Saturday 11:21 AM

Riley stared down at his phone in his hands as his heart was a jackhammer against his rib cage. His hands trembled and he quickly put the phone down next to him. As he stared at it a groan escaped his lips and he leaned back on his bed shutting his eyes tight wondering if he could go through with this. He took a deep breath and began to massage his own temples in an attempt to calm himself down. Freaking out would do him no good. And it wouldn't matter anyway, Jack was fine, because Jack needed to be fine. Riley took another deep breath but his heart nearly stopped when he heard his text tone go off. His eyes snapped open, he grabbed the phone, and he sat up to better look at the message.

Mike: Can u ask mom if

Riley didn't read the rest of it.

If it wasn't Jack it didn't matter. He took another deep breath and before he knew it he had unlocked his phone. His fingers seemed to work without his permission, going to Jack's contact and next thing he knew he had hit call. His hand shook as a ring sounded and he put the phone up to his ear. Another ring passed and Riley found himself suddenly standing and pacing the room as he mumbled to himself.

"Come on... Pick up.... Jack just please pick-"

"Hey-"

"Jack!"

"-is Jack leave a message, I'll get to it eventually."

Riley paused. The recording of Jack's voice was both disappointing and intriguing. Never before had he heard the sound, and it was different than he imagined. The voice was a bit lower than he thought it'd be and it didn't sound so sarcastic. Finally he realized the answering machine was recording and he spoke quickly, "Hey it's uh-uh um Riley. I know we've never called but um... I was worried- I- um... Just text me back."

Riley hung up the phone with a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through his hair. His hands trembled and he tapped his foot to know end as he stared at his phone waiting for something. Even so no reply came. He cursed to himself and called again, and once again no one picked up.

"He's fine. He's fine. Surgery is a serious thing," Riley told himself as he stood and began to pace once more. "He's just recovering from whatever it was. Then he'll text me and call me an idiot for worrying. I just need to breathe and calm down." He took a deep breath and stared at his phone once more before calling again.

"Hello?" A small voice asked.

"Hi!" Riley shouted relieved. "I'm looking for Jack. Who's this?"

"I'm his sister Lily."

"Oh, yeah. He told me about you. Can you give him the phone?"

"No."

Riley bit his tongue to keep from screaming at the child. He took a deep breath before trying again, "Why not?"

"Jack's not here anymore. He's-he's with Cristi now."

"What?"

He heard a sniffle from the other side of the line. "He's with Cristi," the little girl repeated.
Riley felt his legs begin to shake, and when they gave out he found himself sitting on the floor in the middle of his room, but he paid that no mind.

"Oh." Was the only thing he managed to say. He hung up and then the phone fell from his grip dropping to the floor beside him.

He wasn't sure when he started crying, or how long he sat there, but it must've been at least an hour before his mother found him sitting there, sobbing.