An hour passes with still no news, and the boys are now all sitting around the living room as we wait for someone to tell us where my baby girl is. Suddenly, my phone rings on the table and all noise ceases instantly as we turn to it.
I pick it off the coffee table and quickly answer it when I see Claudia’s name flashing, standing straight from the couch. “Claudia?!” I call out her name, my heart pounding violently in my chest.
“Oh, Greyson! I’m so sorry! I know you must be going out of your mind. My car broke down on the way back to your place, but my phone had died, so I had to wait for someone to stop to call a tow truck. I asked the gentleman to drop us at the nearest restaurant because Gracie was hungry and getting fussy,” she begins with a panicked tone.
“I was going to ask an employee to charge my phone so I could call you or Emma, but I had left it in my car. I had to take a taxi to the garage to get my phone back, and the nice lady behind the desk let me charge it.” She stops long enough to blow her nose and take a deep breath before continuing.
“I would have called sooner or made my way over. But all your information is in my phone, and I don’t know your address by heart. I’m so terribly sorry, Greyson. Please forgive me. I haveyour address now. We’ll get in a taxi right away,” she rushes out, crying through the phone.
Relief washes over me, and I feel like I’m breathing for the first time since I got home. I place my hand over my racing heart and drop back to the couch, eyes closed as my head falls back against it, a deep exhale making its way out.
“No, just give me the address, I’ll come pick you up.”
I take down the shop’s address and end the call. My hands clasp around my phone, trembling from the rush of adrenaline and anxiety as I let my arms drop to my thighs, feeling drained.
“Gracie’s okay. Just one shitty situation after another. But she’s fine. I have to go get them,” I say to everyone, hearing them sigh as the tension and worry leave their bodies.
Emma lets out a cry as her face falls into her hands, shoulders shaking. Morgan quickly wraps her in her arms, whispering soothing words in her ear.
“I’ll come with you,” Sy offers, and I nod.
“We’ll stay here until you get back so that we can have visual proof and get Mrs. Teller’s statement. I’ll send another officer to join you at the auto shop as well,” the officer informs me as I get up to leave.
“Okay. Thank you,” I utter on autopilot, then give him the address as I grab my keys and head for the door, my mind solely focused on getting my girl back.
I'm coming, Buttercup. Daddy's coming.
A few hours later, I’ve put Gracie to bed after holding her in my arms for as long as I could. Everyone has left except for Aubrey, who’s stayed by an emotional Emma’s side and helped out by cooking dinner.
I get back down to the kitchen where the girls are situated and head to the cabinet above the fridge, needing a drink. Normally, I’d have a glass of wine at this hour, but right now, the need for something stronger is extreme.
I take down the bourbon and pour a hefty amount into my glass, draining it in one go and pouring another. I turn around to face Emma and Aubrey, resting my backside against the counter with the glass in one hand, the other clutching the edge of the counter beside me.
Em and I haven’t talked since, we were both too distraught to communicate properly. All evening, I’ve been going through everything that happened in my mind, trying to come up with a good reason why she would have left my daughter with someone else. My worries about the situation quickly turned to anger once I got Gracie back.
“Greyson… I’m so—” Em starts, but I cut her off.
“I don’t want to hear how fucking sorry you are. Do you realize how badly today could have gone?! You left my daughter with a complete stranger!” My voice rises the more I speak. I’m angry with her. She never should have put my daughter in that situation.
“She wasn’t with a stranger. She was with her grandmother,” she counters with narrowed eyes.
“A grandmother she’s met all of two times, including today! What the fuck is wrong with you?!” I shout back.
“Grey…” my sister rebukes.
“No! You stay out of this!” I growl with the point of a finger, then drain my glass once more.
“I was doing it for her! I thought it was a good way for them to bond properly,” Emma retorts quickly, as if that’s a good enough excuse for the shit show she caused today.It’s not.
I drop my glass to the counter with a bigbang. “DOING IT FOR HER?!” I roar as I take a step forward, pressing both my hands into the kitchen island. My mind quickly fogs as I lose sense of rationality, and my wrath takes over.
“You put my daughter’s life in danger! Who the fuck do you think you are to make decisions like that? You didn’t even botherto notify me, you just decided to take matters into your own hands when you had no fucking right!” I slap my hand on the countertop before pointing a finger at my chest.
“I’m her father, I’m her parent! Not you! I make those decisions, not you! You don’t get to choose what my daughter needs in her life.” I turn my pointed finger to her. “All you’re supposed to do is watch over her and take care of her, because that’s your fucking job! Not ship her off to someone else whenever you feel like it!” I breathe heavily through my nose, that fog in my mind getting thicker and thicker by the second.
“Tell me, Emma? Were you really doing it for her? Or did you need some time alone because you’d had enough, like dear old Mommy?” I know I’m out of line, but there’s no stopping the fury running through my veins right now.
“FUCK YOU!” she yells.
