Where Are They?

TANNER*

Cora screamed with happiness as I placed her into her car seat and buckled her in. She was so excited to see her Nana after not seeing her for over a week. I helped Kaysen climb into my truck, got in, and then we headed off to Kaysen's parent's house.

I reached over and grabbed Kaysen's hand and squeezed it to reassure her that everything would be ok. Kaysen had been fidgeting and popping her fingers, and it was about to drive me nuts. The first rude uncalled-for thing that pops out of that woman's mouth will result in me picking up Cora and us leaving. I will not allow that woman to put Kaysen down in any way ever again.

After a fifteen minutes drive through town, we had arrived at Kaysen's mother's house. Nancy must have been watching through a window or something because she ran out of the house with a huge smile on her face and clapping her hands. I quickly cut the ignition and retreated from the truck to get Cora out of the back seat. Cora and Nancy ran to each other, and Nancy reached down to pick Cora up and kissed her cheeks, and hugged her.

"Nana, I have missed you," Cora said as she hugged Nancy.

"Nana has missed you very much, baby girl. I'm so glad that you are here," Nancy said as she walked back into the house.

I ran over and helped Kaysen climb down from the truck. From now on, we would need to take Kaysen's car whenever we went somewhere. When she gets bigger, it will be hard for her to get in and out of my truck.

Kaysen and I made our way inside her parent's house and saw that her dad was in the living room watching a movie. Cora and Nancy were nowhere to be seen.

"They went to Cora's room to play. If I were y'all, I would chill out in here with me for a bit and let your mother spend time with Cora. She is pretty upset, and we all know how she can run away at the mouth," Clark said and went back to watching whatever it was he was watching on TV.

Kaysen and I stared in disbelief at Clark about what he had just said about his wife. I have never heard a man say something like that about his own wife. This is wow. Kaysen and I opted to sit on the couch and glanced at each other with quizzical looks on our faces.

"Dad, why are you still here with mom? You are not happy with her. You both haven't even slept in the same room for years. This makes no sense to me," Kaysen asked Clark quietly.

"Well, despite everything, I love your mother. You haven't noticed, but we sleep together now and then. I love her; I wouldn't say I like how she acts sometimes. She wasn't a saint when she was younger, after having you, she did a one-eighty started going to church, and well changed from the fun happy woman I married, to what she is now," Clark said.

"What do you mean mom wasn't a saint?" Kaysen asked Clark.

"Your mom and I met in college, Kaysen. We partied and drank and lived a high life if you know what I mean. We went out to clubs once she turned twenty-one, and within a year, your mother was pregnant with you. We got married when she was six months pregnant with you," Clark said.

"What, I don't understand?" Kaysen said and glanced over at me.

"Why do you let your wife talk to Kaysen the way she does? You're the man of this house; you should put your foot down from time to time. Nancy is being such a hypocrite, from what I can tell," I said. I couldn't hold in my frustration any longer.

"Watch your tone with me, Tanner; I will not allow you to disrespect my wife or me in our home," Clark retorted.

"So you will protect your wife, but not your own daughter," I growled.

"I think we are done with this conversation. I'm going out; you two can change the channel if you would like," Clark said as he got up from his chair and walked out of the room.

***KAYSEN***

After an hour, my dad had not returned. Tanner and I had sat in the living room and opted not to talk about anything that had transpired.

I can't believe my mom had mistreated me over the years when she lived a high life, most likely well before college as well.

Tanner stood up and held his hand out to me. "Let's get Cora and take her to the park for a little while and head home. An hour is long enough, don't you think?" Tanner asked as I grabbed his hand, and he pulled me up from the couch.

"Yes, I don't particularly feel like being here any longer," I said as Tanner, and I made our way to Cora's room.

When we got to Cora's bedroom, my mom and Cora weren't there. I walked over to the bathroom to see that they weren't there either. I immediately began to panic.

"Cora!" I screamed.

"Mom! Cora!" I yelled as I ran to the kitchen to peer into the backyard. They weren't there.

Tanner came running up beside me as I opened the garage door to see if my mom's car was gone. Both my dad's and my mom's cars were gone.

"Tanner, my parents took Cora. Did you ever hear anything?" I asked as tears pooled in my eyes.

"No. Text your mom and see if she replies. Maybe she took her to the park?" Tanner said calmly as he wiped the tears from my face.

"Why would she take Cora without asking, though?" I cried as I texted my mom.

"She might have left when we were talking to your dad. Just give it a minute. I'm sure your mom will text back. Try not to get upset until we know what's going on. Here sit down, please," Tanner said as he pulled the chair out for me.

Tanner walked across the kitchen and grabbed a glass, and grabbed the water from the refrigerator. He poured some water into the glass and brought it over to me.

Tanner sat down next to me and put his hands into mine.

"It's going to be ok," Tanner said and let go of one hand so that I could take a sip from my water.

Tanner and I sat and waited for fifteen minutes, but my mom had never replied. So I sent her another text. Tanner had gotten up and was pacing around the kitchen. Even he had started to get anxious.

After another fifteen minutes, Tanner held his hand out to me.

"Do you know where your mom might have taken Cora?" Tanner asked after another fifteen minutes had gone by.

"I know of a few places. Maybe she doesn't have her phone on her," I said as we made our way out to Tanner's truck.

Tanner and I went by Kristine's, but mom and Cora weren't there. Kristine promised to contact me if they showed up.

We drove around to several of the parks near my parent's home, but my mom and Cora weren't there either. After going by a few ice cream places Tanner, and I gave up and went back to my parent's house. Tanner ran in to find that Cora and my mom had not returned.

He slammed the truck door loudly as he got back in.

"They aren't there. Let's call the police," Tanner said as he grabbed his phone and called the police.

I can't believe my mom has stolen my baby from me. I started to break down and sob as Tanner talked to the dispatcher on his phone.

Writer's Note

Did Kaysen's dad know that her mom had taken Cora? Is it all a misunderstanding, or did her mom indeed kidnap Cora? Feel free to👍Hugs and Love Sapphirian J.🥰