“I know. I’m so sorry, Ryder. So sorry.”
“Sorry doesn’t mean shit. Get my sister back.”
Thirty-Six
Paige
My eyes were involuntarily closing as I sat on the couch with my parents. My cellphone was clutched in my left hand and I kept checking it every two minutes, hoping to hear from Ryder.
“Honey, why don’t you go up to your room and get some rest?” my mom said.
“No, I’m okay.”
“You most certainly are not okay,” my dad said. “You’re passing out. How long have you been awake?”
“Twenty-eight hours.”
“That’s it. You’re getting some rest.” My mom stood up and extended her hand. “Give me the phone. I’ll watch it to see if we get any calls.”
“No, really. It’s…”
“Paige Melissa. Listen to your mother.”
“Okay. But I’ll keep the phone.” I had a password set and really didn’t want my parents snooping around my phone. Ryder and I had activated each other on Find My Friends on our cellphones and I wanted to be able to track where he was while he was looking for our sisters.
“I’ll lie down, but only for an hour or so.” I headed toward the stairs. “You guys should take your own advice. It’s been a long night for all of us.”
* * *
Fifteen minutes later,I was laying in my full-sized bed in the bedroom I grew up in. It seemed like a lifetime ago that I stared at the NSYNC posters and dreamed of being a veterinarian. Instead, I was a waitress who couldn’t get another job.
“Shit!” I’d forgotten that I was supposed to work this afternoon. I grabbed the phone and called work.
“Tiny’s,” barked the voice on the other end of the line.
“Martha, it’s Paige.”
“Yeah?” Martha Jiminez was a woman of few words.
“Look. I’m having a bit of a family emergency and I can’t come in for my shift.”
“And by ‘family emergency’ you mean you were at that concert last night?”
“No. It’s…it’s my sister. She’s missing.”
“Oh. Well, that’s different. I can get Rocky to work a double. Keep us posted, okay?” Her voice sounded strange when she was being empathetic. It was like she didn’t know how to do it.
“Thanks, Martha. I will.”
I barely had time to hang up the phone before sleep overtook me.
* * *
When I woke up,my mind forgot what was happening and my body remembered being in my childhood bed. My eyes were closed and I could smell the familiar scent of pancakes and bacon coming from the kitchen. I could hear kids playing outside on their bikes and the sounds of a ballgame on TV.
I was just a carefree teenager, sleeping in on a Sunday afternoon. Bailey was probably in her room…
Bailey! The reality came flooding back to me. Bailey was missing and I was lying here in my bed dreaming of pancakes. What was wrong with me?
