Family is Forever (Sequel to Running on Insulin)

Chapter 37

Samantha POV

I woke up again and it was dark outside. The bus was moving along a highway. I had no idea how long I'd been asleep.

"Hey there, chicken little," the driver said to me. "I'm Charlie. Hank told me to keep an eye on you. You've been out cold for a couple of hours now. You feeling okay?  Ya look a little peaked."

I nodded. I noticed the seat beside me was empty, so I leaned up against the window instead. I was far away from Columbus. And if I kept my hood up, no one would recognize me from the road.

"Look, kid, you need anything, you just tell me, okay?  You're travelling alone, and I wouldn't let my own daughter do that. So consider me your surrogate papa, alright?  You need any kinda help, you just let ol' Charlie know, got it?"

I nodded again and wrapped my jacket around myself and leaned my head against the cool window. I felt shaky and kinda sweaty. But kinda cold at the same time. I looked at my phone and saw a text from Brendon asking where I was. I texted him back.

"I don't know. I don't feel so good,"

I nodded off again. It was hard to stay awake.

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Tyler POV

"Where did you sell her a ticket to?!" I asked. Jake put his hand on my shoulder to calm me down.

"Uh, California. LA, if I recall correctly. She said her dad lives there and she was here visiting her mom."

I looked away. Tears formed in my eyes again.

"Phyllis," Jake asked. "How did she pay for her ticket?"

"Cash. I remember that much. She didn't have a credit card or a pre-purchased ticket, but that's not really all that uncommon. We get a lot of cash transactions. Bus travel ain't cheap, but it's cheaper than flying."

"How much is a ticket to LA?" Jake asked.

"She's a kid, so her ticket was $257 with taxes and fees."

"We need to find that bus," I said.

"Well, that bus left about four hours ago now. It's probably in Indiana by now," Phyllis said. "They'll make a stop for about an hour and a half, an hour and forty five minutes and switch drivers. From there it's pretty much non-stop to St Louis. A couple short stops, no longer than twenty minutes."

"How do we get in touch with the driver?" I asked. Samantha had been gone eight hours by now. Without insulin or medicine.

"Back at the station, we could probably look up the schedule, track the bus and see where they're heading. We should be able to contact the driver once the schedule shows us which bus is on the route."

Phyllis could tell she wasn't good to have time for dessert.  Jake offered to pay for her meal if she'd take us back to the station and try to find the bus.

My phone started ringing as we ran back to the station.

"Hello?" I answered, hoping it was Sam. "Sam?"

"Sorry. No. It's Brendon. I just got a text from her

"You did?  What did she say?"

"I had texted asking where she was. That was a couple of hours ago. She just texted me 'I don't know. I don't feel so good.'  I asked her what she meant but she hasn't texted back."

"What does she mean she doesn't feel so good?"

"I don't know. She didn't say anything more. And she hasn't texted back. Or answered her phone. I tried calling her."

Jenna looked at me expectantly.

"Okay. Thanks. Please call if she calls you back or texts you again."

"Of course," Brendon said.

Jenna kept looking at me.

"She texted Brendon. He had texted to ask where she is. She answered that she doesn't know and she doesn't feel well," I told her. Jenna covered her face with her hands.

We continued into the bus station.  Phyllis went behind the counter and Jake, the officers and us went back with them. Phyllis sat at a computer and pulled up the schedule for the bus to LA. She found the bus number and spoke to the dispatcher. She was fast. I just hoped she was fast enough.

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Samantha POV

I woke up again feeling really dizzy and sweaty. I looked at my phone again. Uncle Brendon had tried calling. I hit redial to call him back. I was dizzy and my head felt fuzzy. I was shaky. And I didn't know where I was. He picked up right away.

"Samantha?" He said.

I broke down into quiet tears.

"Samantha, honey,  what's the matter?  Where are you?"

"I don't know," I whispered. "I'm on a bus. I think I did something stupid."

"What's the matter sweet girl? What happened?"

"Jenna and Tyler," I cried.

"What about them?  You know they're worried sick about you right now."

"But, they knew," I said. "They knew."

The world went black around me.

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Brendon POV

Sarah and I had just landed back home in LA when I got an urgent text from Tyler to call as soon as we landed. I did and he told me Samantha had run away.

I promised I would call him the second I heard anything if she tried to contact me or Sarah.

We gathered our luggage and headed home after picking the dogs up from Zack and Kala. They asked what was happening with Samantha now and we told them what little we knew.

Back home, we were upstairs unpacking when a text came through. It was Samantha responding to my text asking her where she was. She said she didn't know and that she wasn't feeling so good. 

I called Tyler right away and told him what she'd said.

A little while later, my phone rang. It was Samantha. I answered immediately and indicated to Sarah to call Tyler or Jenna.

"Samantha?" I said when I answered the phone. She started crying quietly.

"Samantha, honey,  what's the matter?  Where are you?"

"I don't know," she whispered. "I'm on a bus. I think I did something stupid."

"What's the matter sweet girl? What happened?"

"Jenna and Tyler," She cried.

"What about them?  You know they're worried sick about you right now."

"But, they knew," she said. "They knew."

Then the phone went silent.

"Sam?  Samantha?"  The phone was still connected. She hadn't hung up. I could hear some sounds but couldn't make out what they were.

"Samantha. Are you there? Can you hear me?"

Nothing.

Sarah was on her phone talking to either Jenna or Tyler and looking at me.

"Hang on," she said. "B? What's the matter?"

"She stopped talking. She didn't hang up. I can hear noises, but she isn't answering."

"Tyler?" Sarah said. "She's not answering B. She hasn't hung up, but she's not answering him."