Adopted by Falsettos

Chapter 34

"Your mom won't answer her phone." Brandon said. "Have you heard from her recently?"

I sniffled a bit and said, "The last I heard from her was when she dropped me off at school this morning, and I tried texting her when my headache was getting really bad, but she didn't answer. It didn't even say she read the text."

The principal was getting really impatient with us. Brandon had found me in the janitor's closet as I was crying, calmed me down a little, then tried calling Stephanie about three times before giving up.

"I'm gonna sign you out of school and then talk to your mom in person when I drop you off at home, okay? I think you need to go home and get some rest. Also, on an unrelated note, how's your head feeling?" Brandon asked.

"Better." I said softly. "Not totally better, but a little." Brandon nodded and then headed back down to the office to sign me out of school. After he did that, we went to his car and drove off home.

"So, have you made any other friends? Or is it just that Angeline girl?" Brandon asked.

"For now, just Angie. But Mama told me that when it comes to friends, it's quality over quantity." I said.

"And your Mama's right. As long as Angie's a nice girl, which your mom says she is, that's really all you need, right? You also have Harper and Whizzer and Ivy and all of those kids too, don't forget that." Brandon said. He stopped at Starbucks and got me a special treat, lemonade. I smiled a little and then we headed back to my apartment.

________

"Why is the door unlocked?" Brandon asked. I shrugged and held onto the straps of my backpack. "Maybe Mama just forgot to lock it?"

"That's unlike her." Brandon said. "Oh well. This is the right apartment, correct?" I nodded and then Brandon opened the door.

The lights were off, the living room and kitchen were empty, the entire place was dead silent. Brandon flicked on a light and then he and I looked to each other.

"Mama?" I called out. "I'm home!"

"Stephanie?" Brandon asked. We looked to each other again and then I heard the door open again.

"What's going on?" I asked. Brandon took a quick look behind him then whispered in my ear.

"Run."

I ran into my room and slammed the door behind me. All of my fighting instinct from when I was in Samantha's custody a few months ago was coming right back to me. I started crying again, all I wanted was my mama.

What happened to her? Where is she?

I could hear a bit of commotion and I got a little scared. Scratch that, really scared. Something was definitely wrong.

Five minutes later, it was nothing but dead silence yet again. I took a deep breath and felt safe enough to open the door.

"Mama? Daddy?" I asked. Nothing. No response.

And then it hit me.

Stephanie and Brandon had gotten kidnapped.

"MAMA! DADDY!" I screamed to myself, dropping to my knees and sobbing harder than I had ever sobbed in my life.

In my panic, I grabbed my phone from the back pocket of my jeans and texted the rest of my family. With both of my legal guardians gone for who knows how long, I was technically orphaned.

I was alone once again.

And being alone was the last thing I've ever wanted.

AN: Some of you were expecting something a lot eviler, and to those people, you're lucky. And to those people who have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm so sorry. Hey, at least it's not as bad as an earlier draft! Hope you enjoyed! Catch ya later!