He believes if Sadde wanted to say goodbye she would have told him so.

Does Tobias happen to know what became of the collar.

Not really. He'd expect Sadde would mail it to her or something.

About three days later Sadde shows up on Renée's doorstep, still very much wearing Isabella's collar.

"...Sadde?"

"...hi. I. Um. Ran away from home. I hate my father. I miss Isabella. May I come in? ...is it a good idea for me to come in, I don't—don't know-"

"...I don't know either, I, I don't see how it can - come in anyway. She's at school but Alex is due home any minute."

"Okay."

He comes in.

"Can I get you anything?"

"I don't—um—food? A—any food. I guess."

He does not look well. In general. He looks like maybe he needs to sleep for twenty hours and eat a horse and take five consecutive showers. Maybe not in that order.

Renée gets him some leftover pasta and a packet of Pop Tarts and a glass of lemonade.

He does not eat it ravenously, because he needs to be polite and quiet. He eats it slowly and quietly and politely and, well, kinda submissively. Not exactly, but close enough.

"I can call Isabella on the phone if you don't want to wait for Alex."

"N—no, you shouldn't—she's probably in class, waiting for Alex is best, probably."

"If you're sure."

"I'm not really sure of a whole lot, right now," he tells his plate.

"I probably have her schedule around somewhere, she may be between classes..."

"...okay. Um. Thank you. I'm sorry."

Alex comes home before Renée manages to find the schedule. "Oh my god you aren't dead."

He startles and looks at Alex with what might be accurately described as begging eyes. "I'm not—I ran away—tell Isabella—is she free right now?"

"Dude for you she would be free if she were trying to walk a tightrope over a lotta alligators, what do I tell her?"

"Tell her—I don't know, there's a lot—Tobias is—he told me to break up with her—I couldn't so he—and I ran away."

"Yeah - uh she wants to know do you have like a plan a lawyer how long will it take him to notice you're gone -"

"Oh, he definitely knows by now. I don't really have anything, I was just—panic. I don't know," he says, opening his hands in a helpless gesture.