Page 80 of Fool Me Twice

“There’s a first time for everything.”

Rodrigo paced the room, pushing his fingers through his hair. “Did he say anything to you?”

“He barely spoke after school.”

He let out a curse. “I can’t believe this. I did this.” He slammed his fist into his hand.

I wasn’t going to argue with that, but we didn’t have time to stand around and feel angry or sorry. We needed to get our butts in gear.

“Where would he go?” I asked.

“I don’t know.” He stopped pacing. “But the property’s whole perimeter is outfitted with security cameras. No one leaves or comes in without it being recorded.”

“Good.” If Sebastián had run away, then we could at least get a sense of what direction he’d gone in.

“I’ll look through the rest of the house,” I said. “Just in case he’s still here.”

“I will call the security guard.” Rodrigo pulled his phone from his pocket, and I noticed his hands shaking.

“Hey.” I touched his arm. “We’ll find him. I’m sure he didn’t go far. Most kids turn around after a couple blocks, anyway.”

His throat rolled with a swallow. “Thank you.”

With a nod, I left the room.

In such a big house, it wasn’t easy to pick where to start, but I knew I couldn’t rule any corner out. It was possible that Sebastián hadn’t even left the house but had instead decided to hide in a closet or under a bed somewhere in the hope that Rodrigo would think he was gone and freak out.

As I searched each room, my panic slowly rose. Rio was a big city. If Sebastián had run off into it and gotten lost, it could be hours before we found him. Or days.

Tears pricked my eyes, and I held back a sob as I opened the closet in Melba’s bathroom. A part of me wanted to get angry at Rodrigo for causing this, but he was even more upset than I was.

“Georgia!” Rodrigo called from somewhere in the house.

“I’m coming!” I sprinted out of the room.

“Down here!”

At the landing, I looked over into the foyer. Rodrigo stood near the door with the security guard, who held a tablet.

“Did you find him?” I couldn’t get down the stairs fast enough.

Rodrigo’s lips were thin, his jaw clenched. I already knew his answer wouldn’t be a good one.

“Look.” He pointed at the tablet.

There, a video feed showed Sebastián, backpack on, climbing over the back wall. The time stamp was from twenty minutes earlier.

I tried to control my breathing. “Okay. It wasn’t that long ago. He can’t have gone far. Maybe he’s even still on this block, just trying to freak us out.”

Rodrigo looked less certain. I couldn’t tell whether he was about to punch a wall or faint.

“I will notify the police,” the security guard said.

Rodrigo nodded once. “Yes.”

The security guard pulled his phone from his pocket and left the foyer.

Rodrigo’s hands had curled into his fists, and he was staring off into nothing.