Trigger

nine • runs

The following night we decide to have a combined dinner again, and once more, Katherine asks Finn to try and get Levi to come down. Finn looks hesitant, but he does anyway, giving me a soft and reassuring smile before heading upstairs. Katherine insists that we wait to see if Levi will come down before starting and I agree wholeheartedly- it'll show Levi that we want him downstairs.

Sadly- not much to my surprise, though- Finn comes down without his cousin. Something's up, though, because Finn looks seriously worried. I'm worried that Levi may have had another breakdown, but instead, Finn slowly leans against the doorframe and asks Katherine, "Where is he? He's not in his room."

Katherine narrow her eyes in confusion, Jeffery stops setting the table and my mom and dad both look up in confusion. I feel my own heart begin to race. Katherine hesitantly replies with her own question, "What do you mean he's not in his room? He was there an hour ago."

"He was nowhere upstairs, I checked. I called him too, he didn't pick up and I didn't hear his phone ring."

Katherine begins to get anxious, "Can you check outside?"

"I'll come," I offer. Finn nods and I follow him outside. We check everywhere in silence- outside on the dock, behind near the swings, in between the cabins, by the bonfire, the shooting range- but he's not anywhere. We eventually begin to shout his name but get no answer.

"All the boats are here," Finn mutters in confusion, rubbing the back of his neck as he tries to figure out where his cousin is. "So are the kayaks. There's not really anywhere else he could have gone. Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless he went into the forest," Finn says, looking back into the huge span of forest behind us. Thinking about an unstable Levi in there makes the trees look taller and more daunting. I don't want him in there alone. "Yeah, I think that's where he went."

"Do you think he'll come back?"

"He should," Finn murmurs, "He probably just went on a trail. Let's give it a couple of hours."

Finn gestures for me to follow him back into his cottage, and I do, but no matter how hard I try, my eyes can't seem to leave the forest.

x

Two hours later, it's beginning to get dark, and Levi still isn't back.

I'm beginning to get worried sick, and I'm not the only one. Katherine is sitting on the swing, eyes constantly on the forest, Jeffery is pacing- constantly going inside the cottage only to rush back outside in a few minutes- while Finn is quietly, arms crossed over his chest, eyes darting everywhere. My mom and dad are trying to console Katherine and Jeffery, but I can tell that they're getting really worried too and that they don't even believe their own words when they say that Levi will be alright.

Eventually, Katherine loses her patience and gets off from the swing, my mom following her as she approaches Finn and I. "We need to do something. It's getting really dark. Have you been calling him?"

"I've called him thirty times, mom," Finn sighs. "He's not picking up." Katherine goes silent, closing her eyes as she tries to get herself together. "Let me go in and look for him."

"Finn, it's too dark. You have no idea what trail he could've gone on- if he even went on a trail at all- and you can get lost way too easily."

"Mom, what're we going to do, just stand here and wait for him to come back? He's been out longer than two hours- Levi never goes out for walks that long. He should be back by now!"

"You don't know where he is, Finn!"

"I could at least try," he insists.

Katherine and Finn stare each other down in a dangerous silence. Jeffery finally decides to interfere, gently saying, "Katherine, maybe he could try. As long as he doesn't go too far, takes a flashlight and stays on the trails."