Perfectly Imperfect 1

45- Evan Aiden Cafferty?

CAL:

“I’m tired Cal!” Emma complains loudly.

I take a deep breath to prevent myself from saying something I may regret. I understand that she’s only eight and probably doesn’t understand the magnitude of seriousness around her; but she should be able to comprehend that her older sister is missing!

“Cal!” she whines when I don’t answer.

“Emma! Shut up!” Sean spits, voicing out what is on everyone’s mind.

Emma immediately shuts up, but looks downcast, her big, doe eyes fill up with tears and after a moment, the tears roll down her chubby cheeks.

Sighing to myself, I kneel down to pick her up. I carry her and let her rest her head against my shoulder as I continue looking for Kayla. Her phone signal just died suddenly and now, we’re completely at a loss as to where to find her.

“Well, where was the last place her phone was at?” I finally ask.

“Should be about two blocks up. But I don’t like the look of this place Cal...it’s way too seedy for Kayla to be here. She isn’t stupid. She wouldn’t have come here,” Ivan murmurs confidently.

“I got jumped around this area. If Kay’s going to the place my phone is, she’d probably be here,” I reason, shifting Emma a little. She’s quiet. She must be asleep.

“I don’t get why Emma had to come with us! Why couldn’t mum and dad have taken her?!” Sean huffs, throwing a withering look at his littlest sister.

“She refused. Made a huge scene at the police station. She insisted on being with Cal,” Ivan mutters.

“Cal...maybe you should take a break? You look really knackered and you have Emma to look after,” Sean hints.

“She’s your sister,” I remind him bluntly. “And I’m not going to go off to some hotel and sleep until I find out that Kayla is fine and I have her in my arms.”

“You could try staying at a cheap motel then,” Ivan murmurs, his attempt at a joke.

Wow...how can we joke at a time like this?

“Hey! Hang on a sec! There’s someone over there!” Ivan suddenly exclaims.

I strain my eyes to try and figure out whether it’s Kayla, but I can’t. I can’t even tell whether it’s a guy or girl!

And then the person turns around, and I catch a glimpse of brown hair and pale skin. It’s not exactly defining, but I’m immediately sure it’s Kayla.

“Kay!” I shout, running towards her. Sean and Ivan chase after me.

She turns back and I see fear on her face before it is replaced by relief. She runs towards me, closing the distance between us. And in the next instant, I have my arm wrapped securely around her as she buries her face into my shirt, crying her eyes out.

“Baby?” I ask softly, worried again.

“Kayla?!” Sean exclaims, wrenching her away from me, pulling her into his arms.

I stop myself from hissing at him. I have to remember that I’m second to her family.

Sean and Ivan, envelop her in their arms and soon she’s leaning against them, her face blank, but the fear is radiating off her in waves. I yearn to hold her close, but it’ll have to wait till her family is satisfied.

“Come on, let’s get off the streets,” I mumble, catching sight of a group of unsavoury guys.

***