"Running isn't going to fix it," I told him, leaning on the wall as he sat on the stairs to pull on his sneakers. It'd turned freezing in the past week, so he was dressed for the cold in sweatpants, a hoodie, and a puffer vest.
"Fix what?" he replied, in total denial. His fingers trembled slightly as he tied his laces, and I sighed.
"That." I indicated to his shaking hands. "You need to go and fucking work on whatever tune is rattling around in your brain. I haven't seen you this bad since..." I trailed off because there was a line and I'd just come dangerously close to crossing it.
Steele's face hardened, his eyes tightening. "Thanks for the advice, Kody," he muttered, his voice betraying his anger and frustration at my blunder. "I'll be fine. I'm not... I can't..." He shook his head, his hand clenched. "I'll be fine."
I was inclined to disagree but also wasn't in the mood to argue with him.
"I'll spar with you later if you want," he offered, his hand resting on the door handle. "You don't exactly exude calm right now yourself."
I grimaced, but he was right. I was next level wound up and anxious. Maybe kicking the shit out of one of my best friends would help. Fuck knows I'd stopped winning against Arch about seven years ago when he started getting massive.
"Sure," I replied with a sigh. "Sounds good. Just keep your wits about you out there, okay?"
Steele flashed me a cocky grin, lifting his sweatshirt to show me his Glock 19 in a concealed holster. "Let them fucking try me, bro. I've got this."
I snorted a laugh, clapping him on the shoulder. He was probably more dangerous than both Arch and I combined. If MK's stalker really did want to follow through on their threats, they'd get a rude awakening.
"Guys," Archer called out, pausing Steele halfway through the front door. As much as he wanted to act unaffected by MK's silence, he cared. "She discharged early."
Archer's words were like a blow. "What? Like, earlier this morning? Why isn't she home then?"
He looked at me with a flat, don't-be-fucking-stupid expression. "No, like three days ago."
My heart pounded a bit too fast. "How? How could they discharge her? Was Samuel—"
"No," Archer shook his head. "No, Samuel and my mom are still in Italy on a yacht with their shitty friends. They're due to return in a few days, but last I spoke to them, Sam had no plans to come back early."
"So how was she discharged early?" Steele demanded. "I thought you—"
"She discharged herself," Archer cut him off, his jaw clenched and the vein in his temple throbbing. "She's a legal adult, and there's no reason why she can't."
He was right. She didn't need a direct family member to discharge her if the doctors declared her well enough to make that choice for herself. Stubborn girl.
I asked the question we were all thinking. "Where is she, then?"
Archer's eyes hardened further. "I have no idea."
"How is that possible?" Steele challenged him, and Archer's fist clenched at his side. I'd bet money he was thinking about punching Steele right in the face.
Stepping between them, I tried to diffuse the tension. "Back down, dude," I told Steele, giving him a hard glare. He scowled back at me but folded his arms and took a step outside to create a bit of space.
I turned back to Archer. "What do we know?"
"Just that she discharged herself and was picked up by an Uber. I'll find her, though. Even if it just helps you two stop sulking around here like your puppy got run over." He cocked a brow at Steele and I, like we were the ones sulking.
I scoffed a laugh, shaking my head. "Right. You're doing it for us."
Steele muttered something under his breath, then gave us a tight smile. "I'm out. Catch you losers later."
His breath fogged in front of him as he flipped his hood up, then jogged down the front steps and across the fresh dusting of snow on the driveway.
"We need to find MK before Steele slides back into that dark place again," I commented quietly as both Arch and I watched our friend jog down the long driveway.
Archer grunted a noise of agreement, his arms folded over his chest. "I'll find her," he said with total confidence, "but she's not going to willingly stay here."
He went back into the house, leaving me standing there shivering and mentally cursing