The night stretched on endlessly, worry coiling tighter around your chest with each unanswered call, each unread text. JJ had been missing for hours, and though you knew how he could be when he needed space, this felt different. Something wasn’t right.

Your stomach churned as you checked your phone again, the screen glaring back at you with no new notifications. Desperation pushed you to search all the places he might go when he wanted to be alone: the beach, the Boneyard, even what used to be the Château. But no one had seen him.

Finally, you spotted him at the edge of a rundown dock, slumped on a rotting bench. The faint glow of a nearby streetlamp illuminated his figure—head bowed, shoulders tense, a bottle dangling loosely from his hand. The quiet lapping of water against the wood mingled with the distant hum of city life, but the stillness around JJ was suffocating.

As you stepped closer, the sharp tang of alcohol hit you, mingling with the unmistakable air of someone trying—and failing—to outrun their thoughts. Your heart pounded as you hesitated for a moment before finally moving toward him.