Managing The Mischief ~ Sequel to A Master of Mischief

~ Chapter 12

**Maddie’s POV**

After a week I’m so exhausted I literally can’t move. I’m curled up on the lounge in the living room listening to people planning to search more. They’ve split people into day and night shifts, so there’re always people looking. The day shift has just ended and the night shift about to start. I was in the day shift and I want to keep searching, but I can’t. I have to look after the other kids. George is in the night shift.

“We’ll find her,” he tells me as he leaves. He always says that, but I believe it less each time. I watch the night shift move outside and disapparate. The day shift begins to go to their separate homes to catch up on sleep. Molly stays with me after putting the kids to bed. She makes me a cup of tea and wraps a blanket around my shoulders despite the heat.

I watch the stars blossom in the sky, spreading slowly, casting light down on the earth. I feel my eyelids begin to droop and shake my head to wake myself up. I don’t want to sleep in case something happens and I miss it. Everything is quiet, making small sounds seem loud. I can hear the clicking of Molly’s knitting needles, the singing of crickets, the sound of the wind passing through the curtains, the ticking of the clock and the occasional murmur from upstairs as one of the kids rolls over. I stare at the clock, watching and waiting until it’s my turn to search. I doze off at one and wake at two-fourteen.

Molly has fallen asleep in her chair and the crickets are silent. There’s just me and the clock in the world. I get up and move outside, looking up at the stars. Looking at them makes me feel so small and lost. I think of my baby out there somewhere, lost and alone, maybe afraid. I feel myself start to panic and force myself to take long, slow breaths.

I go upstairs and check the other kids. They’re all sleeping peacefully. Lucy has her arms wrapped around Jessie. Olivia’s hair is fanning out around her, falling onto Carmen’s face. Teddy has kicked off the covers and Fred is sleeping with his mouth open. Fiona is lying on her back, a teddy clutched in her arms. Laurence is on his side, curled into a tight ball, his eyes crinkled. Simon and Paul are lying back-to-back, one hand under their face. William is lying on his stomach, his thumb in his mouth. I gently remove it and roll him onto his back. His head lolls to the other side, but he doesn’t stir.

I walk back to the couch slowly and lie down, facing the door so I can see if anyone is approaching.  The moon is casting a pool of light on the carpet in front of me. I check the time. It’s not even two-thirty yet.

I roll onto my back, feeling frustrated. I either want to be out there looking or asleep. I can’t stand lying here doing nothing. I feel useless and it irritates me. I get up and walk around the house for a bit, tidying things. When I get back to the couch it’s two-thirty five. I could scream. I feel completely awake, but I want to be asleep. I want to pass out on the lounge and sleep and sleep and sleep until the night shift ends and the day shift begins.

I lie down on my back and take a few slow, deep breaths, trying to calm myself down and relax. I can’t, so I walk up to Arianwen’s room and check on her. She’s snoozing peacefully. I sigh. I’m almost tempted to wake her so I have something to do, but I don’t.

Three o’clock. Four hours left before I can start looking again. I don’t know where I’ll look. I’ll just look and hope I find something, anything, that might help me get my baby girl back.

I wish George was here. I know why we were put on separate shifts, because then no matter when she gets found one of her parents will be there, but I wish I had someone who is going through the same pain I am. I’d thought George didn’t love her, but now I know he loves her insanely. I know he blames himself for her going missing, but nobody else does. Maybe if we’d found her that first day I might have. I probably would have yelled at him for being so careless and stupid, but now I just want her back. It doesn’t matter how she went missing, just that she needs to be found.

I miss George. I wish I hadn’t reacted so badly. I wish I hadn’t taken the kids away from him. That was so wrong. Everything I did was so wrong. It’s just as much my fault as his, if not more. I’ll have to tell him that when he gets back. After my shift tomorrow I’ll move us back in here. I hope he wants us back. I know he wants the kids back, but I couldn’t blame him if he didn’t want me back.

I jolt awake before I even realise I’d fallen asleep. I get up and cross to the doorway and look out into the darkness. I feel like someone just yelled in my ear. It must have been the dream I was having. I can’t remember what it was about. I rub my eyes, trying to remember. There was a forest. That’s all I can remember.

I jump as I hear a sharp crack in the yard. The night shift must be ending. The sky is still dark, but is starting to lighten in the far east. I look around for whoever apparated.

“Maddie?”

“George?”

“I’ve got her.”

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Hey guys, sorry about the long wait, my brother's been up for a few days and I've had to entertain him :P I know everyone wants to know what's going on with Alithea and I will let you know, just not yet! Also, for people who want me to read their stories, I love to and I don't have an issue with being asked (in fact I find it quite flattering =]) but since I'm a senior I don't have a lot of time, so it can take a week or so for me to be able to do it.

Also, please keep sending in covers for the cover competition! The ones I've been sent so far are really awesome!!