“Anything?” I asked Dawn as I walked through the door. We had found nothing. No trace at all—all my hope was pinned on her.
She shook her head and whispered, “No.” That one little word felt like being stabbed. Her eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep and crying, and I pictured Summer the same, waiting for us to find her. The remains of Dawn’s day-old makeup were smudged under her eyes and down her cheeks. “The police are starting a proper search today, though. They’ll find her.” She nodded her head as if she were telling herself the same thing, convincing herself.
“Right, I’m going,” Summer’s dad, Daniel, announced. He stopped as he saw me. “Oh, Lewis. Anything?” I shook my head. It was as if she just vanished. His shoulders were slumped, and from someone who was always strong and positive, it made me fear the worst. “I’ll be back later,” he said and gave Dawn a brief kiss on the cheek. He looked as exhausted as I felt.
“Are you hungry?” Dawn asked, staring into space. “Your mum’s making food. I don’t know what.”
“Thanks, Dawn,” Theo said. “Why don’t we go to the kitchen?” He led her through, wrapping his arm around her back to help her like she was a sick old lady.
I didn’t want to hang around. I just wanted to find out what the plan was and get back out there. Sitting around eating wasn’t going to get Summer back. “Theo, Lewis,” my mum gushed, throwing a tea towel down. “Sit, sit.”
“Thanks for cooking, Emma,” Dawn said. Mum smiled sadly, her eyes showing how scared she was.
“I don’t want to sit. I just want to know what I should be doing. Is someone coming to sort a proper search out yet?” I asked. Surely the police had a plan rather than just sending everyone out looking randomly?
“They’ve already been, sweetheart,” Mum replied. “They’re starting with a thorough search of the area they believe Summer was last—”
“How do they know that?”
“Know what?
I sighed in frustration. “Where she last was?”
Mum shrugged. “I’m not sure, a combination of the direction she went in, where a young girl would go, and how long it was before Kerri called her and noticed she wasn’t answering to work out how far away she was likely to be. I don’t know exactly.”
“So they’re just guessing? They don’t even know Summer and they’re guessing where she was likely to go?”
“Lewis, calm down,” Theo ordered.
“No. Fuck this!” They didn’t have a clue and now Summer could be anywhere.
I stormed out of the house. I didn’t know where I was going, but I had to get out. My girlfriend was missing, and I had no clue where she was or how to find her. And it didn’t seem like the police had the slightest clue where to start either.
“Lewis!” Theo shouted. I heard his footsteps getting louder, so I knew he was following me too. “Wait up.” He grabbed the top of my arm and swung me around. “You can’t just go running off. Look, I’m going to the town hall, that’s where the search is based. Come with me and we can ask as many questions as you have before we get back out there.”
I sighed and ran my hand over my face. “Theo, what if she’s…” Dead.
“Don’t. She’s not; she’s fine.”
“You don’t know that!” I exclaimed. My heart was racing. “It’s been hours, and no one’s heard from her. She never goes off and—”
“Lewis, stop. This isn’t helping Summer, is it? She needs you, so quit the bullshit and do something to help her.”
He was right. I nodded. My eyes stung but I refused to cry. I needed to be strong for her and falling apart now wouldn’t get her back. “You’re right.” I sighed and my heart dropped. “I just can’t lose her,” I whispered. As cheesy as it sounded, my biggest fear was losing Summer—in any way. I loved her.
“Let’s go.”
Theo smiled and unlocked his car. “Here.” He handed me something wrapped up in a paper towel. A bacon bagel. “Eat.” I got in the passenger side and forced myself to eat. Every bite made me want to hurl, but Theo was right—Summer needed me—and I had to be strong for her. I was no good if I was a mess.
“She’s okay, isn’t she?”
Theo nodded. “She’ll be fine.” She’ll be fine. He didn’t think she was fine now, but she would be when we found her? I should be able to tell where she was. I love her, so shouldn’t I just know what was wrong? Where are you, Sum?
We pulled into a tight parking space at the hall, the only one left. The place was full. Were all those people here to help?
The main hall was heaving with people. Right at the front was a long table stacked with maps, bottles of water, and high-visibility vests. Where did all that come from? A picture of Summer was pinned to a board beside the table. The world stopped spinning. I took a deep breath and walked toward the police officers.
Above Summer’s picture were the words: MISSING 16-YEAR-OLD SUMMER ROBINSON.
5
SUMMER