IPUSHED THROUGHthe dazed feelings and ran on wobbly legs to call 911, like any sane person would.
Thankfully, the cracks in those corners of the screen weren’t quite as thick. It only took a couple tries before it rang.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
“My mom has been—” I choked slightly on the word “taken” and instead said, “Going out in her bathrobe lately.”
What the heck?I hadn’t meant to say that. An icy chill passed over my skin, raising goose bumps.
“Miss...?” The operator slowly asked, “Are you safe?”
She probably thought I was trying to talk in code or something. Was I? I honestly didn’t know. I felt like I was losing it.
“Yes, I’m fine!” I tried again. “But my mom—” My throat closed unexpectedly on the words “was kidnapped,” and instead, I said, “Didn’t even finish putting her makeup on!”
What?
Was that what I’d intended to tell her? My head was full of fog and a strange buzzing. No, I wouldn’t have called 911 for something stupid like that...
Think, Brynn.
Pacing across the kitchen floor as the operator spoke, I glanced at the back door, still cracked open and letting in gusts of icy winter air, and it all came back.
Mom was taken. I’m forgetting—I can’t forget!
“Ma’am,” the operator repeated in a harsher tone. “If this is a prank call—”
“No! No.” I swallowed hard. Why couldn’t I get the words out? “My mom is...”
Wheezing, I forgot about the call for a second as I gasped for air.
“Do you need us to send an ambulance?” the operator prompted when I didn’t speak.
“No, she’s—” I caught myself before I said some other stupid observation that didn’t make sense. Racking my brain for a word I could actually say, I coughed two more times before I was able to yell unexpectedly, “Gone!”
I let out a breath of relief that I’d finally found a word my mouth would accept.
“Has she been missing twenty-four hours?” the dispatcher asked.
“No, she just left.”
