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Ray wasn’t panicking. Definitely not. And he definitely wasn’t sending Tyler the 27th text asking where the boy was. Tyler’s phone was receiving all of the messages but didn’t read them. He also didn’t pick up the phone when Ray called. School ended over two hours ago and Tyler was yet to come home. Needless to say, Ray was about to go crazy with worry.
The moment he heard voices approaching the house, he rushed outside. “Reggie! Julie!” Ray ran up to his children. Usually, he’d greet Luke, Alex, Nick and Flynn too, but he didn’t even bother this time. That fact alone put Julie and Reggie on high-alert. Their dad was rarely this stressed about something and he always greeted their friends. Not even losing his keys or phone made him panic this much. “Is Tyler with you guys?” Ray asked.
“No? I thought he took the bus home?” Julie replied. Ray became even more restless. He hurried back inside before coming out again just seconds later. This time he had his car keys with him. They jiggingled in his hold as he walked up to the teens, “I’m driving over to Berenger. Call me if you hear from Tyler or if he turns up here at home.”
Before either Julie or Reggie could say something, Ray slammed the car door shut, backed out of the driveway and drove off, the tires screeching on the asphalt.
Upon arriving at the high school, his first stop was the administration’s office. Ray couldn’t imagine Tyler getting stuck in detention, but he was going to ask the office about it nonetheless.
“Hello, how can I help you?” the woman behind the desk asked. Her reading glasses sat perched on the tip of her nose as she looked up at Ray, waiting for his reply. “I was wondering if my son was in detention?” Ray asked. The woman typed something on the keyboard in front of her. “Your son’s name–” Ray didn’t even let her finish before answering, “Tyler. Tyler Prendergast-Peters.”
The woman’s eyes focused on the computer screen while she scrolled through a list. “He’s not in detention. Even if he was, detention ended an hour ago.” she replied. Then, she seemed to realise something. With a kind smile that made the skin around her eyes wrinkle, she took off her glasses and looked Ray straight in the eye, “I think I know where he might be.”
Hearing those words, a sense of relief washed over Ray, but he was still holding back his hopes . Only when he could actually see Tyler with his own two eyes he would be completely at ease. That is, if he wasn’t in trouble of course.
The woman got up from her seat and motioned for Ray to follow her as she made her way around the desk. They made their way out of the office, went down the hall, took a turn right before they turned left at the end of the hall. The only thing heard in the corridors was the sound of two pairs of footsteps that bounced off the walls. In the middle of the hallway, the woman slowed her pace until she abruptly stopped, which is what caused Ray to almost bump into her. “I am not sure if you are aware, but we faculty members cannot go home until the last student leaves. We would like to go home soon, so please for the love of our turtle mascot, take Tyler home.”
With that said, she turned around and left. Her heels produced an echo of clicking noises as she returned to the office.
Curiously, Ray inched closer to the closed door. Through the small window, he was able to see Tyler sitting behind a desk in the corner of the room. Ray read the sign next to the door: ‘student government’. Sometimes, he wondered if Tyler wasn’t taking this whole student body president thing too serious. Then again, Ray had never even ran for any position in student council back when he was in high school, so he guessed he couldn’t judge the amount of work Tyler put into his campaigns, all the while maintaining good grades.
Ray softly knocked on the door, trying not to startle Tyler. The boy looked up from his work. “Hey,” Ray said as he entered the room. Nobody else was in there. Not even Hadley, who Ray knew she was basically his son’s second-in-command. The first mate of the ship if the student government were a pirate crew. Coming closer to the desk, Ray noticed the stacks of papers spread across the desk. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting to hear when Tyler got up from behind the desk, but the “why are you here?” hadn’t been it. Almost immediately Tyler shook his head and looked back at his dad, “Sorry, that came out wrong. I meant: what are you doing here at school?”
“I’m here because I was worried about you, mijo .”
Tyler raised an eyebrow in confusion, “I don’t understand. Why would you be worried? I was here the entire time.”
Ray chuckled briefly. Clearly, he needed to talk with Tyler about letting him know his whereabouts. “Exactly,” he said pointedly, not accusatory, “You were here the entire time, but I was worried because I didn’t know where you went.”
“Oh…”
Tyler looked down at the floor and fiddled with his pen. “It’s okay, mijo .” Ray assured him, though Tyler didn’t seem one bit convinced as he continued to stare at his shoes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t… I didn’t know you wanted to know where I was.”
Of course Ray had been informed about Reggie’s and Tyler’s home life when he started fostering them, but he still hadn’t fully realised the extent of how little their biological parents cared for them. He knew Reggie’s and Tyler’s parents were rarely home, always leaving the two boys alone in the big house when they left the city to travel or visit conventions for work. And when they were actually home, it often resulted in screaming matches between mother and father, with Reggie and Tyler getting caught in the crossfire. Ray was glad he’d been able to take in the boys and loved that every day he got the opportunity to learn more new things about them, whether those be sad or happy things. Like right now.
Honestly, Ray was at a loss for words on what to say next. Though, maybe words weren’t necessary because Tyler launched himself in Ray’s arms, who immediately embraced him. They stayed like that for a minute, until Tyler slowly retracted his arms. He walked back around to the desk and picked up his phone, adorning the famous Berenger phone case. His eyes grew wide when he unlocked the device. “I’m so sorry,” he looked at Ray and then back at his phone. The number of missed phone calls and the amount of text messages flooded his notifications. “I promise I will never put my phone on silent again when working or studying.”
Ray chuckled, “you don’t have to do that. And you don’t have to promise me anything. Just a quick text when you’re home late is good with me.”
Tyler smiled softly, “Thanks, Ray. For… caring. And also for coming to get me, because I don’t want to walk all the way home.”
Ray laughed, as did Tyler. Home , Ray thought as he watched Tyler gather his stuff. The boy neatly put his papers away and collected everything he wanted to take home over the weekend. “You got everything?” Ray asked on their way out. Tyler nodded, “yeah…”
A look of hesitation crossed his face. “Can… Can you help me? There’s this history test coming up and I’m struggling.”
Ray’s heart somersaulted in happiness. Never before had Tyler asked for help when it came to school work. While some part of him was freaking out because Tyler asked for his help , another part of Ray’s mind was stuck with thoughts about how Reggie’s and Tyler’s parents probably never were available to help them with homework, if their hesitation when asking for help is anything to go by. “You don’t have to if—” Tyler started, but Ray’s excitement got the better of him. “I would love to, Tyler.” he said, a big smile on his face. Tyler looked down, but Ray still saw the corner of his mouth quirk up. Progress , Ray told himself. It would probably take some time, but he was really starting to think the Prendergast-Peters brothers were warming up to him.