Page 35 of Nevermore (A Cruel Love #1)

THIRTY-THREE

SANTIAGO

I’ve been gone for far too long.

As I stumble through the front door—my duffel bag catching on the knob and jolting me backwards—I groan with impatience.

This weekend has been absolute hell. I didn’t actually end up throttling Kingston because I realize that’ll get me nowhere.

He’ll get what’s coming to him and I’ll make sure of that.

No one destroys what’s mine without paying the price.

And while the orientation itself was fine, the yearning I felt to be back home with Reign was too strong to resist.

We talked all the nights while I was gone and my querido was still a bit skittish every time.

I know he’s missing me the way I miss him.

I could see it in his blue eyes—that same pain I felt—and in the way he couldn’t seem to snap himself out of his funk.

I tried my best to keep a positive attitude, which is ridiculous because I’m not usually the one who does that, but nothing worked.

No, nothing but being in each other’s arms again will fix the ache deep in my heart.

Even though it’s late, I know my father and Holly must still be up in their suite, but I don’t have time to stop and say hello. The one person I want to see is probably already passed out. Hopefully, if he listened, he’s in my bed waiting for me.

I make my way to our wing and drop my things out in the hall next to the piano.

It’s pathetic how I practically race to my room to see Reign.

Everything about him is going to set me at ease, from his unruly nest of blond curls to his sleepy smile.

I grin to myself when I see the door cracked open, and my heart races at the thought that in only a few steps, we’ll be reunited again.

I know that when I see him, I’ll never want to leave his side again.

The good thing is, I never will again.

Reign isn’t interested in going to college. He’s made that abundantly clear. Even though his brain is beautifully gigantic with so much promise it’s insane, it’s not the kind of life he wants.

And I’ve decided that the only life I want is with him in it.

Hudson and Kingston thought it was crazy, and my father is going to have a fit, but I refuse to go off to college without Reign.

Whether I can convince him to go, or whether we’ll spend our days in Crescent Hills, I don’t care.

I’ve already turned in my withdrawal form to the Dean of Students, so it’s too late to back out now.

I know Reign’s going to be pissed at first. He’ll look at me with those big blue eyes and tell me I’m an idiot. Fine, if that’s what I am, so be it. We can be two idiots together, discovering what life has to offer, and always doing it with each other by our side.

When I enter my room, I don’t turn the lights on to not wake him.

I chuck off my shoes and whip off my shirt.

My fingers fumble eagerly with my zipper as I strip all the way down to my boxers.

Feeling through the darkness, I find my bed and crawl in.

I automatically go to what’s become my side of the bed and reach an arm out for my querido .

But he’s not there.

I sit up and frown. The spot underneath my fingertips is cold, so he wasn’t here at all tonight.

Disappointment settles in my stomach, but I push that away.

He was probably tired when I texted him earlier.

I didn’t get a response but didn’t think anything of it.

He’s an early bedtime kind of person which made me assume he was already passed out.

Well, fuck this. I can’t wait until the morning to see him.

I don’t dress as I get out of bed and head down the hallway. Going back out, I take the stairs two at a time towards his room. The door is closed when I reach it, but I don’t bother knocking. I walk in and head straight to his bed but?—

He’s not here.

It takes my brain a second to catch up. Where the fuck is he?

While I love my sweet querido , he doesn’t have any friends in Crescent Hill.

I hate to admit he hasn’t gotten accustomed to this lifestyle yet and has had a hard time connecting with people.

The only one I can think of that he’d be with is Hudson, and I dropped him off at his house on the way back.

I turn to go to my room and call him when I spot it.

His little squirrel figurine isn’t on his nightstand.

I’m not too sure why I notice that, or why it matters, but it does. He loves that stupid squirrel—all of his carvings really—so why wouldn’t it be here? It’s when I flip on the lights to take a closer look that I see it.

Nothing… Nothing is here.

The dumb cowboy hat he always wears is missing from the stand next to his bed. All of his whittling tools aren’t on his desk where they usually are. Panic starts to set in as I go to his closet and pry open the doors with so much haste, they nearly come off their hinges.

His clothes are gone.

My heart begins to race. Everything is gone. His shoes, his belts, his pants. I tease him about the fact that he hangs up all his T-shirts, and they’re missing too.

Taking a breathless step back, I spin slowly to confirm that nothing is here.

It’s empty, just like it was before he moved in and brought life to this shell of a room.

Confused, I race out of his room and back down to mine to get my phone.

I nearly trip over the stairs but I’m too frazzled to care.

Once I’m in, I dig through my discarded pants for my phone.

I don’t waste a second dialing his number, and I watch as it rings and rings and rings.

Nothing.

I pace the length of my room as I try again.

He doesn’t answer.

I keep trying for his phone as I leave my room and run towards my father and Holly’s suite.

This has to be some sort of misunderstanding.

He must have left to visit… a relative? Reign’s never mentioned an extended family, but it’s the only thing that makes sense.

Or maybe when I get to their room, I’ll find that Holly isn’t there either.

They could have taken a mother/son camping trip or something else that came up last minute.

His phone could have died while on their way to the campgrounds.

But he’s never talked about camping.

I reach my father’s wing and knock loudly at the door.

When no one responds, I do it again, banging my fist against the wood until it finally opens.

Holly’s on the other side. Her also messy hair is in a loose bun at the top of her head, and from the sleepy expression in her eyes, I can tell that I woke her up.

I don’t care.

“Santiago,” she mumbles, rubbing the sleep from her cheek as she blinks at me. “You’re back. How was?—”

“Where’s Reign?” I cut in. I’m in no fucking mood for pleasantries right now. All I want to know is where Reign is.

She blinks at me again and then frowns. “He didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?” I ask desperately. “Is he on a trip or something? Where is he?”

“Oh, honey,” she says sadly. “I wish it were somethin’ like that. He moved out.”

“ Moved out ,” I repeat, the panic evident in my voice as I shake my head. “That’s impossible. What do you mean he moved out?”

“He woke up this mornin’ and decided he wanted to leave. I know he hasn’t exactly felt comfortable here,” she explains, worrying the inside of her cheek. “My baby wasn’t happy here, so even though it was sudden, I get why he just wanted to get away.”

I ignore my racing heart and take a step closer. “But where did he go? Does he not have his phone on him? What exactly did he say?”

“Just that he couldn’t do this. That this life wasn’t for him and he needed to take some time to figure out what it is he really wants.”

Those words slice at my heart. I stagger back as if I’ve been slapped across the face. Not what he wanted ? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?

I can’t say goodnight to her or even bother to excuse myself.

I rush back to my room and to my phone to try calling him again.

Reign isn’t the type to be spontaneous like this.

There must be more to the story. I swear to God, if Kingston fucked with him somehow while we were gone, I’m going to kill him.

I try calling Reign again and the same thing happens. I’m taken to his voicemail where I leave a message. “ Querido , call me back. I don’t know what the fuck is happening right now and you need to explain yourself.”

I hang up and give it a few minutes. Shooting him a text, I sit at the edge of my bed as I stare at my screen. Two minutes pass, then five, then twenty. When he doesn’t answer neither my call nor my text, I try again.

Me: Reign. Where are you?

Nothing.

I call again, my fingers trembling on the phone as the dial tone rings on.

All I need to hear is his voice, that’s it.

As I start to put the pieces together, I realize that he must be having something along the lines of a quarter-life crisis.

He’s overwhelmed, Kingston fucked with his head, and he missed me.

This week was all kinds of weird and uncomfortable, and maybe he just needs a few days to get his head on straight.

I try to ignore the pain that he couldn’t do it with me, because I would have dropped everything for him. If he had so much as called, I would have raced back home to be with him. That’s the kind of thing you do for love.

It’s when I call the fifth time, however, that something in me breaks.

It only rings once.

I pull my phone back and stare. My jaw drops. He just… No, that must have been a mistake. Reign would never purposefully ignore one of my calls.

But I try again and the same thing happens.

“Reign,” I bark into the phone as I fill his voicemail. “What the actual fuck? Call me back.”

Me: I know things have been hard for you, but I’m right here. Just call me and we can figure it out together. I love you.

I wait impatiently. I tap on the screen every three seconds so it doesn’t go dark. I refresh my messages dozens of times.

Nothing.

He’s just… gone.