"I really don't know." Rose sighed again. "I think it may have been something his uncle said? Jeremy was supposed to be at the stadium at noon, but he sent me a text saying he had to go talk to his uncle. His uncle had his phone off and wasn't answering his calls to the house either, so I think he may have been worried. Now that it's close to game time, I heard him call the manager. Then he called me for only a brief second."
"And that's all he told you?" Zeke took the phone from Noah's hands.
"He told me that he had to go see his mother and that he wouldn't be back until tomorrow, but that I shouldn't worry." She let out a stressed laugh. "But now I'm very worried. That woman isn't good news and Jeremy seems very fragile right now."
"He didn't like what he heard from his uncle." Zeke squinted into nothingness. "I'll speak with my parents and try to help. Noah will text you if we find out anything."
"Please do." She sounded desperate. "It's not like him to just turn off his phone after calling me. I can't help but worry and-"
"I understand." Zeke stopped her from rambling. "Just take a deep breath and relax. We'll be in contact."
"Okay. Yea. Thanks." She let out a long breath of air. "I'll have my phone on me."
"Bye, Rose." Zeke hung up. He gave Noah the phone back. "I'm going to Mom and Dad." He left the room swiftly.
"Why would he go find her?" Kyle asked, sounding confused.
"He didn't like what he heard from his uncle?" Noah suggested. He looked at me. "You okay, Jake?"
I shook my head, trying to clear my head. "This doesn't make sense. He really…doesn't like her. Just like me, he-" I stopped for a second, trying to find the words. "He hates anything and everything about her. That's why he didn't even like me, at first."
"Right." Noah nodded. "And it's so weird how Uncle Jack was denying your identity this whole time too. He obviously knew you existed. Add in this money thing, and I'm afraid we have a conspiracy on our hands."
"Jake? Jake?" Mom rushed to the living room, calling out my name. She got close and looked down at me, worried. "Are you okay?"
I slowly nodded. I wasn't even surprised anymore. "I don't think Jeremy's okay though."
Mom frowned. "Dad is calling Mr. Duncan now to get the info for Rose. I can't believe Jeremy is skipping his game to go…" She didn't finish her sentence.
"It doesn't sound like him." I agreed. I realized I left my phone upstairs. "I think I should go check my phone. To see if he sent me another message." I hurried to leave the living room and up the stairs.
My phone was where I left it on the desk. I nervously clicked it to see if I had any notifications. A missed call and voicemail, from Jeremy.
I clicked on the voicemail and listened.
"Hey…Jake…" Jeremy cleared his throat. "I don't know if you…if you think I knew, but I swear I didn't. Only recently did I know of his money troubles. I-I went to see him and tried to find out what he meant by giving that woman money." There was a long pause, but I could still hear background noise so I kept holding the phone to my ear. Jeremy cleared his throat again, sounding distraught. "I didn't get much from him. I'm going to go see that woman tonight. I have to. I need to know." The message stopped abruptly.
"Needed to know what..?" I mumbled to myself.
"What did he say?" Noah asked, making me jump. "Sorry, Jake. I was curious."
"It's okay, I just didn't hear you come in." I handed him my phone. "You can listen too."
Noah listened to the message with a completely serious face. When it ended, he handed the phone back to me. "Take it to Mom and Dad. Jeremy doesn't sound like himself."
"I thought so too." I gulped. "Do you think…he'll really go see her?"
Noah gave a small nod. "He sounded desperate for answers. I don't know what happened between him and his uncle, but it was obviously bad enough for him to want to go see that woman."
I gulped again. Jeremy had once said that Uncle Jack was like a father figure to him. I don't understand how we got to this point where he would want to see our mother.
Noah and I went downstairs to the kitchen where everyone had seemed to congregate. I handed my phone over to Mom. "Jeremy had left me a voicemail."
She blinked. "Do you want me to listen?"
"He doesn't sound right, Mom." Noah said.
She nodded. "Okay, I'll put it on speaker for everyone then?" It was like she was asking me for permission.
I nodded.
She looked around to make sure everyone was quiet and ready. Then it began again. Hearing it a second time around, make me feel sick to my stomach. My anxiety was climbing. Seeing our mother doesn't sound like a good idea. Not for any reason.
Dad frowned as the message ended. "I found out from Mr. Duncan where he's headed. He's not going to be able to see her tonight so I don't know what he's planning to do." He looked at me. "Have you tried calling him back?"
I shook my head. "No, but I can." I took my phone back and tried calling. No ringing. Straight to voicemail. "His phone is off."
Noah grabbed his phone. "Where's he going, Dad? I need to let Rose know."
Dad sighed. "Central California Women's Facility. It's almost two hours away from us. Probably further for Jeremy since he would be coming from the Bay Area."
Noah sent Rose a text.
"So?" Dave asked. "What now?"
"Yea." Kyle agreed. "What should we do?"
"What can we do?" Noah replied with a question of his own. "We can't just chase him down and stop him. Jake won't go anywhere near that place."
I looked at Noah, surprised. He's usually the type that likes to be close to the action. Close to the drama. It's not like him to sit and wait at home.
"What?" Noah asked me, unsettled by my gaze. "That woman almost killed you. I'm not going to let you get anywhere close to that prison. Jeremy is an adult. The prison will probably just send him away, anyways. Dad said so."
Dad nodded in agreement. "I think it's best if you stay here, Jake. You boys continue your movie night. Try to relax, stay away from the news, and just go back to being kids. Your mother might even make some cookies for comfort."
Mom frowned. "Why does it sound like you aren't staying?"
"Someone has to go check on him, Mary." Dad said.
"I'll go with you." Zeke stood up. "Let me get my shoes on." He left before even getting an answer from Dad.
"Wayne…" Mom's frown didn't go away until she glanced at me. Then she sighed. "Okay. Go. Make sure he's alright. Zeke better keep us in the loop. Have him call Jeremy every ten minutes so you don't travel two hours for nothing."
"It's not for nothing." Dad got up. "I'll grab my keys and wallet."
