Inferno Part 2

~72~ We Messed Up

Liam's POV

I get home from shift, and Nora has a bad look on her face. I kiss her gently and pick her up, nuzzling my face into her neck. Even though I love having her home, I miss working with her.

"Missed you" I say, kissing her neck.

"Me too" she says with an attitude.

"What's wrong?" I ask, setting her down and looking at her hard.

She rolls her eyes. "Savannah and I got in a huge fight before school."

"Why?"

"She said that ever since I had Jaxson, I've been mean."

I raise my eyebrows.

"What happened to make her say that?"

"You're taking her side?" She asks, raising her voice.

"No. But I want to hear the whole story."

"She asked if she could stay the night with Colton tonight, and I told her no. She asked why, and I said it was because she failed her spelling test. One thing led to another and we started screaming at each other."

I sigh and bring her into me. Savannah is starting to get an attitude. Teen girl drama, or whatever. I'm so glad I was only a single dad when she was a cute, little girl. Being a single dad to a hormonal, almost teenager would be a nightmare.

"I'll talk to her when she gets home."

"You're just going to talk to her?" She asks, raising her voice again.

"Well, I won't spank her for getting in an argument with you. That's what I loved about growing up with my mom. I was allowed to vent. I was allowed to get mad. I didn't just get spanked for absolutely everything. I'm doing the same with her. I'm not going to spank her just because she called you mean."

Nora rolls her eyes. "She's been awful ever since you left for shift yesterday."

"Ok. I'll talk to her. If I feel like she needs it, I'll spank her. Why didn't you spank her if you felt like she needed it?"

Nora rolls her eyes. "I will never admit this to her, but I'm pretty sure she's already stronger than me. I'm almost afraid to try."

I snort. I highly doubt it.

"I'm serious, Liam. She's a strong little thing. She's like your mom."

I just nod. "Ok, I'll deal with this when she gets home."

I go to find Jaxson. He's in the living room, playing on his play mat on the carpet. I lay down next to him and kiss his face. He's working on his first tooth, so I got a mouth full of slobber with my kiss.

"Were you being sassy too, young man?" I ask.

He turns his head and looks at me, and his eyes get wide. He kicks his legs and pumps his arms excitedly. I forgot how much fun it is when they recognize you. I used to love that with Sasha, the twins, and Colton. He's my little dude. I wish Diego could have met him.

I relax and play with Jaxson most of the day, while Nora gets some things done around the house. Savannah should be home any minute. She rides the bus home now, which is amazing. She used to always be terrified of the bus. She finally agreed to ride it when she found out her friend was on the same bus as her.

We see her bus go by, but she isn't on it. I'm suddenly panicked. I call the school, and they tell me that she never got on the bus.

I am totally and completely panicked. Why haven't I gotten her a phone yet? I was being stubborn, thinking that a 13 year old didn't need a cell phone. I'm totally freaking out. I called my dad, and dad is starting to search for her. He's checking the cameras at the school.