One By One (editing)

Chapter Thirteen

I laughed, watching Liv and Vic show me their new dance moves. I sat on the bench outside of Emily's ballet class door, waiting for the students to let out. Just as Liv and Vic finished up their last twirls, ten or so girls in pink tutus burst out from the door.

Emily's dark bun bobbed over to me with her ballet bag slung over her shoulder. She smiled sweetly and asked, "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's go. Anybody have to go to the bathroom before we head home?"

Liv whipped a hand into the air, "Me!"

Vic and Emily simultaneously groaned as Liv giggled and skipped over to the ladies' restroom. Once she was done, we shuffled outside and piled into the car. The drive home was filled with stories about dance and how much fun they had, no different than any other car ride.

But on this one, I wasn't as into the conversation as I used to be. On this one, my mind was preoccupied with jumbled thoughts about Dad. Luke's concern, Mom's fidgeting, and Dad's weird phone call during dinner kept nagging me until I pulled out my phone at a red stoplight.

He picked up the phone on the fourth ring in a business-like tone, "Hello?"

"Hey Dad, it's me." The light turned green and I lurched the car forward. Em, Liv, and Vic never ceased their high-pitched chatter in the backseat.

"Hey Carter. What's up?" His voice grew softer, knowing that it was me who was on the phone. There were other male voices in the background and I knew Dad wasn't at home like he was supposed to be.

"Where are you?" My voice sounded more accusatory than I wanted it to be.

His breath came a little more labored as he moved to somewhere a little quieter. The male voices were less prominent but they were definitely still a background noise.

"Work. Something came up," he brushed past the subject. "What do you need?"

"I just-" I started but stopped when I heard shouting in the background.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"Oh, I was just calling to see if you were home. Liv, Vic, Em, and I are on our way home."

"Ok," he sounded distracted as he continued. "I'm not home, but I'm hoping to be later tonight. Mom and Granma Jo took Teddy grocery shopping so they won't be home. But I just checked in with Luke right before you called me and he's home with Sean and Katie."

"Ok, thanks." I was hesitant to ask him anything else. My younger sisters were in the car and they shouldn't know that I was worried about our dad. Plus, he was our dad, whatever Luke was questioning was probably just stress from work or something. He wouldn't be stressed from anything else, right? That's all he ever did was work, and be with our family. So that's all he ever should stress about.

As I convinced myself of this, Dad's voice came through the phone, "Ok honey, I should get back to work. If I don't see you tonight then I'll see you tomorrow afternoon."

"Ok Dad. Love you."

"Love you. Bye." He hung up, but not before I heard another shout in he background. I tossed my phone to the passenger seat, wondering why people were shouting at his work. It was Smith N' Finance. Smith N' Finance was a business place full of offices occupied by women in high heels and men in pressed shirts. People don't shout at Smith N' Finance.

So then where was my dad?

"Carter!" Liv sang from the backseat.

"What?" Her voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Carter, play I Spy with us!" Vic squealed. Of course, I complied and spent the duration of the car ride distracted to even think about all of my family problems and their secrets.

A few minutes later, we pulled into the driveway. But the weird thing was that, yes, Dad said his car and Mom's car wouldn't be there, and they weren't. But he said that Luke would be home which meant that his car should be in the driveway. Which it wasn't.

"Where's Luke?" Em asked as she tumbled out of the car.

"He might be out somewhere."

"Are Katie and Sean home? I want to show them my dance." Emily did a little leap and grabbed her ballet bag out of the trunk.

"They should be," I answered, trying to leave out any hint of confusion. Dad said they were. He had just talked to Luke before me and they said they were still home. If they left, that would mean we would have seen them pull out of the driveway or out on the street. They couldn't have left that quickly.

"Come on, guys, let's go show them," Em bounced up and down, practically dragging Vic and Liv over to the front door. She waved me over excitedly, begging me to come over and unlock the door.

When I did, they ran all over the house, shouting for Sean, Katie, and Luke. But nobody appeared or shouted back. So after a minute, my little sisters gave up and retreated to the living room to watch tv. I convinced them that Sean, Katie, and Luke went out for a little drive and would be back soon; but in reality, my heart had dropped into my stomach. My mouth went dry and I stumbled to the kitchen to gulp down water.

Two possibilities buzzed through my head like pesky mosquitoes. One, they were kidnapped, either by the same people who kidnapped my other siblings or not. Two, they left not wanting anyone to follow them.

Scenes replayed in my mind from dinner and Mom saying "do it tonight, not tomorrow," in a sudden secrecy. Luke's panics and protests. It made sense.

But the one question that was left was: If they did leave, not wanting anyone to follow them, then why? Why did it have to be a secret?

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-Scarlett Wilson  <3