Declan walked into the Rack, smiling to himself. Realizing he'd been a little harsh to Jessi last night after she'd kissed him like a vixen, he was still taken aback that she still harbored feelings for him. It looked like Jessi was going to return to him and for that he was smiling from ear to ear.

Wouldn't anyone want a hot girl with near endless energy, remarkable in every way?

His train of thought was rudely interrupted when his eyes fell on Amanda slouched in a corner, her eyes red, her face streaked with old tears, and an unkempt appearance. It was so unlike her that he'd done a double take, and she'd noticed. He sighed at having been discovered but felt duty bound to help Kyle's girlfriend. Unless they were broken up again, he thought. He dismissed that idea, Jessi was clearly interested in him.

As he walked up to her lonely table, he saw Josh working behind the counter, his jaw clenching periodically. It didn't look like it had been a good morning so far, and it was only 9 am. Kyle was glaringly absent.

The old Declan used to prey on crying girls, to help them forget for a night whatever their troubles were. He could relate to them in that he had troubles too. They were different now of course, ever since he'd met Kyle and Jessi, and dated Trager, Lori he corrected himself.

He stood by her table, napkins were neatly placed in a couple piles, used and unused. "Amanda, what did Kyle do?"

Josh piped up from behind the counter, seeing that no one else was in the restaurant. "He abandoned her for Jessi."

Declan turned to Josh. "What do you mean?" He wasn't about to tell them about their kiss last night.

Josh waved him over when Amanda's cell rang. She got up and went to the ladies' room.

Josh filled him in with a quick whispering commentary. "Amanda and Kyle were making out when he fell in pain and he had a seizure from it. When she steps away he bounces to his feet and runs off after Jessi."

Declan was incredulous. What could make Kyle have a seizure? He'd never been sick in the two years he'd known him. He was stronger than any guy he knew. He had to start from the beginning. "You don't know how they were going at it? Did they have their clothes on?" Josh lightly slapped him on the shoulder.

"No way dude! I'd never ask Amanda that!" Josh might have been whispering, but he could hear him yelling in his tone.

"It doesn't make sense," said Declan. "Kyle wouldn't leave her unless someone was in trouble."

Josh seemed to soften a little bit. "True, but why would he fake a seizure of all things?"

Declan got angry, "Josh, we're talking about Kyle! There's no way he faked anything! He can barely lie without getting his conscience to admit it five minutes later."

Declan heard the bathroom door open and saw Josh's eyes dart in that direction. "I'll talk to her."

When he got near, he saw Amanda picking up the piles of napkins. She looked a lot better, though her eyes were really red. She said, "My mom's coming to pick me up." That meant he had very little time to get the information he needed.

"Amanda, something doesn't make sense, was there any warning or a sign that something was wrong?" It didn't come out quite right but he knew she understood.

She looked him in the eyes, a half smile on her lips, probably the first in a while. "When we were making out? No, everything was… great."

He dropped his gaze. "I don't want the details okay, but can you tell me what happened?"

She laughed. "You want to know? We were pressed together like sardines – with clothes on – kissing like we've never kissed before. I was losing control, wanted him to take it further." She stopped, sobered. "I'm glad he didn't."

He filled in the next step. "He fell to the ground, and had a seizure?" She nodded. "That's the part that I can't understand."

"Why not? He's human, isn't he? He can die, right?" She spat the words, it was so unlike her.

"Humor me." She tilted her head up at him, looking defiant. Declan had always thought Amanda to be demure, too sensitive or submissive for his taste, but this side of her surprised him. "Pretend you're him and do what he did?"

He really hadn't believed that she would do it, but he had to see it to believe it.

She fell to her knees grunting. "It hurts," she mumbled. "He was hyperventilating so I lay him down." She lay down on the tile floor and started fluttering her eyes and moving them right to left as best as she could. "He didn't say anything, just breathed really fast and moved his eyes a lot faster than I am right now." She picked herself up and smoothed her hair. "Happy?"

"Yeah," he said very slowly. He couldn't place exactly what was weird about that scene but he knew something was.

"I took a couple steps to get the phone when he jumped to his feet. I turned and looked at him and he said that he didn't feel Jessi, that he needed to find her," she paused struggling to keep herself together, "and ran off."

"Has Kyle returned yet?" They spotted Mrs. Bloom's car coming into the lot. Amanda took a few steps to the door.

"He doesn't know I was here," she said glumly.

"He hasn't called you?" This wasn't making sense unless there was a true emergency.

"I didn't have my cell on me when he left." She brightened a little then darkened right away. "Wouldn't he still try?" She opened the door and waved to her mom to hold just a moment. She turned to Josh, "Thanks for helping me Josh, I really needed someone; you're a great friend." Turning to Declan, "If you hear from him, let me know please." She gave him her number and stepped out the door.

They looked at each other. Josh stated the obvious, "I hope Jessi's all right."

Declan turned back to the window, thinking. As Mrs. Bloom drove off, Declan muttered, "That wasn't a seizure…"

Josh brightened as he recalled Kyle standing in the Rack with his eyes fluttering the day when his till had been missing 120 bucks. "He was checking his memory to find Jessi!"

Declan's stomach sank. Neither said a word. He figured both of them thought the same thing. If Kyle couldn't feel her with their connection, she could be dead.

Josh went to his cell, "I'll text her and Lori."

"I'll call Amanda." When he heard the automated message saying she was unavailable or not in service, he texted her instead. He hoped she would call soon, but if her phone was off, it was unlikely.

He called Kyle next and received the same automated message. Maybe they were already talking on the phone? He smiled at that, but texted him just in case. He needed to talk to him, see if anything was wrong.

***

He heard Mrs. Bloom's car coming into the driveway next door. He overheard Jessi outside the front door and say, "Hi Amanda, Kyle's inside."

He heard nothing from Amanda. He pictured Amanda being led by her mother into the house, where she'd be protected from him again. He looked inside again and noticed the hole had filled in somewhat, didn't seem quite as deep but it was still there and it bothered him greatly.

He'd tried calling her enough times he wanted to lose count but her phone never picked up, it was never busy, just rang and rang. He knew it wasn't in her room; he'd looked.

He'd texted her too, and e-mailed her, and even left her a note on her pillow. He'd felt brazen doing so after Mrs. Bloom had left, but he felt it necessary to explain. He knew she couldn't ignore the signs. Nevertheless, he felt horrible.

***

Amanda went to her bedroom. "I'll be right down mom," she called. If they were going out to eat and then watch a movie at the theatre, she had to freshen up, get a quick change of clothes. She realized it was her mom's way of ensuring she'd stay away from Kyle. She hoped her mom wouldn't lock her inside the house again.

Her bedroom door was ajar. She paused and thought that her mother had probably checked her room and forgot to close it completely. She put her hand against the wood and pushed it lightly and almost walked into the door. Confused, she pushed it with both hands. It opened difficultly.

She sighed when she squeezed into the opening she'd managed to make. She looked behind the door and could barely believe what she saw. It was clearly a gray tub made out of children's blocks but it was two feet across and almost as high. Worked into the side of the tub, in red was her name. She picked it up; it really wasn't that heavy, just awkwardly placed. On the other side in blue was his name. She began to wonder how he'd put it there when she saw her blinds drawn up and her window open by a mere crack.

"Of course," she muttered to herself. Not wanting to delay her mother though, she went to her closet and pulled out some clothes and went to her vanity to take her favorite brush. When she started to brush her hair she noticed the letter on her pillow.

"Amanda, we'll be late," she heard her mom from downstairs.

She didn't have time to read it just then and tears threatened to resurface. She didn't think she had that many tears left. It certainly seemed he felt really bad for leaving her when he did. It was also clear Jessi was safe and even appeared civil. On second thought, she'd been civil much of the time over the last month.

She didn't have time to call Kyle but she texted him instead. "Thanks for the tub," with a smiley face and a heart.

***

When Amanda and Mrs. Bloom left the house – in a hurry he thought – he was perplexed that she'd ignored the letter and the tub, unless of course she never went to her bedroom.

That had to be it. He stared at his cell for a few more minutes. Just as he was about to put it back into his pocket, he received a text.

"Thanks for teh tub," with a smiley face and a heart. He smiled from ear to ear, despite the misspelling.

And another, "Not to scale though," with a frowning face, and a spade. His smile vanished. Maybe she was just getting back at him for deserting her. Needing reassurance, he looked again inside himself and felt a lot lighter despite the recent message. He didn't feel Jessi but he felt cheerier than he had in hours. He got up and decided to eat.