"What am I doing?" Trinity challenged.
"Running away from your problems," Celia responded with a challenge of her own.
"I'm not running, I just don't want to be in the same position I've been in before."
"And what position is that?" Celia raised her Eyebrows, almost disappearing into her hairline.
"Unrequited love hurts," Trinity replied, her voice filled with regrets and pains she had thought was long behind her, long buried.
"For a smart girl, I question your mind sometimes. You have everything — you have a man who is willing to provide for you, and take care of your sudden whims and love your girl like his own, yet you're running away instead of talking to him about what you’re feeling."
"I still... I can't stay in this marriage; emotions were never supposed to enter the picture. We had a business deal," she said bitterly.
"And who is to say you can’t change the deal?" the older woman challenged again.
"He would have said something," Trinity retorted, completely incensed at having to state the obvious.
"Knowing him, knowing all of him, do you really believe that?" Celia's question struck a strong chord in her mind, driving her to deep thought.
Her mind went unbidden to his revelation in the garage that night, and she felt like a fool suddenly.
He had all but told her he was new to this. He had been hesitant, but he had definitely not faked it, even with the lack of the words she wanted to hear. She decided had something good and she was not going to throw it away because of the mistakes of another man.
"I should probably talk to him before I move out, huh," she decided quickly.
"Atta gal." Celia nodded with a full-blown smile, the first Trinity had ever received.
Her phone rang and she looked down at the caller ID. It was Miranda’s school.
"Ma'am this is the principal of Hamilton Academy."
At the introduction, a tendril of fear wrapped around her heart. She froze when the frantic words filtered into her mind.
"We can't seem to find your daughter; she’s missing," the principal continued.
“What the hell do you mean she’s missing?”
“I understand this is very serious, but I need you to calm down.
My baby is missing. My baby is missing.
The words looped through her mind.
"When — since when!" she croaked, her throat dry as dangerous scenarios ran through her mind.
“Her absence was noticed during this afternoon’s recess…”
My baby...my baby!
"We have notified the police and—" the voice cut off abruptly as Trinity dropped the call and dialed Michael instead.
He would know what to do.
?MICHAEL?
He never thought he would be one of those high powered, opinionated people with tortured eyes and boozy breaths.
Well, he was tortured alright — and working on his boozy breath.
