Chapter 31

-Pax-

I felt awkward without Farley to rely on. He left around ten minutes ago, and I was starting to worry. Although, I had been distracted through those minutes. Mary and I were having a discussion about her ornaments when she stood up and hurried out the room.

"Just one moment dear, I have something that might be useful for you." She shuffled around in the cupboard which I assume was under the stairs. "I've just got to find it."

"It's okay," I said with a slightly shaky voice. "Take your time." I didn't know what she was looking for, but she had given me a surprise when she jumped to her feet. I thought that I had missed Farley coming in, or that something terrible had happened. I sipped my lemonade again. I really enjoyed it, but it gave me a strange sensation in the back of my mouth which I wasn't expecting.

There was a noise of static in the room, it came from the right, but I didn't know what was causing it. I learnt what it was when Iris made a reference I didn't understand. The pack did that a lot, but surprisingly, I wasn't afraid to ask them to explain themselves.

I traced patterns on the settee, following the design of circles and lines until Mary returned. "It's a bit rusty. It'll need a good cleaning," she said, coming closer than she had been before. I was confused with what 'it' was, but I didn't have to think for long. "Here you go." She placed something in my hand.

I opened my mouth, about to ask what it was. Though somehow, I felt some familiarity with the object. The handle was made out of rubber, but it felt very strange. I gripped the handle with my right hand and felt the object with my left. It was long and thin. There were occasional bumps in the surface until I got to the bottom, where a sphere turned.

I couldn't help the grin that creeped onto my face, it felt like it was permanent. "Is this what you were telling me about on the bus?" I asked hopefully. I twirled the object in my hands, causing something soft to brush against my face. "Whoops."

Mary laughed. "Yes, it used to belong to a friend of mine. He just so happened to have a spare one. So, he didn't need this. He knew that I am quite a social lady, and assumed I knew someone who would make use of it."

The thing which hit me in the face was a string which went through the body of the cane. The ball at the bottom was smooth, clearly never used.

"What if he needs it?" I asked. I felt coolness rush to my fingertips. This used to belong to someone else, he was kind enough to give it to Mary, but he might need it in the future. He would come back for it, and I would have it. I was unsure if I would describe it as guilt, but it wasn't pleasant.

Mary laughed even more. "He can get himself another one, that one was given to him." She paused for a moment. "I think he'd be happy if you were to take it, he didn't have one when he was your age. He used to always tell me about getting his own cane."

I wanted to jump up and down in joy. I wanted to yell, and I wanted to thank her a million times. I found myself turning to Farley, before I remembered that he wasn't there.

"Can I go show Farley?" I asked. I couldn't wait. He was on the phone too, which must mean that something important has happened.

My mind tumbled, remembering the fact that we were running away from Kian's pack. I had to go see him.

"Why don't you give the cane a go?" Mary suggested. "You want to be in the room just around the corner from this one; just feel your way around the wall."

I stood up and held the cane in my right hand. I pretended like it was my stick, just rolling it across the ground. It was a lot easier to use than a stick, and the grip was much softer.

The cane made a few loud noises whenever it was jerked to a stop. Mary's kitchen wasn't narrow, but I was on the left of it, so I kept hitting what felt to be cupboards. I followed the counter until I came to a gap and felt forward with my free hand. There was a door. I pushed it open, expecting Farley to be close-by.

He wasn't a fact which made my heartbeat faster and worry start to cloud my thoughts. Was he alright? Did he get some bad news? Why can't I hear him?

I should've been able to hear him. I could hear birds, static, laughter, voices, and many more sounds which weren't Farley.

I walked down the path, there was only one way to go. I used my cane and wondered why Farley wasn't speaking. He might not have noticed me, that was the most likely reason. I walked down the narrow path, hitting each side of the pavement, which was filled with dirt judging by the smell.

I walked until I reached something that hit my leg, I bent down and felt that it was a bench. There was a smell in the air that I couldn't distinguish, it smelt like a jar which Caspian kept, or Rowan's tea the night before last. It was like tainted vinegar.

My hand hit something as I sat. I put the cane next to me and picked up the object. It was a phone. The weight was familiar, as well as the smell of mint, which Farley always kept in his pocket.

"Shit," I muttered. Farley wasn't here and he left his phone behind. He didn't say anything to me or Mary. He wouldn't have left his phone if it was connected to the other pack members.

I felt the surface of the phone for damages. There was only a chip in the corner. I don't think that it was dropped in his hurry.

I stood up and walked back to Mary's house. I needed help, no matter how dangerous it was to tell her what's wrong.

"Mary?" I called into the living room. She shuffled a little bit, so I knew that she hadn't moved. "Do you know how to use Farley's phone?" My voice was trembling. This was the first time I had been properly alone, without knowing where Farley was, or if the rest of the pack was near.

Mary hummed and patted the seat next to her. I didn't want to sit but I felt like it would only be polite. I sat next to her, her body heat was warm and somewhat comforting. "Let me see here," she said as a loud and echoey clicking came from in front of her.

I flinched at the loud noise but handed the phone to her. "He wasn't outside, I think he left in a hurry," I said with a very pathetic attempt at keeping my voice steady.

"I'm sure he's alright," Mary said and put a hand on my shoulder. "We could always call his parents or Caspian if he's not got a message." That was what I was trying to do in the first place. I wondered if she knew the phone number of everyone who lived around here. As she was introduced to me as 'a family friend who used to work at my school' from Farley, I wasn't expecting her to know so much.

"Okay," I said. I didn't know what she was doing. Nothing was helping right now other than her presence. "What's on the screen?" I asked.

"Ah sorry, I forgot." She cleared her throat. "It's asking for a password; do you know what it could be?"

I shook my head and ran a hand down my face. My lips were set in a frown. I didn't know what his password could be. I knew what they were due to Iris needing Rowan's for her research.

"It's a number," Mary added. "Four digits, apparently."

I slumped in the seat and thought. I didn't know of any four numbers which were particularly special to Farley. He could've just used '1234' as far as I'm aware.

"How many chances do we have?" I asked Mary. "Would it just be easier to phone our house?" 'Our house'. The words made a shiver run down my spine. We were living together, that's normal. I lived with other people my entire life. But it felt different this time.

"Yes, that's probably the best idea." The settee dipped as she stood up. Her footsteps made a lot of noise, not because they were heavy, but because of the shoes she was wearing.

The static stopped and was replaced by clicking. A ringing soon followed, louder than the one on Farley's phone.

"Hello?" Lana's voice came through the phone. The quality was horrendous, I had to refrain from pressing my ear to my shoulder to protect it. I had to listen to what was being said and I would look strange if I did that.

"Lana, it's Mary. I've got Pax here and Farley seems to have left," Mary explained.

Shuffling came from the other side of the phone. "Left?" Lana repeated. "Did he come for a visit? Brin swore that he saw the boys out of the window around an hour ago."

I subconsciously nodded, answering the question which hadn't been asked.

"Yes, that was them. They practically sprinted here. In this heat too. Honestly." Mary cleared her throat. "Anyway, we were wondering if you had heard from anyone. Pax was left here, and we don't know where Farley is. We tried to sign into his phone, but we need a code."

Distant mutterings came from Lana's end. "His password is 3537, that's the number he had at school, and he never changed it. We'll come around in a few minutes."

The line made a long beeping noise. This time, I actually did cover my ears.

"Sorry again dear," Mary said as she returned to her original seat. "At least they're coming over. They might help." She paused for a moment. "Do you remember the code she said?"

I resisted the smile which wanted to creep onto my face during this serious situation. "3537," I answered.

Her nails tapped against the phone screen, causing another click. "It seems that he last had a phone call from Rowan. Maybe they needed him quickly and he's expecting to come back soon?"

I leant forward on the seat. "I feel like he would've said something. It's not like him to just leave." I felt like this wasn't my judgement to make. I didn't know him very well, or rather for very long. Mary has known him for years, whilst I've only known him for a few months. 

Hello!! Thank you for reading :D

So, the question of the day is kind of inspired by something which happened yesterday. 

Do you guys like football? Is it big in the family?

I'm not much of a fan, but I used to go to the football with my dad and it was nice to be in that kind of atmosphere, along with getting out of the house. Yesterday, we were invited to my cousin's house to watch the football. I didn't really want to go and I wasn't looking forward to it, but I ended up having quite a nice time!