat on top of the bed, its contents strewn everywhere. There were Swedish newspaper articles, and a couple of old day-planners, as well as some other miscellaneous personal affects. He rifled through the pages of a few of the books, but everything was in Swedish. A few photos fell out of one of the diaries, a kind-looking couple with a small boy, taken in various places. Pictures from Tyrell's childhood?
Elliot studied the boy. He had fair hair, much blonder than Tyrell's was now, but the big blue eyes left Elliot fairly certain that this was Tyrell. He let himself study the photo for a few more seconds, before carefully placing it back within the pages of the book. He felt like he was invading; Tyrell's childhood wasn't something he talked about, and Elliot never asked about his parents as he knew it was a difficult subject for him to talk about.
He pulled his hair in frustration. Tyrell wasn't here, and there was nothing that pointed to where he might have gone.
He did a final check through the house, before going outside to hail another cab. He gave the driver Joanna's address and tried to calm his fluttering heart.
A few minutes later his phone rang and he saw it was Joanna.
'Joanna, I'm on my way to yours now, so I'll see…'
'Elliot, Tyrell's with me, he arrived a few minutes ago.'
'Oh thank God!' Elliot breathed with relief. 'Tell him I'll be there in a few minutes...'
'Elliot, I don't think that's a good idea.'
He felt the blood drain from his face.
'Why not? Is he okay? Joanna, what's happened?'
'He's not hurt, but he's not… well, he's not okay Elliot. He's talking to me though, and I think I can get him to tell me what's going on. Please, trust me on this.'
Elliot felt tears sting his eyes and he nodded numbly. 'Okay,' he whispered eventually, when he remembered that Joanna wouldn't be able to see him.
'I will keep you updated, I promise,' she said kindly, but it did little to reassure him. He felt a stab of hurt and betrayal, before chastising himself. His feelings didn't matter right now. He understood that Tyrell had lived a complicated life before him, one that Joanna had been very much a part of. There were some things about Tyrell that Joanna knew that Elliot didn't, and it made sense that Tyrell would go to her still. Knowing this didn't do much to quell his jealousy, or his feelings of desperate helplessness as he realised that there was nothing else he could do at this point.
Defeated, he told the driver there had been a change of plan, and gave him his address instead. He would just have to be patient.
When Elliot had first called her, Joanna felt panic swell inside her. This behaviour was unlike Tyrell now, and she knew it must have been something pretty big to get him to leave Elliot like that and go missing without any explanation.
She'd cuddled Otto close to her and paced anxiously as she tried to phone Tyrell, growing increasingly concerned as it rang out each time. Frustrated, she'd tried to settle on the sofa, but couldn't stop fidgeting anxiously. The baby had started to stir, so she'd put him back in his crib, not wanting to disturb him more than she'd done already.
After what could only have been about twenty minutes, but felt like hours, she heard a frantic knocking on the door.
Her heart jumped into her throat as she answered the door to a dishevelled-looking Tyrell.
He was pale, and his messy hair had fallen into his eyes, as if he'd been running his fingers through it.
'Tyrell! Elliot called, he's worried sick. What's happened?'
He swayed on the spot, and she reached out to guide him into the house.
Inside, she pulled him into a hug which he didn't reciprocate, his arms hanging limply by his sides.
She looked into his eyes again and saw that he looked dazed and lost.
'Tyrell, why have you come here?' she nudged him gently. 'What do you need?'
His eyes sharpened, and he looked like he was regaining his senses. He blinked at her like he was confused as to why she was there.
'Tyrell, you came to me, what do you need?' she tried again.
'Does the name John Masters mean anything to you?'
'No, it doesn't, I'm sorry, but…'
'Are you sure Joanna?'
'Yes, I'm sure. Why are you asking?'
He took in a deep breath, as if afraid to say the words out loud.
'I don't think my parents' death was an accident.'
