It was ten, Travis' usual bedtime, before he had to accept that Charlie wouldn't be coming over that night. That was fine. He couldn't come over every night, could he? He had been, but he was bound to need a break every now and then. It probably didn't mean Travis had done anything wrong.

Artemis didn't seem pleased by Charlie's absence. She'd come in a couple of hours ago and wouldn't stop whining at Travis, stalking around the flat and meowing in that demanding way of hers, like she thought he could solve everything and was just being stubborn. When he got up to lock the front door for the night she started up again, clearly frustrated with him.

The ringing of the phone silenced her, but the look she gave him as he went to answer it was frankly scornful.

"Forget something?" a woman's voice asked as soon as he answered. For a moment he couldn't place the slightly smug tone. How many adult women did he even know? His mum, but even if she had his number she wouldn't dare call him. Teachers? Why would a teacher have his number?

"Huh?"

"You're supposed to call me when Charlie goes over to your house," she said slowly, like he was an idiot. Oh. Charlie's grandmother. Of course. Wait, she thought Charlie was at his place?

"He's not here," Travis said, and already he could feel his stomach tightening, hot panic flooding his body. "I haven't seen him at all today."

Even without being able to see Charlie's grandmother, the stretch of silence on the other end of the line felt tense. "I'm calling the police."

"What?" Travis asked, but she'd already hung up.

From her tone, Travis guessed she had some ideas about what had happened. He hardly knew Charlie's grandparents, but he didn't even stop to lock up before hurrying next door.

Charlie's grandmother seemed surprised to see him on her doorstep, though he wasn't sure why. He was Charlie's friend, after all.

"How long has he been missing?" Travis asked as she let him in.

"I don't know," she said, the tears that had welled in her eyes threatening to spill as she shook her head. "He's so quiet, I never know when he's gone. I hadn't checked in on him since dinner. It could have been hours."

Travis wanted to comfort her, but he wasn't sure how. He was fairly sure she didn't even like him. "What do you think happened to him?"

She tried to answer, but she had to press her fingers to her lips to hold back a sob. She shook her head.

It was Charlie's grandpa, leaning against the door to the kitchen, who answered the question. "Wouldn’t be the first time his dad’s taken him, would it?"

Travis rubbed a hand over his face and took a slow breath in. Fuck. Travis somehow made it to the sofa and sat down heavily. Charlie’s dad had hurt him, and he’d do it again. Of course he would. Abusers never stopped being abusers. Not in Travis' experience.

The cops arrived, and they were glad he was there, because once it was explained that he was Charlie's friend and neighbour they wanted to talk to him as well. He felt lost, torn apart inside, but he was able to tell them a few things. That Charlie was probably wearing pyjamas, a hoodie, and no shoes. That they shouldn't expect to see signs of a struggle, because Charlie wasn't the best at defying orders.

Travis didn't cry. He never did when things got really bad. He shut down instead, his mind went distant. 

At some point, the female cop asking him questions shifted into a gentle tone usually reserved for victims. "I know it doesn't look good, but Charlie has something to come back to this time.”

Travis stared at the clock on the wall and felt out his teeth with his tongue. "He told me things were easier with his dad. Familiar, you know? I know things would have gotten better, they were getting better, but I don't know. He doesn't like to make a fuss."

The cop was silent for a moment. She couldn't refute that. "Are your parents home?"

Travis gave a sharp shake of his head. "I live with my brother."

"Is he home?"

"He's working."

"Can you call him? Get him to come home early? I don't think you should be on your own right now." The concern on her face was so obvious Travis had to turn away from it.

"I'm fine," Travis said as he stood. "Make sure someone calls me if anything happens, yeah? Charlie's grandma has my number."

The cop hesitated for a long moment, but eventually she nodded. "Take care of yourself."

Travis scoffed and headed for the front door. He'd been doing that for years.