When I See You Again

Forever and Always

Sarah was at home getting Isabelle ready for a sleep over at her mother's house. Isabelle loved her grandma Catharine. Sarah's mother was going to pick up Isabelle in a few minutes.

"Mommy, I want to take my Ariel pajamas!" Isabelle said as she handed Sarah her Little Mermaid pajamas.
"Don't forget Mr. Bunny." Sarah said.
"Oh yeah! Thank you for reminding me mommy!" Isabelle said as she ran to her room to grab her stuffed bunny.

Just then the doorbell rang; Sarah walked over to answer it. She opened the door thinking it was her mother but was greeted by two police officers.

"Ms. Paulson, we have some news." One of the officers said. "May we come in?"
Sarah's heart began to beat fast; she was too emotional to speak so she nodded her head and opened the door wider for them to enter.

She led them to the living room and sat down on the sofa. "What...what's going on?" Sarah asked in a whisper.
"We found Ms. Lange. She's alive and she's being taken care of at the hospital." The officer said.

Sarah had tears rolling down her cheeks as the officers explained the events of the past few hours leading up to finding Jessica.

"Mr. Peters became irrational; he kidnapped a fifteen year old girl in broad day light. There were witnesses, however none got to see his license plate that well, so we were watching surveillance videos from the surrounding shopping centers. But the footage wasn't a great quality." The one officer said while the other then jumped in and said. "One of our units came across a young girl flagging them down. It turned out to be the girl that was taken by Mr. Peters. She said that Ms. Lange helped her escape and she went for help then led us to where Ms. Lange was being held."

Sarah was openly sobbing; Isabelle had heard it all and was standing behind Sarah while holding her stuffed bunny.

"Mommy?" Isabelle said as she walked up to Sarah.
Sarah took her in her arms and said. "Everything is okay sweetie."
"Did they find mama?" Isabelle asked.
"Yes baby, they did." Sarah said rocking Isabelle back and forth.

The police officers gave them a moment then continued when Sarah looked back at them and told them to continue.

"Right now, they treating Ms. Lange for her injuries she has sustained from Mr. Peters." The officer said.
Sarah's eyes grew wide. "Injuries?"
"Yes...." the officer said not wanting to say anymore in front of Isabelle.
Sarah saw their hesitation to tell her anymore. She looked down at Isabelle and said. "Baby girl, why don't you go put on your shoes and let's wait for grandma to get here. Maybe she can go with us to see mama."
Isabelle nodded then ran off to her room.

"Go on please. What else has happened? How bad is Jessica hurt?" Sarah asked once Isabelle was out of the room.
"Ms. Lange was severely beaten and...she was raped multiple times after Mr. Peters found out that Ms. Lange had helped the young girl escaped." The officer said. "We'll get into the details later about what else happened but for now, if you want to head over to the hospital I'm sure you can see her soon."
Sarah nodded then said. "I'm just going to wait for my mom to get here. Then...then I'll go."

As soon as she said those words, Catharine walked into the room.

"Sarah! What's wrong? I saw the police car outside." Catharine said as she rushed to Sarah's side.
"They found Jessica mom! They found her!" Sarah sobbed as she hugged her mother.
"They took her to the hospital. They said she's...she was beaten very badly. Can you go with us to the hospital? I need you to stay with Isabelle while I go in and see Jessica."
"Of course sweetheart." Catharine answered. "Let's go."

Catharine drove Sarah to the hospital; Sarah was way too nervous to drive.
Once they reached the hospital, Sarah asked for Jessica. They told her to wait a few more minutes; Jessica had been treated for her injuries and now was being taken to have some tests done.