Endless Roads
Chapter 14 - Missing
The next morning back at the apartment, Lacey paced back and forth in front of the fireplace. Jason sat worryingly at the kitchen table staring at the wall. Beside him, sitting on the table, was his phone. He stared at it, hoping it would just ring.
Kim hadn't come back home during the night, and since it was already morning, the two were getting really worried about her. Jason knew how upset she was, and he felt like an idiot for letting her leave by herself. And now she just happened to be missing. If only he hadn't told Lacey to give her the keys to her car, both he and Lacey wouldn't be caught up in the situation they were in at that moment.
"Jason… where the hell can she be?" Lacey mumbled. "This isn't like her to just disappear!"
"Just calm down." He responded. "I'm sure she'll turn up."
"What if she doesn't? What if she's out there somewhere lying in a ditch… and all we're doing is sitting here expecting she'll find her way back home like a little lost puppy or something!"
"You're over exaggerating things, Lacey. Just take a deep breath and calm yourself down."
"I can't." Lacey shook her head. "I can't just not do anything. We have to go find her!"
"Lacey… please!"
Jason was trying his best not to panic. And the only way he could was to pretend that there was nothing wrong, and hope that Kim was all right.
"I can't believe your just going to sit there and do nothing!" Lacey exclaimed.
"I'm trying to stay positive." Jason replied. "We shouldn't work ourselves up like this when we know nothing."
"This is insane… I mean why hasn't she called?" Lacey spat out. "And where on earth could she have possibly been during the whole night? I know I'm new here, but I doubt that there's anything absolutely exciting that's worth staying the whole night for in Angel Grove, unless…"
"Unless what?" Jason asked.
"Unless she left town."
"No…" Jason moaned. "There's no way she would do that. She would never leave town without her stuff and I remember looking in her room. Everything's there."
"You know… Kim was pretty upset last night." Lacey said quietly. "I mean, I saw the anger in her eyes. Something between Tommy and Kat really got to her."
"It's called jealousy." Jason responded, still sitting at the kitchen table, staring at the wall with the phone in his hand.
"Well you know what jealousy does it people."
"What?"
"Have you ever watched Moulin Rouge?" Lacey asked. "The whole 'the jealousy will drive you MAAADD!' part?"
Lacey was always known to compare life situations with movies or television.
"No." Jason answered. "And besides, I doubt what happened last night would ever drive Kim insane."
"You never know." Lacey replied. "Kim has been known in the past for being a bit unstable at times."
"You really think it made her crazy?"
"I'm not saying she went mental or anything, but it could have made her been a bit uneasy."
Jason was silent.
"And you know… now that I think of it, maybe we were wrong to just let her go. I mean she was really upset, so upset that it could have possibly impaired her judgment while driving."
"Okay, you're scaring me." Jason interrupted. "Could we not think about the worst of this situation? Who knows, maybe she was just driving around and chilled at a park to clear her mind or something."
"Jason… if she did do that, wouldn't she be home by now… I mean, it's almost noon."
Jason let out a huge sigh. "I don't know Lace."
"I think we should call the cops." Lacey muttered, as she crossed her arms.
"No! No cops." Jason responded.
"And why not? Jason, something could seriously be wrong, and it'd be our fault if we didn't do something."
"Kim hates the cops!" He snapped. "You know that. She hates all that chaos that comes when police are involved. After all that's happened with Craig, she vowed that she would never involve herself with anything that the police could get into.
"Well that's something she's going to have to deal with. She shouldn't have left the way she did."
Jason paused.
Suddenly, the ring of the phone startled them. Finally, a call! Jason reached for the phone, hoping that the person on the other line was Kim.
"Kim?" Jason eagerly replied.
"No… it's me Adam."
"Damnit!" Jason whined.
"Did I catch you at a bad time?" Adam asked.
"No… no. It's just…" Jason paused.
"It's just what?"
"Kim…" Jason began. "She hasn't come home yet, and we don't know where she is."
"What…" Adam muttered. "What do you mean she hasn't come home?"
"Exactly what I said… she's not home."
"You're saying she hasn't returned since leaving Rocky's place last night?"
"Yup."
"So she doesn't have a cell… there's no way in contacting her?"
"We tried… Lacey found her phone on her bed, I guess she forgot to bring it."
"Oh my god… where the hell is she?" Adam gasped.
"I don't know…" Jason sighed.
"Dude… this is serious. You have to find her."
"I know… it's just… where do we even start? She could be anywhere."
"You need to report this to the police." Adam replied.
"I can't." Jason muttered.
"What? What do you mean you can't."
"Just take my word for it, all right? I just can't… there's a lot more behind it that I can't tell you."
"What… there's more secrets now?"
"NO! It's not that… It's more of a personal thing."
"Well you can't just let this be. You need to tell them so there's word out that Kim's missing."
"I don't want to call them unless I know for sure that Kim's in trouble, that's all."
"Well Kim could be dead for all we know if you wait." Adam hissed. "Listen to me Jason… whether it's an emergency or not, you should call the police."
Jason paused.
"Listen… I gotta go. I'm meeting up with Tommy in a bit, but promise me, you'll call them. All right?" Adam replied.
Jason was silent.
"Jason! You hear me? Call them… now!"
"Fine." Jason nodded. "I will."
"Good. I'll call you later to find out what's up."
"ADAM WAIT!" Jason yelled.
"What?"
"You're meeting up with Tommy?"
"Yeah… why?"
"Do me a favor." Jason replied. "Don't tell him about this."
"Why?" Adam asked, a bit confused.
"I don't want him worrying unless we know for sure what's up with Kim, okay?"
"Umm… okay." Adam responded skeptically.
"Just please do that for me." Jason begged.
"Uh… yeah sure. Okay."
"Kay, thanks bud. I'll talk to you later."
"Yeah, see ya." Adam replied and hung up.
"Who was it?" Lacey asked.
"Adam." Jason replied. His face was motionless. Tommy could not know about this. Knowing that Kim may have been in trouble would only cause him to grow more attached to her, leaving Kat suspicious or even worse, heartbroken. And he knew Kat. She wasn't going to just let Kim take her man; she would fight back. And that was not what Kim needed. So he had to keep Tommy away, no matter what.
"What did he say?"
"He said we should tell the police." He answered, turning his head to look up at her.
"Good." Lacey nodded. "I agree with him."
Jason was silent once again.
"Jason?"
"What?"
"Don't act like you never said it. I heard you talking."
"What are you talking about?"
"You're gonna keep this from Tommy, aren't you."
"He doesn't need to know."
"But Jason…"
"Lacey…" He interrupted her, giving her a tense stare.
"Why are you acting like this, Jase?" She asked. "This isn't like you."
Jason sighed and tapped his finger against the table. "I'd do anything to protect Kim's feelings." He muttered. "I don't care what I have to do."
"Jason, it's not up to you what happens to Kim. You gotta let it go. Tommy is still Kim's friend, he has a right to know."
Jason did not respond. He still remained staring at the wall.
"Jason…" Lacey whispered.
"You call them. I don't think I can do it." He replied, changing the subject. He passed the phone over to Lacey, stood up from his chair and made his way to his bedroom. He needed to lie down to think, and to pray that Kim was all right.
Lacey remained in the living room, holding the phone in her hands. She stared at it for a moment, then made her way into the kitchen to get a phonebook. She quickly looked up the number to the police department and dialed it.
"Hi… umm… I'd like to report a missing person." She replied. "Name? Uh… Kimberly Hart."
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