(P6.5) 48 Hours to Get to Know a Person

Instructions

(This is a bonus chap!! So, a lot of people were saying they like it just with Kai and June, and I agree, but I feel like giving a bit of background would be fun for me to do, so I'm releasing this bonus chap ON THE SAME DAY as part 6 so it's not even taking up Jai(???oof might need better ship name XDDD) time. Love yall!!) Beck Friday, Oct 5th, 7:04pm "Where's June?" In a family consisting of a mother, father and older brother of someone, I should not be the first person to ask this question. Welcome to my life. Dad glances up from their desk, where there are piles and piles of papers and monitors and computers with bright glowing screens. Talk about a sensory overload. "Isn't she up in her room?" "No." I say, my voice already tight with the effort of not yelling. I want to say 'you should know this! You should care!' But I don't. And odds are, they won't. "She might be at a friend's house." Mom suggests, eyes not leaving a binder full of materials that are apparently more important than the children she birthed. I don't get along with these people. "June doesn't have friends." I snap, grateful my little sis isn't here, because...yeah that isn't the nicest thing to say. It's true though. And even though I try to tell her to branch out and meet people, she continues to ignore me. "She's probably at the library. Studying. Like you should be." Ignoring the fact that I texted her twenty times, I also called the library to make sure she wasn't sitting in a corner, forgetting about the world in a book or something. Yes. I'm a very responsible parental figure. Someone has to be. I let out a forceful breath and turn away, grabbing my keys and a jacket. "Beckett? Where are you going, you have chores and homework-" I let out my frustration with a loud slam of the door. Friday, Oct 5th, 9:01pm I sit in the Taco Bell parking lot, trying to force down some food when my stomach is alive with worry. I can't find June anywhere. I should've made sure she was in her car before I left school. I should've driven her home! She hasn't had her license very long, maybe she got into a crash. Maybe she got kidnapped. Maybe she got m^rd3red. I think we can all agree I am the absolute worst older brother of all time. A single tear slips down my nose and onto my food. I push it aside and put my face in my hands. June is the one reason I hold back when talking to our parents. The one reason I've never run away. The only thing stopping me from packing my bags the day I turn eighteen and never looking back. And I don't even know if she knows it. We don't talk often. I'm too furious most of the time, or I'm busy, or she's studying. But she packs me a lunch every single day so I don't forget to eat. She folds all my socks and leaves them neatly on my bedspread when she does the laundry. She's been to every single performance I've ever had since I first decided I was going into the performance arts. And what do I do? I don't do anything. Other than don'ts. I don't go too far with our parents. I don't spend too many days away from home. I don't do anything drastic. But now I'm remembering every time I could've possibly talked to her. Hung out with her. Why did I push her away, as well as our parents? It should've been the other way. I should've been there for her. Should've held her tighter, because Mom and Dad wouldn't do it. And now, for all I know, it could be too late. Wyatt Saturday, Oct 6th, 11:03am I open my bleary eyes, reaching for the vibrating device on my nightstand. Who on Earth is calling me this early on a Saturday? My one day to sleep in. Sigh. I blink at the name. Mr. Brooks? Kai Brooks is my best friend. I've known him since I talked only in babbles. We hang out all the time. I knew his first crush, his most embarrassing moment, his worst grade. But...I don't call his parents. Like, ever. I talk to them, sure. But I don't ring them up to gush over the latest comic, like I do with Kai. "Hello?" I ask, curiously. "Wyatt?" Mr. Brooks sounds frantic. "Is Kai over there?" "Over...here?" Curse my early morning fog brain. "Yes." "No...I don't think so." I start to wake up, and with that, a tendril of panic shoots through me. "Why?" "I don't know where he is!" "Is he with Shila-his mom?" Sometimes I forget that even though I know these people nearly as well as my own parents, it isn't respectful to use their first names. My mom tells me that. All the time. "She's on a business trip. He was supposed to stay with me all weekend-he didn't come back from school last night." "He-didn't?" I squeak. Then I clear my throat. When I get nervous or flustered, my voice gets annoyingly high. Kai thinks it's hilarious and calls it my 'mouse voice'. "No. Please tell me if you hear anything." "O-of course." I hang up and scroll to our latest text thread.