Fineas doesn\u2019t know what to do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
April\u2019s dad was right. She\u2019s gone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He has tried calling repeatedly. He can\u2019t do much else until he knows where she is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He walks to her house, music playing in his ears. He knows that he promised himself never to return, but he has to take the risk if it means that he can find her. He\u2019ll do anything for her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cautiously, he steps onto the front porch and peers through the little window on the door. The house is dark, and it seems empty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thank God, <\/em>he thinks. Now I don\u2019t have to experience that again. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n He raises his hand to knock but pauses. He forces it forward before he can back out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Three quick taps before rapidly drawing it back. He waits a second. No answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He glances around in case there\u2019s anyone on the sidewalk. Seeing that it\u2019s vacant, he walks quickly and quietly to the side of the house until he reaches April\u2019s window. He looks behind him once again, then lifts himself up onto the windowsill, his legs dangling below him. The sill shakes slightly beneath him, and he winces. He tries to push the window open, but it\u2019s locked. He curses under his breath, considering how to get in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He slips his hand into his pocket, wondering if there\u2019s anything he can use to open the window. His fingers wrap around something metal, and a smile spreads dimly like the light of a broken lamp across his face. He takes his keys and slides them underneath the window frame. He jabs them forward until the window loosens and tries again to push it open. It comes open easily. He slides it all the way up, then crawls into the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He knows he has to be fast. He examines her room for anything that could be a clue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He looks on her shelves, lifting up every object to see if there\u2019s a note. She has a lot of little things,<\/em> he notices. She always likes to collect her strange little objects and display them<\/em>. He smiles at the thought, but the edges of his lips soon turn downward. He wonders if he\u2019ll ever see her again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n No,<\/em> he tells himself. No. <\/em>He can\u2019t think like that right now. He has to focus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Where else could she have left something? He glances at her bookshelf, and wonders if she left him anything in her favorite book. He scans the organized-by-title bookshelf until he finds it. He flips through the pages, but no envelope falls out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He doesn\u2019t find anything in sight, so he needs to investigate further. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He looks under her bed to find a plastic box. Lifting the lid off, the first thing he sees is a piece of paper. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The paper looks old. It\u2019s crumpled like someone crushed it in their hand in anger, and the ink has faded a little, but it\u2019s still legible. There\u2019s not much written on it, but when Fineas picks it up, his breath hitches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n April, <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m sorry. Please forgive me. I\u2019ll come back when it\u2019s right. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I couldn\u2019t deal with Dad any longer than you could.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In case you remove me from your contacts. Don\u2019t hesitate to call.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jules<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Written underneath is a phone number. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fineas is shocked. April has a sibling? <\/em>She never mentioned them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He blinks. Takes a breath. Shakes his head. Focus. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe April\u2019s sibling knows where she is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He picks up his phone and slowly dials the number. He reluctantly presses the green button. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After it\u2019s almost stopped ringing, someone picks up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHello?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n A man\u2019s voice. He sounds not too much older than Fineas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fineas hesitates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHello?\u201d the voice sounds exasperated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUm, hello. I\u2019m Fineas. I\u2019m April\u2019s boyfriend. I was wondering if you knew where she is\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGod. Why does everyone think I know?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before Fineas can ask what he means, the other voice continues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t know. Sorry.\u201d There’s a pause. \u201cI\u2019m glad she has someone looking out for her, though.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fineas doesn\u2019t know how to respond to this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah, I try,\u201d he says finally. \u201cOkay, if you don\u2019t know, I\u2019ll\u2026\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah. Bye.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Who could have called about her before? <\/p>\n\n\n\n He\u2019ll figure it out later. Right now, he needs to get out of here before it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After shutting the box and pushing it back under her bed, he takes one last look around at the room. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He\u2019s about to leave when he hears the faint sound of a lock clicking open. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He freezes. His eyes widen. He puts his hand over his mouth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He walks softly to her bed, then crawls underneath, hoping with all the might within him that April\u2019s father won\u2019t hear him. There\u2019s not a lot of room, and he glances at the same box he opened before, curious as to what else it contains. Is there a letter to him? He wants to believe she would leave him a note, a map, an address. He would take even the slightest sliver of a hint if it would give him the opportunity to find her. He wonders, though, if maybe he\u2019s putting a little too much faith in her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He hears the man come into the house. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHello?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fineas presses his hand tighter around his mouth. His ears perk up to listen closer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI swear I heard someone\u2026\u201d the man mumbles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fineas doesn\u2019t dare move a muscle. He holds his breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAh, well.\u201d His footsteps recede. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fineas waits until he can\u2019t hear him anymore. He lets out his breath. How the hell do I get out of here? <\/em>he thinks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fineas doesn\u2019t know what to do. April\u2019s dad was right. She\u2019s gone. He has tried calling repeatedly. He can\u2019t do much else until…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":1231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1230"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1232,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1230\/revisions\/1232"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}