When she got to Larissa’s and opened the front door, though, Larissa wasn’t in the living room, at the dining roomtable, or in the kitchen. She also wasn’t in her bedroom or bathroom. Her school stuff was on the table, so she hadn’t gone to the library to work. Harlow checked the garage, and Larissa’s car was gone. Larissa wasn’t home, and it was after nine-thirty. Harlow’s excitement was beginning to wane, and her fear was taking over. She sent Larissa a text after changing for bed and held on to her phone waiting for a response because Larissa always replied to her messages quickly. When nothing came by ten-fifteen, she sent her another message. Nothing came by eleven, either, and she was really starting to worry, but she was so exhausted that she fell asleep with the phone in her hand.
CHAPTER 25
“Aunt Issa?”
“Huh?” Larissa muttered and opened one of her eyes.
“Aunt Issa?” her four-year-old nephew repeated.
When he first started talking and calling people by their names, he couldn’t say her name. Now, he could, but he still called her Aunt Issa, and she had no plans to ever ask him to change that.
“Hey, buddy. What are you doing in here?” she asked.
“It’s the living room.”
“Oh, right,” she said, only then remembering that her sister didn’t have a guest room.
“Aunt Issa, why are you on the couch?”
“Because I slept here,” she replied and sat up.
“But why?” he asked.
“Because… I wanted to. I was with your mom, and I didn’t want to drive home.”
“Where is your home?”
“Buddy, you’ve been to my house,” she said before she rubbed her face up and down.
“I know. But where is it?” he asked and wiped his hand under his nose as he sniffled.
“It’s not far from here.”
“Can I ride my new bike there?”
“No, little man,” she said with a smile. “It’s too far for you to ride your bike there. But if you want to hang out with me, I’ll talk to your mom and dad, and maybe you can come over.”
“Okay,” he replied and ran off with a level of energy she wasn’t sure she ever possessed.
“Hey, sorry. I had to dress this one, and Junior took that as an opportunity to run off on me,” Aggie said, holding her two-year-old son in her arms.
“No problem. He’s still cute, so he gets away with it.”
“But in a few years, he better not mess with you, huh?” Aggie teased as she walked into the living room.
“Exactly,” Larissa joked and put her glasses on. “Hey, buddy,” she said to her younger nephew, Nathan, who had his thumb in his mouth.
“He just woke up and is pretty crabby, so I wouldn’t get too close,” Aggie warned.
But little Nathan held his arms out for Larissa to take him.
“I think he likes me more than he likes you.”
“Fine with me. I could use a break. And I have to chase down Junior, who is remarkably fast for someone with small legs,” Aggie said of her four-year-old.
“Where is your husband?”
“He’s around,” her sister replied and passed Larissa the toddler. “In the shower, probably. He’ll take Junior to school and this little handsome guy to daycare.” She poked Nathan in the belly, and Nathan gave her a baby laugh. “How do you not want any of these yourself? Look how cute my kid is.”
