The Best Is Yet to Come (63)

Standing this close to her, he could hear Alyse pick up. “Callie, dance team is going nuts without you. Is there any way you can stop by after school to review the routine?”

“Maybe,” Callie said. “I’m not calling about the dance team. Any chance you’ve seen Ben? He stayed home from school this morning and—”

“He’s not sick, is he?”

Alyse sounded alarmed, recognizing that if a key member of the football team was absent, it might mean a loss, and a loss at a home game would be devastating.

“He said he wasn’t feeling well when I left him earlier,” Callie explained.

“You left him? Where did you go?”

“To Spencer’s house.”

“You went to Spencer’s house?”

Even standing this far away, Spencer could feel the shock waves.

“Spencer and I are longtime friends,” Callie insisted.

“Since when?” Alyse asked, laughing.

“Since forever,” she muttered, clearly unamused. “Have you seen Ben or not?”

“I haven’t, but let me ask around. Give me five minutes and I’ll call you back.”

“Thanks.”

Spencer had the impression the first four minutes would be Alyse telling all their gal pals the shocking news that Callie and he were together.

Five minutes passed and then ten with no call.

“He’s at school,” Callie reiterated, although she didn’t sound nearly as confident as she had earlier.

“You’re probably right.” He stuffed the tips of his fingers into his rear pockets, lunch forgotten.

“But what if he isn’t?” she asked, her eyes wide, and seeking what looked like reassurance.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we need to.”

“Right,” she said, nodding.

When Callie’s phone finally did ring, it came so unexpectedly that they both jumped.

She answered right away. “What did you find out?” she asked, without giving the normal greeting.

“No one’s seen him, so I asked Scott, figuring he would know,” Alyse said, and then hesitated.

“And?” Callie pressed.

“And…he acted sort of weird. Cagey.”

Callie’s eyes connected with Spencer’s. “Cagey? In what way?”

“W…e…l…l,” Alyse said, dragging out the word. “It’s hard to describe. I mean, you’d think he’d be concerned if Ben was home sick, about the game and all.”

“Right,” Callie agreed.

“Instead, he said something about Ben being stupid. If Ben is sick, it isn’t because he lacks intelligence. When I said as much, Scott glared at me and said I didn’t know what I was talking about. Then he said Ben was about to ruin everything, but that probably has to do with him missing the game.”

“You’re probably right,” Callie said. And then to reiterate, asked again, “So no one’s seen Ben around the school, then?”

“Not anyone I asked.”

“Okay, thanks, Alyse.”

“No problem. Be sure and stop by the field this afternoon, if you can,” Alyse said. “The dance team needs you.”

“I’ll try.”

Callie ended the conversation and looked to Spencer. “Now what?”

“We check your house. Maybe Ben was genuinely sick and is asleep.”

They left together. Thankfully, Callie had a car. As soon as they arrived, they rushed into the house and up the stairs to Ben’s room, which was empty. A quick search through the rest of the house showed no signs of Callie’s twin.

Standing in the middle of the family room, Callie looked to Spencer. “Now I’m concerned. Where could he be?”

Her phone dinged, indicating she’d received a text. Callie snatched her phone. It was from Alyse.

Genny said Ben came to the school and then must have left. No one has seen him since.

“We need to go to the school,” Callie said.

“We can’t. In case you’ve forgotten, we’ve been suspended.”

“But this is important.”

“I agree. Before we do, I think we should check out anywhere he would go.”

Callie automatically shook her head. “There’s no place. School and football are Ben’s life.”

“What about when we were kids? He liked…”

“Eagle Rock,” Callie finished for him. As kids they’d spent countless hours at the small creek that led to the beach and the huge rock that had named the area. Spencer remembered watching the salmon fighting their way up the creek to their spawning grounds. The sight of those fish had fascinated him and Ben.

The drive took only a few minutes. Although they looked all around and called his name several times, Ben was nowhere to be seen.

“Where to now?” Spencer asked, ready to head out. Standing at the edge of the creek bed, Callie remained still.

“Callie,” he said, urging her to come.

Holding up her hand, she stopped him. “Ben was here,” she whispered, her face somber and intent. “I can feel it. Laugh if you want, but I know my brother came here. Something is wrong, Spencer. Something is very wrong.”