Chapter 38

Tessa’s POV 

I woke up to light streaming into the living room. I was laying on James’ shoulder and his head was laying on the back of the couch, his arm resting on my shoulders. The blanket from last night still covered both of us, keeping us warm. Standing up, I stretched. And then my heart dropped. 

Sera. 

She never came home. 

I ran up the stairs and to her room, praying that she slipped in after we had fallen asleep. I tore open the door to see an empty room. Tears flooded my eyes as I ran back down the steps. James was still fast asleep on the couch. I threw myself onto the couch and shook him. He jumped up, wondering what was going on. He took one look at my face and his dropped into sorrow and panic. 

“She’s not here, James. She never came home…” I dissolved into sobs as he wrapped his arms around me. 

“Shhh, did you check her room?” I nodded, not capable of speech. “How about the rest of the house?” 

Hope surged in me as I realized my daughter could be in the kitchen safe and sound. I shook my head and he slowly pulled away and stood up. “I’ll check upstairs.” 

He walked away and I got up to search the bottom floor. Room after room was empty and I headed to the kitchen last. I wiped my eyes and imagined her standing at the island making breakfast. I opened the door to see another empty room. 

In the search, my tears had subsided but came back stronger than before. The door opened and I turned around to see James. His eyes were clouded with tears and he shook his head. My baby girl was nowhere to be found. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me. 

“Shh, I’m sure she’s alright. We’ll call the police and we’ll find her. Everything’s going to be okay.” 

I nodded hoping he was right. But I had a bad feeling. 

Half an hour later when we had both calmed down a little bit James dialed 911 and put it on speaker. 

“911 what is your emergency?” 

“Yes, we think our daughter's been kidnapped.” 

“What makes you think this?” 

“She was at her boyfriend’s house last night but never made it home. She still hasn’t returned and she’s not answering her cell. We called her boyfriend's house but they said she had left.” 

“Alright, can I have your address?” 

Despite trying my best to stay calm, I interrupted and told the operator the address. She sounded surprised but carried on. 

“Alright, I’ll have someone sent out to your house immediately.” We thanked her and hung up. 

Ten minutes later a policeman was knocking on our door. We opened the door and let him in. 

“Hello, I’m Officer Henderson. Were you the ones who called about your daughter?” We nodded and he started asking us all kinds of questions and we answered as best as we could. But then he asked who we thought could’ve taken her. I thought for a moment. 

“Well, we know that almost all of her classmates bully her, but… I don’t think any of them are capable of doing something like this.” I looked towards James but he was staring out the window. 

“You mentioned that she had been at her boyfriend’s house. Do you think he could've taken her?” Shock filled me at the question. 

“Absolutely not. She’s never spoken anything bad about him, not a single word.” 

“Her father.” 

Both Officer Henderson and I turned to look at James. I stared at him in confusion, but Officer Henderson looked interested. 

“Her biological father was abusive. She told me that he was never caught.” 

This was new. I was under the impression that he was in jail. 

“Alright. I’ll notify everyone to keep an eye out for her, but unfortunately, without more evidence, we cannot begin a search until tomorrow. I recommend that at least one of you stays at the house at all times. She could very well turn up unharmed.” 

I was stunned. My daughter was missing but they wouldn’t look for her yet because they didn’t have enough evidence? She never came home! Isn’t that enough? James was stunned as well, but thanked Officer Henderson and began to lead him out. But then there was a knock on the door. 

Hoping it was Sera, I rushed over to the door and pulled it open. Instead, it was Mason. He was out of breath and had tears in his eyes. His hair was messy and unkempt. He was wearing a t-shirt and plaid pants with sandals. He must’ve just woken up and run here. 

“My mom just told me that you called yesterday. Did Sera not make it home?” He looked really scared and hopeful. Sadly, I shook my head.

“No, she didn’t.” At this news, the tears in his eyes began to run down his face. 

“I ran here as soon as I heard. On the way here, I saw something on the sidewalk...” 

Without my knowledge, James and Officer Henderson had come over to listen. 

“What did you see, son?” Officer Henderson asked. Mason looked scared. 

“Blood and scuff marks…” 

My heart sank.  

“Show me.” 

James and I ran to get shoes while Mason began to lead him down the sidewalk. We ran to catch up and not even a minute down the road was blood and scuff marks. 

“This is Officer Henderson. I’d like to report a missing child. There are signs of struggle, most likely a kidnapping.”