“Thank you,” I managed, my voice still shaky.
The house had emptied out gradually as the search party dispersed. Most of the members had already left, their bikes rumbling off into the distance. Aside from those who lived here, the only people that remained were Derek, Frankie, and me.
Frankie sat on the couch with her wrapped ankle propped on a pillow, looking far too pleased with herself for someone who’d just put everyone through hell.
Maggie stood with her arms crossed, her expression thunderous as she stared down at Nox. “Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?”
Nox’s head dropped. “Yes, ma’am.”
“You could have been seriously hurt,” Maggie continued, her voice rising. “Both of you. You were out there in the dark, in the woods, with wild animals and God knows what else—”
“We had a plan,” Frankie interjected weakly.
“A plan?” I turned on my daughter, all the fear and terror of the past hours crystallizing into fury. “Your plan was to run away in the middle of the night and hide in the woods? That was your brilliant plan?”
Frankie’s chin lifted stubbornly. “We knew you’d find us.”
“What if we hadn’t?” My voice cracked. “What if something had happened to you? What if you’d gotten lost, or hurt worse than a twisted ankle, or...” I couldn’t finish. The possibilities were too horrifying.
“But we didn’t,” Frankie said quietly. “Derek found us.”
“That’s not the point!” I was shaking now, all the adrenaline and fear pouring out of me. “You can’t just... you can’t manipulate people like that, Frankie. You can’t put yourself in danger to... what? To parent-trap us?”
Rhoda looked up from where she’d been sitting quietly. “Derek said that earlier. What is parent-trapping?”
Derek’s voice was calm, measured. “It’s from an old Disney movie from the sixties. About twin girls who were separated at birth and meet at summer camp. They switch places to get their divorced parents back together.”
Frankie shifted on the couch. “We watched the newer version. The one with Lindsay Lohan from 1998. That’s where I got the idea.”
“You got the idea,” I repeated slowly, “from a movie.”
“It worked in the movie,” Frankie said defensively.
“This isn’t a movie!” Maggie’s voice cut through the room. She took a deep breath before continuing, “This is real life, where real consequences happen to real people. You could have died out there, Frankie. Both of you.”
Cami spoke up from her corner, her voice small. “I told her it was a bad idea.”
“But you didn’t tell an adult,” Maggie said, turning to her sister. “You kept the secret, which makes you just as responsible.”
Cami’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry, Maggie.”
Nox looked up at Maggie, his young face serious. “I was there to protect her.”
“You’re ten years old,” Maggie said, her frustration evident. “You might be big for your age, but you are not an adult.” Nox rolled his eyes, and even I had trouble holding back a smirk.
I looked at Frankie, at her stubborn expression and the defiant tilt of her chin, and something inside me broke. “Do you understand what you put me through? Do you have any idea what it felt like to know you were out there, alone, scared—”
“I wasn’t scared,” Frankie interrupted. “I knew you’d find me. I knew Derek would find me.”
The certainty in her voice made my chest ache. She trusted him completely, absolutely, in a way I still couldn’t.
“That’s not the point,” I said again, but my voice had lost its edge.
Derek had been standing quietly by the door, watching the exchange. Now he stepped forward. “What you did was reckless and dangerous,” he said, his voice firm but not harsh. “You put yourselves at risk, and you put everyone who cares about you through hell.”
Frankie looked down at her hands.
“But,” Derek continued, “I understand why you did it.”
