Nineteen

Where's Gideon?

We sat inside her car, driving down the road. Val mentioned that she was excited to meet Gideon’s father, but I was scared. It took me all my strength to not let Val in on what she had signed up for. I figured she’d find that out for herself when she met Gideon’s dad.  

Eventually, we pulled up in front of Gideon’s baby blue house. Val climbed out of her side of the car, but I didn’t move. I couldn’t. Val looked back at me and scoffed. 

“Oh, come on you big baby,” she teased. “Are you scared?” 

I chuckled. “No.”  

But I was. Regardless, I made my way towards the front door. Val knocked on the door, and we waited. About thirty seconds passed, and no one answered. Val knocked again. About a minute later, we heard grumbling and footsteps making their way to the front door. I braced myself. And for good reason, because when the door opened, there stood Gideon’s father, angry and drunk as always. He had on the same white tank top as the first day I met him, only it was dirtier and covered in more stains.  

“Hello sir! We’re…-” Val started, but he cut her off. 

“Who the hell are you?” his dad grumbled. 

Val looked taken aback. “Well…,” she continued. “I’m Valerie and this is Riley…” 

The large man darted his gaze toward me. “Wait a minute-…” He sized me up. “Are you the f****t that Gideon brought home?”  

Ouch. That word. I’ll admit, it wasn’t the first time I’d been called the slur, but it was the first time it stung. Gideon’s dad’s smirked as he watched my anger level rise. Val’s eyes darted back and forth between his father and I, looking horrified.  

“Um… excuse me? Don’t…-” 

Val’s sentences were interrupted once again, but this time by me. “Listen,” I told him. “We’re only here for Gideon. Will you let him know we want to talk to him?” 

His father scoffed. “Like I give a s**t.” 

I was trying hard to control my anger, but everything Gideon had told me and shown me about his father flooded my mind. I didn’t know if I could control it any longer. I peered past his dad’s head, into the house.  

“Gideon??” I shouted, in hopes that he might hear me. But the man stopped me immediately.  

He pushed me back away from him. “Hey,” he scolded. “I don’t know where the f**king kid is.” Oh no. He didn’t know where he was? 

“You don’t know where he is?” Val questioned in a judgmental tone. “Isn’t he your son? Aren’t you worried?” 

“Hardly,” he scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I think he went swimming. Now leave me alone.” Then he slammed the door shut. 

I glanced over at Val to see if she was as infuriated as I was. But she just looked surprised. And sort of disgusted. She met my eyes and when she noticed I was upset, she said, “Come on Riley. We’ll go find him.” She started making her way back towards her car. “Swimming, huh? It’s kind of cold for that, don’t you think?” 

I shrugged. “Any indoor pools around here?” I asked, climbing into the passenger seat. 

She shook her head. “No. The only places someone could go swimming is the lake or the hole.” 

“The hole?” 

“Yea, it’s about thirty minutes from here. Real pretty swimming hole surrounded by woods.” 

“Interesting. I’ve never heard about that.” 

She nodded. “You’d think it’s a popular summer hang-out spot, but it’s not.” She fastened her seat belt and pulled out of the driveway. “I’ll take you to it and while we’re there we can look for Gideon. How about that?” 

I smiled, but something inside me was telling me to prepare for the worst. Something fishy was going on. Why did Gideon have energy to go swimming but not text me back? And why would he go swimming in this weather to begin with?  

Val pulled out onto the main road, but then started driving toward my house. Eventually, she’d passed my street. By now, we had passed most of the neighborhoods and were starting to enter the densely wooded part of town. As I looked out the window, I noticed the green trees stretched up toward the sky. After a while, the pavement faded away. We continued down the gravel road, the ride becoming a bit bumpier than I would’ve liked. 

I watched the trees fade from view. And then suddenly, Val stopped her car. I looked out the windshield, but I didn’t see the swimming hole. “Where is it?” I asked her. 

She glanced at me and smiled. “You’ll see.” She jumped out of the driver’s seat and started walking further into the woods along a small trail. “Come on!” she called. 

Reluctantly, I followed her down the trail. She started picking up the pace, and I did the same, careful not to trip on any rocks of tree roots. I was so focused on where I stepped that I didn’t even notice when we approached the hole until Val told me to look up.  

I walked closer to get a better view. I stood on top of a large rock, looking down at and what looked like a lagoon mermaids would frolic in. The water started off shallow, but then grew deeper the farther I looked. In the shallow, teal-green water, you could clearly see the bottom, including rocks and fish. In the deeper water, the teal faded into a darker green that matched the trees surrounding the hole. The water shimmered in the sunshine, calling my name. But I knew it was too cold to swim. 

That’s why I was so concerned about Gideon’s apparent longing to do so. Val started making her way down the rock trail that led to the pebble shore. I followed, careful not to fall.  

“So,” Val said when she reached the bottom and was standing safely on the beach. “This is the hole.” 

“It’s beautiful,” I replied. 

Val smiled. “You and Gideon will have it all to yourself.” 

The thought of Gideon and I enjoying this beautiful natural pool alone made me happy. “But we need to find him before that happens,” I reminded Val. 

She rolled her eyes. “You’re right.” She held her hand above her eyes, blocking the sun, and gazed around the perimeter of the hole. “If he went swimming, he’d leave his stuff somewhere. Look for a shirt. Or shoes or something.” 

I started scanning the area as well. There were a couple large rocks near the deeper water, but they were all mainly near the shore. I turned around to scan the rock trail we’d just climbed down. I didn’t see anything, so I started made my way farther along the shore, making sure to only walk where it was dry. 

I glanced up at Val for a minute to see if she’d seen anything, but she was gazing into the water, probably at the minnows. I took another step, and to my surprise, water started leaking into my shoe. I looked back  at the ground and groaned. I walked back up onto the shore and sat down on a rock. 

I didn’t know where Gideon was, and I was starting to get really worried. I continued gazing at the rocks, hoping something would catch my eye. And right before I was about to give up, something did. Sitting on a large rock to the left of the trail, I caught a flash of gold, next to something black. I carefully made my way up to the rock. When I approached it, my heart dropped. A black hoodie and a pair of worn socks laid on the rock. And I know what you’re thinking. They could’ve been anyone’s. But along with the clothes, also lay Gideon’s lion pendant.  

“Val!” I called.  

“What’s up?” she called back. “Did you find something?”  

I couldn’t answer her. I heard Val starting to walk toward me. I didn’t need to turn around to see her reaction when she saw Gideon’s belongings. I heard her stop in her tracks. “Oh… that’s….,” she stuttered. “Those are his stuff.” 

Still staring at the pendant, I tried to swallow the frog in my throat. He’d never take it off.  

“Hey, Riley,” Val continued, placing her hand on my shoulder. “We’ll find him. Okay? I’m sure he’s fine.” 

I turned toward her and tried to smile, but it was no use. Val knew I was scared. She started calling his name. 

“Gideon??” She attempted to run up the rocks but tripped in the process. Though, she ignored it like it didn’t happen and walked back into the woods, calling Gideon’s name. I eventually followed her. 

“Gideon?? Where are you?” I whipped my head around frantically, hoping to project my voice as much as possible. “Gideon??” I started running through the woods, dodging trees as I approached them. “Come on Gideon.”  

After a few minutes of no luck, I stopped. Out of breath, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Gideon’s number. I figured it was worth a shot to call him. It rang once, twice, and a third time. No answer.  After the fifth ring, the sound of Gideon’s voice filled my ears. For a second, I got excited. For a second, my mind told me everything was okay, and Gideon was right behind me. But then reality hit me once again like a brick.  

“Hi, this is Gideon. Sorry I missed your call. Leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon I can.” The voicemail was short, but it was so sweet. I didn’t realize how beautiful and smooth his voice sounded until now. I relished the temporary nostalgia his voice gave me until the feeling was replaced by my now familiar-loneliness. I couldn’t do it anymore. I collapsed onto the forest floor, crossed my legs, and hid my face in my arms, exhausted.  

 

 

~ 

 

 

After a while, I sensed Val standing over me. I looked up at her sympathetic face. 

“Riley,” she started. She opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it, looking at the ground. 

Whatever she had to say, it must’ve been hard to get out. She let out a sigh and continued. “Riley, I think we should call the police.” I didn’t react as you probably think I did. I just smiled weakly and nodded. I was dreading the possibility of having to call the police, but it was a logical thing to do at this point. I don’t know why we hadn’t called them earlier. 

Val dialed the three numbers and waited while the phone rang. It didn’t take long for someone to pick up, either. A woman with a concerned tone asked, “9-1-1. What is your emergency?” 

 “My friend is…” Val glanced at me, and we held eye contact. “We think something bad happened to our friend.” The woman asked for our address before hanging up. She said someone would show up soon. But soon would’ve been four days ago.  

When the police car eventually pulled up near the swimming hole, two men got out. One of them was tall and tan. He had a bald head, yet he looked like he was in his 30s. The second man was pale and a bit shorter. He had a slim face and grey hair, which made him look slightly older than the taller officer. I assumed the shorter man was the officer in charge because he walked over to us with a sort of cocky confidence.  

“How’s it going today?” he asked Val and I. 

We exchanged glances but said nothing. The officer cleared his throat and continued. “Alright, I’m Officer Bennett, and this is Officer Davis,” he said, gesturing to the taller officer. “What seems to be the problem today?” 

“Well,” Val started. “Our friend has been missing for a couple weeks.” She glanced at me. “This is his boyfriend.” She nodded towards me. “He started getting worried, so we went out to look for him and we found his stuff on a rock here.” 

Officer Bennett nodded like he was trying to understand the information. “But not him?” 

Val shook her head. “No. We didn’t know who to call but we have a bad feeling.” 

He nodded again and pulled out a notepad. “Okay, and why’s that?” 

Val looked at me, offering me to answer. “Well,” I said, clearing my throat. “His father is abusive. And he’s the only one who could tell us exactly where Gideon is, but he didn’t seem to know or care.” 

“Okay,” Officer Bennet said. “You said his name is Gideon?” 

I nodded. “Last name?” he questioned.  

“Paige,” I answered. 

He scribbled his name down on the notepad. “Why don’t you show Officer Davis his stuff?”  

Officer Davis walked toward us, and Val started walking back toward the hole. I stood where I was at first. I couldn’t move. Now it was real. The police were here. Looking for Gideon. Who knows what they might find? I took a deep breath and slowly started walking after Officer Davis and Val.  

When we arrived at the swimming hole, Val showed Officer Davis Gideon’s things sprawled out on the rock. 

Officer Davis squatted down to get a better look. “Alright, we got a hoodie. Some socks...” He pulled out some gloves from his pocket and slid his oddly muscular hands inside them. He then carefully picked up Gideon’s pendant. “A necklace.” The officed looked back at us. “And you guys didn’t touch anything did you? This is everything that was on the rock.” I nodded.  

He pulled out a walkie talky and spoke into it. “Officer Bennett, can you grab some evidence bags before you meet us down here?” 

There was a pause. And then, “Got em.” A few minutes later, Officer Bennet arrived holding evidence bags with gloves on his hands. “Okay guys,” he said as he started putting Gideon’s belongings in the bag. “We’re going to hold on to these until we know what happened to... or where you friend is.”  

Val and I exchanged glances and then nodded.  

“Come on Davis,” Officer Bennet said. “We’re going to search the area for your friend. Or any clues that might lead us to him. Can you describe him for us? We might need a sketch later as well.” 

I cleared my throat. “Well, he’s like 5’8. Um... white male. Blue eyes, icy... kind of platinum hair. You’d know it if you see it.” I paused. I didn’t know what else to say. Gideon’s face flashed in my mind. I knew exactly what Gideon looked like, but I didn’t know how to describe his face other than the basics. I felt as though I might cry. I bit down. No. Don’t cry. 

“I don’t know he has dark, bushy eyebrows. Usually wearing a long sleeve shirt,” I continued. “He...” My voice cracked. I swallowed the frog in my throat and Val put a hand on my shoulder. I glanced at her. 

“It’s okay,” she whispered. I tried to smile at her. 

I turned back to the officers and shrugged. “He’s skinny. I don’t know, she would probably be able to help you more. She’s known Gideon for years.” 

But Officer Bennet shook his head. “Nope, that’s great. Thanks.” He looked up at me. “We’ll find your friend. Don’t worry.” Then just like that, he turned and started walking back up toward his car.  

Officer Davis started following him, but then stopped. He turned back to face Val and I. “Hey guys, I wouldn’t worry.” He hesitated. “Look, if something happened to Gideon, we’ll know.” 

He smiled at us sympathetically. “Go home. Get some rest.” Then he turned and followed in the direction Officer Bennet had walked.