Page 96 of Tracing Holland

“Where are you now?”

“In our bus.”

“Ok, hang on, I’ll be there in a minute.”

I hang up and force my feet to the floor.I hadn’t been asleep long, but long enough to ensure that my mind and body are not remotely ready for this.

Part of me wonders if this is a prank as I make my way down the stairs, past Holland’s bus, the crew’s, and all the way to Limelight.But as soon as I see their ashen faces, I know this is no joke.

“Have you contacted your tour manager yet?”I ask, joining them in their lounge.

They shake their heads, clearly out of their depth.

“We’re afraid we’ll get him in trouble.”

“Ok, well, you need to do that first.I’m sure he’s fine, but your manager needs to know there may be a change of plans as soon as possible so he can adjust.You don’t have to raise alarms, just say Jesse’s not back from his night out.”

They nod.

“So what exactly happened?”

“We were at this bar and met these girls.They were flirting with him all night and he said he was just going to go to another party for a while.He was supposed to meet us back at the bar a couple hours later so we could ride back together,” Parker explains.

“Yeah, we waited for another hour after that,” Derrick adds.“We’ve been calling him and texting and everything, but nothing.”

“We’re sorry to bother you with this, but if he’s ignoring us, we thought he might not ignore you.”

“What bar?”

“Chadwick’s.6thand Arch.”

“Shit, seriously?Arch Street?”I mutter.

They shrug.“We hang there all the time.”

I shake my head.“Fine, whatever.And you didn’t know these girls?”

“No.You don’t think…” They look ready to puke.

“No, Jesse is fine.I guarantee you, but I’m sure he’s not going to take my call either.”

“How do you know?”

I give them a look.“I invented this, trust me.Just tell your manager you’re not going to be leaving when you thought.We have a long break before the ACC so it shouldn’t be a big deal unless you guys had something scheduled in between.”

They shake their heads.“I don’t think so, but I’m not sure.”

“Exactly.So call your manager and work on that.I’ll take care of Jesse.”

I’m notsurprised when Jesse doesn’t immediately answer my text, so I try a call next.I expect the same result, but I’m relieved by the click of a connection.

“Hello…”

My heart sinks.

“Shit, are you high, man?”

“Luke?”