Page 41 of Impurrfections

Top priority?Get Shane back.

Except that really wasn’t top priority, was it?Keep Shane safe.I scanned the floor until I spotted my cell phone and picked it up. Of my local numbers, only one would be of any use. I dialed.

“Hey, Theo.” The warmth in Arthur’s voice helped steady me. “What’s up?”

“Shane’s gone.”

“Gone?”

“I mean, he left the place he was staying.” I didn’t even try to explain. Not now. “He might be sleeping outside tonight and it’s my fault. I don’t know how to find him.”

Arthur said slowly, “Does hewantyou to find him?”

“Fuck. No, probably not.”

“I don’t want to get in the middle of an argument between the two of you.”

“No, that’s fine. I can stay out of it completely. But I want… I want him to have options. Somewhere safe to stay. And he won’t take it from me even if I could find him.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“You know people around town, right?” Despite claiming to be bad with people, I’d bet a guy like Arthur had friends.

“Some, sure.”

“Could you tell them all to watch for him? Tell them if he’s panhandling, if they can give him, like, a bunch of money, I’ll pay them back.”

Arthur hummed. “Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

“What? Why not?”

“Well, it’s, like, parental, trying to sweep in from the sidelines and solve all his problems without being asked. That’s like what a dad would do, isn’t it?”

“No!” I snapped. In the subsequent pause, I counted to three and reminded myself not everyone had a father who flew off to Paris to live the bachelor life while abandoning their child. “Maybe. I don’t mean it that way.”

“I know you don’t. But if there’s one thing I’ve figured out about Shane, it’s that he has his pride. Damage that and he’s not going to thank you.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Then what do I do? I feel like shit. He left half of his food behind. It’s supposed to be fifty-four out tonight.”

“I bet Shane’s survived a lot worse than one night outside in Southern California.”

My chest tightened. “Yeah. I know he has.” He hadn’t said much, but I could read a lot in his silences.

“He’ll survive this. You need to figure out why he ran and what you’re going to do about it.”

“He ran because I lied.” I cleared my throat. “It wasn’t even a big lie. Just a thing I didn’t tell him.”

“But it mattered to him?”

“Yeah. I guess it did.”

“So you need to figure out how to fix it. Listen, if he comes round here for work, I’ll give him plenty.”

“I can pay you back.”

“I don’t need your money. Shane’s my friend.”

I winced. “Will you let me know if you see him?”

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