THE NEXT DAY…

Clay went to school as normal, Bryce wasn't there. He went through the day. He pretended everything was normal. While he put a smile on and looked completely happy, everything in him felt dead. He didn't sleep the night before. He stayed up reliving each and every word he and Bryce said to each other.

The more he goes through it, the more he realizes Bryce was right. That he doesn't understand. For him, things had gone pretty darn well. And compared to Bryce, it was perfect. And it was rubbing in his face every day. Bryce had to watch as his parents loved him and helped him. He had to watch as Clay's friends helped him, held him up, protected him. He had to watch exactly what didn't happen for him.

The more he thought about it, the more he came to the conclusion that Bryce was severely depressed. And even worse than that, he showed some very obvious and severe signs of it. And he never noticed. Clay couldn't help but feel like the biggest jerk for not realizing it. He was losing weight. He never wanted to do anything. He was sleeping much longer than usual. He was having extreme mood swings.

Clay knows he has to talk to Bryce. He doesn't care whether or not they're together, 'cause he knows Bryce needs his help.

After school, Clay goes straight to Bryce's parent's house. He rings the doorbell and waits.

"Clay." Mrs. Walker answers the door.

"Hi, Mrs. Walker. I was just wondering if Bryce was here?"

"No. I haven't seen him since our lunch last week."

"You guys had lunch?"

"Yes. We sat and talked. He didn't tell you?"

"No… when was this?"

"Um… Saturday." The day of the club.

"Thank you. If you see him can you tell him to call me?"

"Sure." Clay starts walking away. "Clay…" He turns around.

"Is everything okay?" Clay has to think about that for a second.

Clay stands there and debates what to say. Should he tell Mrs. Walker about everything? Or should he just continue searching and not involve anyone else?

"No. I don't think it is." Clay walks back towards the door, knowing that if Bryce is going to get the help he needs he can't do this alone.

He goes inside the house and sits down with Mrs. Walker. They sit down for a couple of hours and talk it out. Clay tells her everything. He feels weirdly comfortable talking to her. And she seems concerned and anxious. After Clay tells her everything, Mrs. Walker stands up.

"I have a lot of connections in this town. I'll call some people and see if I can find him." Clay stands up, smiling, hopeful. "I"ll let oyu know if I find him. Please, just let me know if you find him. I'm responsible for all of this. I want to make sure he's safe. It's all I care about."

"Thanks Mrs. Walker. Thank you so much." They walk to the door.

"Oh, and you can call me Nora. Anyone who cares about my son this much can call me by my name."

Clay just smiles before leaving. He starts riding his bike around town. He goes down each and every street. He looks in every little park, alley, empty house. Nothing.

2 WEEKS LATER…

No one has seen Bryce. At this point, Bryce's mom has talked to the police. They're keeping an eye out for him. No officially report just yet. While Clay is still going to school and classes every day, he spends all of his free time looking for Bryce. Hannah and Tony go out with him every day after school. They loop around the town. They look at every spot every day, never knowing when he might change locations.

Bryce has been completely off of social media. There is absolutely no trace of him online. The police already checked all possible ways out of town and haven't found anyone purchasing a bus or train ticket matching his description. The police found his car just a couple of days ago. It was parked on the top of the mountain, right by the hiking trails. They scoured the mountain. They looked through each trail. They looked for any sign of him… or his body. But nothing. They've hit a dead end.

But Clay hasn't given up.

"But where else can we look?" Hannah and Clay in the library during lunch. "He's not living outdoors. He's smarter than that. He's got to be with someone. In a house somewhere."

"His mom has already talked to Monty, Justin, Zach, and everybody else's parents. He's not staying with someone we know at least."

"Did he ever mention a place his parents never knew about? Someplace he would go alone?"

"All I can think of is the shed, but I go there every day and it doesn't look any different."

"What about houses with no one in them? With people on vacation?"

"I've already checked the empty houses, but I'll have to ask his mom about the vacation houses." By now Clay, his parents, Hannah, Tony, and Bryce's mom are the only ones looking.

They just sit there thinking for a while. They look through the notebooks full of notes and maps that they've been filling out. Clay takes out his phone and starts looking through his texts with Bryce. He's reread the texts at least a couple of dozen times. It's never lead to anywhere before.

"You told me once that before you two got together he used to do all sorts of bad things. How could he have gotten away with that with his strict parents?" Hannah was getting to know everything about Bryce and was curious about him, wishing she had tried harder to be friends with him before all of this happened.

"He would do it all in the pool house." Clay answers without a second thought.

"Why?" Clay puts down his phone.

"Just because his parents…" It hits him like a truck. "Because his parents never went near it. They thought it was unseemly to sleep in a place next to a pool!" Clay jumps off his chair. "I know where he is!" Clay starts running off.

"Wait! I'm coming!" Hannah runs up and follows him.

When they arrive at Bryce's house they ring the doorbell, but no one answers. Clay doesn't waste a second as he runs around the house and to the service entrance. He knows exactly where the key is from the two times he snuck in to meet with Bryce. They run to the poolhouse and Clay tries opening the doors, but they're locked.

"These are never locked." Clay starts trying to force them open. "Bryce!" Clay shouts, hoping to hear someone moving, give him proof that Bryce is here.

Hannah starts trying to look through the windows, but they're covered by blinds. She goes around the building until she finds a small opening where she can see the bed sitting in the middle of the room. On the bed, she can see Bryce. She immediately runs back around to Clay.

"I...I…"

"What is it Hannah?" Clay shouts.

"I saw him on the bed. He's… he's not moving. He looks…" Hannah doesn't finish her thought before Clay knocks down the door and runs in.

He runs into the bedroom and to Bryce on the bed. He is lying there, looking perfectly still. Next to his body his an empty pill bottle and bottle of tequila.

"Bryce!" Clay tries shaking him, but nothing. "Hannah!"

"Already on it." She starts dialing 911 on her phone.

"Bryce!" He shakes Bryce's body again… nothing...