Later that afternoon, I'm well rested and ready to go after Nate again. I try Sam's apartment once more, but there's still no one home. Out of ideas already, I ask the receptionist in the lobby if she's seen them.
"I'm sorry, sir. All I can say is they left four or five hours ago. I don't know where they went," she answers apologetically.
"It's okay. Thank you anyway." I'm disappointed (and slightly terrified), but I can't blame the girl for not knowing.
I sit in my car for a few minutes contemplating my next move. If I were a disrespectful little shit named Sam, where would I take my little brother who I only kind of care about? Probably somewhere I shouldn't be. That's where Nate would be, and I'm betting the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
I begin to drive around town, looking for tattoo parlors or strip clubs. I don't find anything like that, but I do find a bar. It's nothing to speak of, just a hole in the wall. But it has just enough chaos for it to be a viable location. Thankfully, my presence isn't anything to note. Everyone's too engrossed in their drinks to pay any attention to me. "Excuse me?" I ask the bartender.
"Yes, sir?" He looks happy to have a distraction from cleaning used glasses.
"Have you seen two young men with dark hair and long, lanky legs. They're brothers and I'm trying to get in touch with them."
"Uh... I don't think so, sorry."
My heart drops into my stomach. "No, you have to have seen them. I've been looking for more than 48 hours and I-I'm so worried about-"
The bartender holds up his hands in a sign of surrender. "Okay, okay. I haven't seen them, but maybe someone else has. I'll ask around."
"Thank you," I breathe, bracing myself against the bar.
Two minutes later, the bartender comes back with an older man in a suit, but I don't let myself get excited just yet. "Has he seen them?" I ask.
"Personally, no," the suit says. "But one of my employees saw two men that match your description."
"Really? Where?"
"They were at the bar, but I'm afraid they just left twenty minutes ago."
No, no, no... "Goddamn it," I mutter under my breath.
"I'm sorry, but that's all we know."
"Thanks anyway."
And I'm back to sitting in my car. At least this time I have a destination. They have to be headed back to the apartment. Not even Sam would want to drag Nate's drunk ass around.
The drive back to the apartment seems to go by much faster than the drive here. I make a game plan for what I'm going to say to Nate. First I'm going to tell him I'm sorry and it will never happen again. If he doesn't accept my apology, I'll tell him-
"What the hell?" I tap on the brakes a little to get a better look at the sight in front of me. There's a car crashed against a sign. This wasn't here when I drove by ten minutes ago. There's still smoke pouring out from under the hood. I pull over to take a look. The wreck definitely looks bad enough to be deadly. I can take a break from my quest to check that nobody's seriously injured.
"Hello? Anybody in there?" I call slowly approaching the driver's side door. "Hello?" I realize the driver's seat is empty when I make it to the window. Weird... There's no body laying on the ground in front of the car, so the driver wasn't ejected from his seat. He must have left on his own accord. I look into the car again, and I suddenly have tunnel vision.
"Nate?!" I sprint around the other side and rip open the door. "Oh, god..." His bloody nose and black eye are the least of his problems. The air bag has deflated somewhat, but it's obvious it smacked his face and cracked/broke some ribs. His right arm looks dislocated while the left elbow is bloody and bent the wrong way.
I frantically claw at the seat belt clasp. "Nate? Can you hear me?" He doesn't respond. He must be concussed. I've gotta drive him to the hospital. It could be too late by the time the ambulance gets here.
I extract Nate from the car as gently as I can and lay him across the back seat. I don't want to hurt his neck or broken limbs. "You're okay, kid. You're gonna be okay, I promise."
I grip the steering wheel with white knuckles and start the car. If I ever find Sam... I'm gonna make him wish he was never born.
The hospital is twenty minutes away, but I get there illegally in only ten. I slam to a stop in front of the emergency wing. A pair of men in scrubs are smoking outside and give me a raised eyebrow. "Um, sir," starts one of them.
"Please, you have to help me. My kid was just in a car accident and he's unconscious and bleeding and his arm-"
"Okay, it's okay, sir," one says as the other runs inside. "Where there any passengers in the car with him?"
"No, he was the passenger. His brother was driving. I'm assuming he was drunk and ran from the scene."
"Is your son drunk, too?"
"I... I don't know. I wasn't there. I just found him on the side of the road."
"You are one lucky man."
"Yeah..." I glance back at Nate's prone form. I'm something alright...
The man puts a hand on my shoulder. "We're gonna do everything we can, sir."
I'm pushed aside as a swarm of scrubs crowd the car. My body is numb, but I'm mentally freaking out at the sight of Nate being stuck with an IV and an oxygen mask put over his mouth and nose. I try to follow his gurney, but an old, petite nurse blocks my way. "Sir, you can't enter the trauma center."
"But he's my kid! I can't... I have to-"
"I'm sorry, I really am, but rules are rules. You can stay in the family waiting room for now. We'll come find you when we have news."
I didn't realize she was leading me away while she was talking. She presses me down into a seat by the window. I break my gaze at the stars to look up at the nurse. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it," she smiles.
And I'm alone. Again.