Family is Forever (Sequel to Running on Insulin)

Chapter 36

Jake said he'd send officers with the picture of Samantha we'd given him, to the bus station to see if anyone remembered seeing her and if they knew where she had gone, if she'd even gone anywhere. And that we'd go, too.

"We're going to find her," Jake said.  "This isn't like last time."

"No," I said. "It's worse because we have no idea where she might have gone or what frame of mind she's in. Plus, she hasn't taken her insulin or medications. Her sugar is going to go either too high or too low and she has nothing with her to treat it."

Just then my phone rang. It was Brendon.

"Ty, we just landed and I saw your text, what's the matter?"

"Have you heard from Samantha?  Did she text you at all?  Anything?"

"Nothing has come through since we landed. So no. I don't think so. Why?"

Tears formed in my eyes.

"She ran away. We don't know where she is or where she's going. Her last location on "Find my iPhone" is the bus terminal."

"What do you mean? Why would she run away? What happened?"

"Jenna mentioned that we knew Stanley had escaped from jail the morning she was taken," I reiterated. "And I think it upset her thinking we allowed her to get taken by sending her to school knowing Stanley was out there. But we couldn't know he'd find out she'd switched schools! And we couldn't have known he would have an accomplice!"

Jenna's phone rang and I expected it was Sarah calling to talk to her, having overheard Brendon.

"Shit," Brendon breathed. "Okay, fuck. Do you want us to come back? Help look for her?"

"No. Thanks, but no. But I need you to call us immediately if she contacts you at all."

"You know I will," he said. "Right after I tear a strip off her for doing this to you."

"Please don't do that. She's upset enough I think," I pleaded with him.

I heard Brendon sigh.

"I'm sorry, man. But I will keep an eye and ear out for anything from her. Have you tried calling or texting?"

"Of course. She's not answering. I think she might have blocked my number, because it wouldn't go through last time."

"Damn kid is too smart for her own good.  Where do you think she might have gone?"

"She could be anywhere by now," I said. "Anywhere any of the buses go."

"The police involved?"

"Of course. Jake's sending officers to the bus station now."

"What about her old house. She wouldn't go there, would she?"

"She did. But it doesn't look like she stayed long."

Brendon sighed.

"Alright. I'm sure you've thought of every possibility.  We'll keep a lookout for anything from her. Keep us posted if you hear anything."

"I will. Thanks, man," I said, hanging up.

How could we have screwed up so badly? It wasn't Jenna's fault that she told Samantha we had known Stanley had escaped. We thought she was safe having switched schools. We'd debated sending her to school or keeping her home but we didn't want to worry her. That was our fault and our mistake. We owned that. We'd thought we were doing the right thing.

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Samantha POV

I opened my eyes and was confused fir a minute where I was. The bus. I looked outside and didn't recognize the landscape. I'd never been outside of Ohio, so for all I knew we were in Iowa.

We've stopped somewhere and some people were getting off and getting on. The driver turned around and looked at me.

"You doin' alright kid?" He asked. I nodded.

"Then next stop is in a couple of hours and I'll be switching out. You can get something to eat or go to the bathroom if you need. I'll let Charlie know to keep his eyes out for you."

"Okay, thanks," I said. I didn't feel so great and so just went back to sleep.

I felt the bus move away from the stop. And then nothing. I was fast asleep again.

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Tyler POV

We went with the officers to the bus station. We couldn't know if Samantha had gotten on a bus. And if she had, how?

We followed Jake as he went up to the ticket window. The officers wandered around looking for any sign of Samantha, in case she was still around the station.

"Can I help you?" The ticket agent asked.

"Good evening ma'am," Jake said. "We were wondering if you've seen a girl who might match this description?"

He showed her the picture with the description of Sam's jacket and backpack.

"Doesn't look familiar," the lady said. "But then I see a lotta people here."

"Please," I said. "She's our daughter and she's run away. She's diabetic and didn't take any of her medications. It could be a matter of life or death in a matter of hours."

"Look, I just came on half an hour ago. You'd have to ask Phyllis," the lady said. "But she's gone home."

"Can you give us her address? Phone number? Something?" I asked.

Every passing minute meant Samantha was getting further away and more and more in danger.

Jake spoke with the lady while Jenna leaned into me and cried.

"Okay," Jake said. "I've got Phyllis's number."

He pulled out his phone and dialled the number and spoke to the woman on the phone.

"Good luck," he said. "She said she's at a diner around the corner. We can go meet her there. She's having dinner."

We literally ran out of the station and down the street to the diner. The three of us burst through the doors and I looked frantically around. A grey haired woman looked up and waved us over.

"Are you Phyllis?" I asked.

"I am. I'm guessing you're the parents of the missing girl?" She said. "I could tell by the way you burst through the door and the panicked look on your faces."

Jake handed her the photo.

"She'd have been wearing a grey winter coat and carrying a red backpack with white stripes."

Phyllis looked at the photo.

"Yeah. She looks familiar. But I dunno. She looks a lot like that kid who was kidnapped a few weeks ago. Wasn't she found?"

"That's her. And she was. But now she's run away."

"Please," Jenna said. "Please. Try to remember if you maybe sold her a bus ticket?"

Phyllis looked closely at the picture.

"Yeah. I think I remember. I did sell her a ticket."