Page 12 of His to Save

“You leave any coffee for me?” I ask Ellis the following morning as I drag my tired ass into the kitchen.

“I can make more,” he says, far too chipper for the early hour; the sun’s not even out but he’s bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

Meanwhile, it’s my damn off day, and I’mstillup with the birds.

I let his happy-go-lucky-morning-person shit slide since he’s already dumping the grounds into the trash and starting a fresh pot. “You go somewhere else after you left last night?” he asks, smirking, “You look like shit.”

A sound—something between a low laugh and a growl—slips out of me before I can stop it. I fucking wish I could blame my haggard appearance on a hangover. “Stayed up for a while reading, but my dreams were crazy and I kept waking up.”

His lips quirk up into a wry grin. “Let me guess, the diary?” He presses the button on the coffee maker, and it gurgles to life.

I slump down onto a barstool and rest my head against the cool granite of the island. “Yeah, man. I don’t know why, but I can’t stop reading it.”

“Huh.” He grabs a mug and pours it full, knowing I like it black. “Find anything useful?”

“No,” I mumble, tracking his movements as he slides the mug my way. “Not really.”

“Then why keep reading?” He rounds the island and sits down on the stool next to me.

“I—don’t even know how to explain it. I just have to know, you know? Like I’mcompelledto finish it.”

“Is it even remotely interesting?” He scratches his chin thoughtfully. “I can’t imagine reading the innermost thoughts of a teenage girl would be, but?—”

“Liar.” I cut him off, and we both start to grin. We’re two sides of the same coin, and he already knows exactly what I’m going to say. “Your ass loves all of those bullshit high-drama teen shows. What did you just finish rewatching…Gossip Girl?”

“Listen, asshole,” he starts, his lips quivering as he tries not to laugh. “There’s just something about the Upper East Side that does it for me.”

“More like the brunette chick does it for you.”

“Blair?” he groans. “Fuck yeah, she does. There’s just something about that bitchy attitude of hers…mmm.”

The fact that said attitude is reminiscent of Scarlet doesn’t escape my notice, but I don’t comment on it. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say.”

His lips thin as he pins me with a serious look. “I’m guessing you still haven’t heard from your dad?”

“Not a word.” I get wanting to be left alone; hell, other than Ellis—and occasionally Scarlet—I could probably go days without talking to another human being. There’s a reason I work as a park ranger, after all.

However, if someone needed to talk to me, they could damn sure get a hold of me. In this day and age, it’s not like you need a carrier pigeon. A text message would suffice.

“Try calling him.”

I slide off my stool and pad back into my room to grab my phone. Once I rejoin Ellis in the kitchen, I swipe my thumb across the screen to send the call.

“Put it on speaker.”

Nodding, I tap the button and place my phone down on the island. As expected, it rings a few times before going to voicemail.

“Try again.” The worry reflected at me in his eyes mirrors my own. Something sure as shit isn’t right, and I can’t seem to stop my brain from zeroing in on one hypothetical disaster after another.

Even though I know he won’t pick up, I send the call again, my heart lodged in my throat as I wait for it to connect.

This is insane—I don’t even get along with my old man all that well. I just know in my gut that something’s wrong, and no matter what I do, I can’t shake the feeling.

This time, the voicemail picks up after only two rings.

“He declined your call,” Ellis muses, a troubled look clouding his features as he drums his fingers on the countertop. “So, he has his phone on him.”

“I don’t know, man.” I scrub my hands over my face. “Something’s going on. I just don’t know what.”

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