The Secret of Ella and Micha

respond.
    ***
    One week passes and I still don’t hear from Micha. He won’t call me or answer my texts, and his phone is going straight to voicemail. His mom has no idea where he is either and she’s starting to get really worried.
    Ever since I returned from the bridge, little images of what happened when Micha picked me up that night have been flickering through my head. Something infinite happened that night, not with Micha, but with me.
    I arrive at the conclusion, while I’m sitting out on my porch, staring at his vacant driveway, that it’s time to get to the bottom of what’s going on with Micha. There is only one person I could think of who might know where he is. Ethan. And I need backup.
    “What are we trying to get out of him?” Lila asks as I drive up to the shop Ethan works at.
    “Where Micha is.” I tell her, putting the shifter into park. “And I think Ethan might know.”
    Her forehead scrunches as she eyes the open garage door. Ethan is behind a car being worked on, tossing a screwdriver and catching it like a baseball. “But why am I here?”
    “Because you’re my backup.”
    “And what exactly is it you want me to do?”
    “I’m not sure yet.” I bite my nail, assessing the situation.
    Ethan is dressed in a nice pair of jeans and plaid button-down shirt, not his work clothes, which means he can leave if he wants to and he probably will, making this as difficult as possible. Especially if Micha told him not to tell me.
    He tips his head back and laughs at something his dad said. Then his eyes find my dad’s Firebird and his expression drops. I open the door and he throws down the tool and runs through the shop. I jog across the gravel and swing open the front door, leaving Lila behind.
    Sitting behind the counter is Mrs. Gregory, Ethan’s mother who has the same dark hair and brown eyes as Ethan. She looks up quickly from a magazine and her eyes brighten.
    “Ella, is that you?” She gets up from the stool and rounds the counter to give me a hug. “I didn’t know you were back, honey.”
    “For the summer, I am.” My eyes skim the room and the shop. “Is Ethan in there?”
    She points over her shoulder. “He just ran back into the storage room. You want me to go get him?”
    “Would you mind if I did?” I ask politely.
    “Sure, hun.” She steps aside and lets me behind the counter.
    The storage room is lined with rows and rows of shelves holding parts for cars. It’s quiet, dark, and the sink has a drip.
    “Ethan,” I say, shutting the door quietly behind me. “I know you’re in here.”
    “I hear a shuffle from the back corner diagonal from me. I hurry down the tire aisle, peeking through the shelf, and catch him running up the other side. I skitter backwards, hoping to cut him off at the end by the door.
    “Ethan will you please talk to me?” My voice echoes back at me. Looking left then right, I exit the aisle. “Look, I know he told you where he went, so will you please just tell me… or at least tell me if he’s okay.”
    He suddenly reveals himself from an aisle a few rows down. “He told me not to tell you where he was.”
    I press my lips together at the sting in my heart. “I need to know. I’m worried about him.”
    He props his elbow on the edge of a shelf. “Well, now you know how he’s felt for the last eight months.”
    The painful feeling of reality sinks in. “Please, please, will you just tell me where he is. It’s killing me not knowing.”
    He eyes me over, like he’s hunting for my sincerity. “He went to see his dad.”
    My jaw almost hits the floor. “When did he find out where his dad was?”
    Ethan sighs and leans against the shelf. “He started calling the house a few weeks ago, asking to talk to Micha. Micha wouldn’t talk to him, but then a few days ago, he finally decided it was time to go see him.”
    “Is he still with his dad?” I ask.
    He hesitates. “No… Let’s just say the visit didn’t go very well.”
    I force the lump in my throat down. “Is he okay?”
    “I’m not sure….He was staying with some of our old friends over at Farrows Park the last time I talked to him.”
    “Is he coming back?”
    “Again, I’m not sure.”
    I sink to the cold concrete floor and let my head fall into my hands. “Why didn’t he tell me?”
    Ethan puffs out a loud breath and sits down beside me. “Because he didn’t want you dealing with his problems on top of your own. He worries about you all the time. It’s