Fool Me Once, Fool Me Twice

Unsafe House

"Grace, what's happened?" I ask as she runs into me and wraps her arms tightly around my waist. I smooth her hair and try to calm her hysterical sobs. "Come on, sit down." I pull her to the nearest bench and she practically sits in my lap. After a few minutes she manages to pull herself together, but I can see Nate looking concerned from the other side of the fountain.

"It's Mom." Grace looks up at me, "She's gone."

"What?" I almost yell, I wasn't expecting that. "What do you mean?"

"Mom, well, she kind of has a drinking problem. It started after you went missing and she hasn't had a drink for five years." Grace pauses to wipe tears from her eyes, "She started drinking again after you left last night, and I woke up this morning and she was gone!" 

Oh my God. This is all my fault. I just mad my mom disappear and my sister hysterical and I haven't even known them for twenty four hours.

"It's okay, actually." Grace sniffs and sits up straight, " I have enough money for food and stuff like that, so I'll be fine."

"Wait, why don't you call Michael? I mean Dad, why don't you call Dad?" It feels odd to call a complete stranger 'Dad'.

"I'm sorry, Jenny, Mom didn't want me to say anything." Grace looks down at her shoes, "Mom and Dad got divorced when I was seven, Dad moved away and we haven't heard from him in six years after he announced that he was getting remarried."

"Six years? I'm so sorry." I give her hand a sympathetic squeeze. Then my cell phone rings. I pull it from my pocket and see 'Emergency' as the caller ID, meaning it's a Skyline assignment van phone.

"Hello?" I answer impatiently.

"Jenny, We're parked on North ninth street, be as fast as you can." And then I hear the disconnection tone. It was Wade and it sounded kind of urgent, so I have to ask Grace to cover for me.

"If they ask, I really had to pee, okay?" I kiss her forehead when she agrees and run off towards where the van is parked. Skyline always use the most obvious cars they can find for the assignment vehicles. They hide them in plain sight, the best hiding place in the world. I pull open the back door of a florist van and pull myself inside.

"Hey, Wade." I smile and perch on the arm of his seat, "What's going on?" As I finish talking, Maggie   pulls the door open and climbs into the van.

"Hey, Jen." She chirps and throws her bag down in the corner, she turns to Wade, "Did you tell her yet?"

"Tell me what?" I ask, leaning over and taking a hand full of chips from the bowl next to Wade and putting one in my mouth.

"Thanks a lot, Maggie, I was going to break it to her gently." Wade moans and throws a chip at her.

"Tell. Me. What?" I slap the back of Wade's head.

"You're being pulled from the assignment." Wade mumbles and tries not to look me in the eye. No. Pulled? I know it's bad but all I can think about is Nate. When will I see him if I'm not working for his dad?

"Why? Did I do something wrong?" I stand up and lean on the desk attached to the wall of the van.

"No, you're just being replaced, that's all." Maggie rubs my back reassuringly.

"But I only just got there this morning!"

"Yeah, and Tyler was replaced as the assignment leader. The new guy wants you out of under cover." Wade explains slowly. I have to accept it, I guess. I jump out of the van and slam the door shut before running back to Franklin Square.

"Hey, you're back!" Meg smiles as I sit down next to her and Grace on the Grass.

"Yeah," I sigh in relief, "Where are Nate and the girls?"