Love Is A Battle Field (Fourth Part of "Love In The Spotlight") MJ Fantasy

Chapter 30: Amber Alert

Zoe's POV

I burst through the door with a wide smile on my face. "Guess who brought cookies?!" I exclaimed.

The kids cheered and stood from the couch, dashing over to me. I giggled at their hungry faces as they took the whole pan of cookies out of my hand and began stuffing their faces.

"Thanks, Zoe!" Riley smiled.

"Yeah, thanmksz, Zoe..." Ben mumbled through a full mouth.

Heaven placed a kiss on my cheek. "I've been dreaming about these cookies for three nights now. I love you so much."

I shook my head and laughed. Why do I have to bring children food to get them to like me?

I watched them chow down for a few minutes. You would think they'd never tasted a cookie before in their lives.

"You're coming home with me, right?" I asked Heaven.

She looked up at me and wiped her mouth. "You got some more cookies?"

I nodded reluctantly, unsure of what that had to do with my question. "Yes..."

"Well then heck yeah... Let me go pack real quick..." She said, grabbing one more cookie as she headed out of the room.

I felt slightly offended that she only wanted to come with me because of the cookies. Is that all I have to offer as a parent?

I sat down with Riley and Ben and made small talk as I waited for Heaven to get ready to go.

"So where's Junior? I thought he'd be here..." I questioned.

Riley's eyes widened and Ben stared down at his cookie, neither of them responding.

I wrinkled my eyebrows. Um, okay...

"Where's those cookies?" I heard someone ask from behind me.

I turned to find Michael already sticking his hands into the batch of cookies, wasting no time stuffing his face.

I scoffed. "Really? A 'hello' would be nice..."

He looked embarrassed as he finished chewing up the food in his mouth. "I'm sorry... Hello, Zoe..."

I smacked my lips. "Whatever..."

He giggled and approached me. "Aw come on... You should've known that if you brought those cookies they would be the center of attention."

I smirked. "I guess so..." I said as I stood up, allowing him to hug me.

He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "How are you?"

"I'm great. You?"

He smiled, even though it looked a bit forced. "I'm fine.... You here to take my baby away from me?"

I giggled. "She's my baby too, you know... And I was hoping Junior would tag along but I guess he's already got other plans."

His eyes widened, similar to the way Riley's did just a minute ago.

"Okay, why does everyone keep acting so weird when I mention Junior?"

Michael avoided my eyes and gulped. "I need to talk to you..."

My heart dropped as I assumed the worst. "What is it? Is he okay?"

He looked over to Riley and Ben. "Guys, could you go eat the cookies in another room?"

They both obeyed and left the room quickly, looking down at the ground the whole time.

"What's going on, Michael?" I asked once they were gone.

He let out a deep sigh, running his hand over his head. "Oh boy..."

"Michael..." I repeated. "What is going on?"

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Uh... Junior isn't here..."

"Okay... Where is he then?"

"Um-... I uh, .... I don't know..."

I gasped. "What do you mean you don't know!?"

He held his hands up. "Just hear me out, alright? A couple of nights ago he went to a strip club and stayed out past curfew-"

"And you haven't seen him since!? Oh my god, my baby could be anywhere..."

He sighed. "Zoe, let me finish, please."

I took a deep breath and covered my face with a shaky hand. "Fine, go on..."

He nodded. "When he got home, I went in his room to talk to him, and I realized that he had no idea what real responsibility was. He didn't understand that his actions were childish and inappropriate... So I told him that he needed to start paying rent..."

I twisted my face in confusion. "With what money? Ours?"

He shook his head. "That's besides the point... Anyway, he got really pissed off and said that I wouldn't have to worry about buying him anything else.... And then he left..."

I almost choked on my own breath. "He left? Left and went where?"

"I don't know! I haven't heard from him..."

I almost fainted. "You have to be fucking kidding me. This is one of your pranks, right? I know this isn't real..."

He crossed his arms and stared at the floor in shame.

"Michael! How could you let our son just go out on his own like that? He doesn't know anything! He doesn't know how to take care of himself out there! What the fuck were you thinking? And why the fuck are you just now telling me about this?"

He rubbed his thumb along his bottom lip. "I thought he would've been home by now... And I've had people looking for him this whole time... They just can't find him..."

I began to feel dizzy and had to sit down to balance myself. This is absolutely ridiculous. Michael is seriously out of his mind for letting this happen.

"How long has it been?" I asked with as much voice as I could muster.

"2 days..."

My stomach flipped. This just keeps getting worse and worse. "We have to call the police! We have to file an amber alert!"

"We can't file an amber alert... He's not a child..."

I dropped my head into my hands as my heart and mind raced. My poor baby... There's no telling where he is right now. There's no telling what he's been through. He can't handle the real world yet. He's only 18.

I stood up abruptly and looked at Michael. "Call the police..." I ordered as I walked toward the door.

"Okay, but... Where are you going?"

I stopped and turned to face him. "I'm going to find our son..."