Chapter 46

Chapter Forty-Four
Know You're Still Here
Noah
"She's not at school," Ezra said to Charlie, his voice low.
I was grabbing my books for my first period class out of my locker with Luke and Jade leaning against the lockers beside mine when Ezra and Charlie walked down the hall, coming over to us.
"If she was planning on coming here she would've been here by now," Charlie responded to Ezra, a small frown on his lips.
"What's going on, babe?" Jade asked softly as Charlie came over and gave her a hug.
Charlie shook his head softly, "Nothing," he gave Jade a reassuring smile but none of us were fooled.
"Are you sure?" Luke asked, narrowing his eyes. "Where's princess? Is that who you guys are talking about?"
Charlie sighed while Ezra typed away on his phone, not paying attention to the rest of us.
"Yes," Charlie said firmly, his face straight and without much emotion. "She stayed home. Wasn't feeling good."
"What happened?" Luke asked as his eyebrows pulled together, worry flooding through him.
I clenched my jaw as I shoved shit into my locker and closed the door, turning around and leaning against the lockers as I busied myself on my phone, scrolling through social media posts that I wasn't really paying attention to.
"Nothing," Ezra spoke up, looking straight at Luke with a blank face. "I think it's the flu."
Luke nodded his head slowly but didn't seem convinced. After that, the topic was dropped and everyone headed off to their classes.
I couldn't help but look around the halls hoping to see Tiffany even though I knew she wasn't here today.
I hadn't been able to talk to her all weekend after the party. I wanted to text or call her or even go over to talk to her but I didn't know how to.
I had no idea what to even say to her. There was so much I wanted to say but at the same time, I couldn't find any words.
I was hoping I would see her at school and just talk to her, explain to her that I was not trying to hurt her because I know that her seeing me kiss Amy did hurt her even though that kiss meant nothing to me.
The only person that mattered to me was Tiffany.
The rest of the school day went by fairly slowly and was very uneventful. It was a Monday so it was expected.
I walked down the stairs to go to my kitchen to find some food when I see Cade standing in front of the front door, talking to who ever was at the door.
I wasn't paying much attention until I got to the bottom of the stairs and recognized the voice.
I walked over to see Charlie and Ezra at the door talking to my younger brother which was odd. Cade wasn't exactly friends with them; they knew each other and would make small talk but there was no reason for them to be at my door talking to Cade.
If they were here to hang with me, they would have told me they were coming over which they didn't.
If they weren't planning on telling me beforehand, they would just come in and come to my room or wherever. They wouldn't stop at the entrance to talk to Cade. They would say hey and come up.
My point is, this was odd.
I walked over, a questioning look on my face, "Hey. What are you guys doing here? You never said you're stopping by tonight, Charlie." I chuckled lightly, confused.
What confused me more was the odd look on Charlie's face.
Ezra always had a blank look on his face, much like Tiffany. He was a hard person to read.
Charlie on the other hand was an open book and was always calm and relaxed. Right now, he looked distressed and anxious.
"We came to talk to Cade," Ezra said bluntly, answering the question before Charlie could - although, from the looks of it, Charlie seemed too distraught to even be able to come up with an answer for me right now.
Cade stared at the ground, shifting around on his feet. He clearly did not want to be in the middle of this nor did he want to answer anything I ask.
I narrowed my eyes at Ezra, "Since when do you guys come over to talk to Cade?"
"Can we not be friends with him?" Ezra retorted, narrowing his eyes in a challenging manner and clearly annoyed right now though he kept his face straight. He seemed impatient and almost in a hurry but that didn't stop him from arguing with me.
I quirked an eyebrow, "Never said that. I doubt you came here to hang out with your pal because you're standing at the doorstep instead of coming inside."
Cade sighed and took a step back, "I'm going to let you guys talk. And sorry Charlie, Ezra, I haven't heard anything but I'll let you know right away if I do."
"Thanks," Charlie mumbled softly, a frown on his lips as he watched Cade walk away. Charlie ran a hand down his face before looking at me, "Look, we got to go right now. I'll explain later but we don't have time to stand around."
"What's going on, Charlie?" I stopped him just as he was about to turn and leave. Ezra was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, looking at me in an analyzing way.
Charlie looked between Ezra and me before his eyes stopped on me, "Nothing. Don't worry about it."
"Dude," I stopped him once again, stepping out onto the porch to pull his shoulder back. "You came here for something and clearly something is fucking wrong. What is it that Cade could've helped you with that I can't?"
Charlie looked at me but didn't say anything for a moment as he debated whether or not to tell me whatever it was. The tired and worrisome look on his face concerned me.
"Nobody knows where Tiffany is," Ezra said bluntly, speaking when Charlie hadn't said anything.
My eyes snapped towards him. I glanced at Charlie as if expecting him to say Ezra was lying was Charlie simply looked down at the ground and shook his head, clearly worn out and exhausted and out of ideas for what to do.
"We came home from school and she wasn't at home. She left me a text saying she was fine and wanted to be alone and that was enough for me to know she's not okay," Ezra continued explaining seeing that he had to now that he told me what was going on. His face was straight and blank but from the way his fists were clenched at his sides, I knew he was scared and worried and ready to punch anyone out. "We came to ask Cade and not you because you and Tiffany aren't speaking so we knew she wouldn't be with you."
"It was my idea not to tell you," Charlie said sheepishly, speaking up now.
I looked at him in confusion, "Why would you do that?" I exhaled, my voice cracking a bit for some reason. "Do you really think this is something you could keep from me? That I wouldn't want to know something is happening with Tiffany?"
"This was his point," Ezra said. "Charlie was right by not wanting to tell you. You're going to panic and worry and the last thing we need right now is more emotions to deal with. We need to worry about finding Tiffany, not about consoling you."
I almost scoffed, very frustrated right now. "I am not a child. I don't need consoling or baby treatment."
Ezra was about to say something but Charlie spoke first, noticing that Ezra would snap at me and then an argument would break loose.
"Jade, and Leo are out seeing if they can find her. They were going to stop by Luke's and see if he knew anything too," Charlie said grimly as he checked his phone to see if Tiffany had responded to him. "My dad's also trying to find a way to reach her. We're going to go check out some places she might be. Do you have any idea where we could check, just in case?"
I ran a hand through my hair, my hands starting to feel sweaty in fret. "What if she just wants space? I mean, Tiffany is like that, right? Sometimes she likes being alone and getting away from the rest of the group."
Ezra's fists unclenched and clenched again. I knew he wanted to punch me in the face right now. "You don't know Tiffany," he muttered through gritted teeth.
I wasn't offended by him getting angry because Ezra and I were friends. We may not be super close but I knew his anger was his concern and worry for Tiffany and her well-being right now. it was directly aimed at me.
"You don't know the beginning of what the girl has been through. We don't give Tiffany space when she's hurt because the last time we did that she almost-"
"Ezra," Charlie snapped sternly, giving his cousin a knowing look and cutting him off so he would shut up.
Ezra muttered a curse under his breath, "Whatever, man. We have to go so if this little catch-up talk is done I'll be waiting in the car," Ezra nodded his head to the car and then started walking away.
"She almost what?" My voice was hesitant as I asked Charlie the question I was scared to know the answer to.
Charlie sighed, "It's not my spot to tell you. That's Tiffany's story and she will tell you when she's ready to. Ezra's right though, Tiff is probably off the rails right now so we have to find her before she seriously gets hurt. I'll let you know if we find anything out."
Charlie shot me a reassuring but not heartfelt smile before he started heading to the car where Ezra was already waiting and ready to leave.
"Wait!" I called out when Charlie was walking down the driveway. "I think I know where she is."
"Where?"
"The dock," I told him. "I can give you the address. It's where she told you to pick her up from the night I went to get her instead."
Charlie stayed silent for a moment, "Come with us."
"What?" I muttered, not sure I heard him correctly. Why would he want me to come with him? I thought he was the one who thought that was a bad idea.
Charlie shrugged his shoulders softly, "The girl is in-love with you, Noah. I know you have got some issues but maybe now is the time to talk. I'm just saying, I can tell you want to talk to her as much as she's been wanting to talk to you these past weeks."
"Are you sure?" I asked slowly, my worry growing. "I mean what if she doesn't want to see me? wouldn't after what I did."
"I don't think it's a matter of want," Charlie responded softly. "I think she needs to talk to you. Or at least see you right now. Know you're still here."
I nodded my head slowly as I closed my house door behind me and followed Charlie down the steps and to his car.
"She's here," Ezra said, a sigh of relief leaving his lips when we pulled up in front of the forest that led to the docks and saw Tiffany's car parked.
"Go talk to her," Charlie turned around from the passenger seat and looked at me.
"Shouldn't one of you go first?" I asked, my eyes widening as I looked between him and Ezra. "I mean I'm sure Ezra will know the right thing to say. I don't even know what I would-"
"Dude," Ezra snapped as he turned around and looked at me with an 'are you serious?' look on his face. "Stop being a little bitch and go talk to Tiff. You know you want to see her so stop panicking. What's the worse that'll happen, huh? She'll push you into the water? Big deal."
I exhaled a deep breath and nodded my head, both of them looking at me in wait.
I didn't know if it was a good idea to talk to her right now. I had no idea what she was going through and I knew part of her hurt was because of what I did. I didn't know the first thing about what I could possibly say to her.
"Fine. Okay." I couldn't argue with Ezra and Charlie and frankly, I was afraid Ezra may punch me in the face. He was worried about Tiffany so his actions would be justified enough. I also did want to see her badly although I was worried about how our interaction would go down.
I started getting out of the car when Ezra spoke again, "We'll leave you to it. Drive her back in her car, I don't think she'll be in the right senses to drive."
My eyebrows pulled together in confusion, "What do you mean? It's not like she drinks."
Ezra scoffed and turned around so he was sitting straight in his seat.
I looked at Charlie in confusion.
"Just go," Charlie gave me a small grin. "And text me. Let me know if she's okay. She is, that's what matters but still. Just let me know what's going on."
I nodded and got out of the car. I was confused by so much that Ezra had said, not that he was really saying much.
I knew there was no point in asking questions because he wasn't going to answer me.
Ezra and Charlie started to reverse out of the parking while I walked into the forest.
Here goes nothing.