On the Run

Chapter 15: This was your doing, I suppose?

"Hey Evelyn, we're here to see my parents," Spence was practically bouncing of the walls, but Evelyn just pursed her lips. "They're very busy right now, Mr. Bender. Shouldn't you be in school? And who are these people? Isn't she way too young to be a mother? Your parents won't be happy to know you've been hanging around such a bad influence," She sniffed when her eyes landed on me.

Alex stepped in front of me, his eyes blazing, "Excuse me, but your opinion is rude, not valued, and not requested, ergo it is irrelevent, and you know nothing about her. I would appreciate if you keep your mouth shut." I really need to put him in some anger management over me or something.

 Her jaw dropped at his nerve, but Spence quickly stepped forward, "Evelyn, you seem to be ignorant to the gravity of the situation. This is my sister, Scarlett, the one who's been missing for eight years? I'm pretty positive my parents would be very interested in seeing her--interested enough, in fact, to take the rest of the day off."

Her eyes widened and she shot out of her chair, stammering apologies (or at least I'm assuming that's what she was saying, it was so jumbled I couldn't really tell) as she led us to the office at the back of a long hallway, where I recognized my parents' voices engrossed in discussion.

Evelyn wedged open the door. "Mr. and Mrs. Bender? There are some people here to see you. It's urgent." My father sighed, "I don't care how urgent it is, we're busy."

"Sir, you don't understand, you'll want to meet them." He rolled his eyes, "If it's that important, tell them to arrange an appointment and come back a different day. Professionals don't just show up when people are in the middle of a meeting."

I stepped around the boys and through the door. "Dang, and we drove all the way here from Idaho to see you. But then I've never been very professional," I sighed dramatically. He merely kept working, and my mom spoke up for the first time. "I'm sorry young lady, but we don't know anyone, nor have we ever, who lives in Idaho. "

I snickered, "Obviously that's not the case." Oh, I had missed having an attitude with my parents-- so much so that I almost said duh, a word which had not escaped my lips in years.

Her eyes flashed angrily to meet mine, "I do not appreciate the rude comments, miss." She looked me over, but not enough to recognize me, then raised her eyebrows once she saw Kenzie. "And not to speak out of place, but you look no older than seventeen or eighteen, don't you think you're a little young to have a child, especially one that old? You're obviously prone to making bad decisions. What do your parents think, young lady?"

Spence and Steve stepped foward, looking a little hacked off, but I waved them away. I could have some fun with it. Normally this would cause me to go off on a rant like it always did when she spoke to me like that, but I was so relieved to see her, and I knew she only said it because I ticked her off first.

"I don't know yet, I was actually here to ask them. Her name is Kenzie, what do you guys think?"

Both she and my father looked up at me in confusion with their brows puckered. Then my mom looked at Alex, then back to me, and recognition was plastered on her features. She jumped out of her seat and ran to me. "Oh, my baby girl, you're okay!"

She started to cry into my shoulder, and Dad's jaw dropped as he realized it was me-- he's always been a little slow with logical things, but give him something with science or budgeting and he was a whiz. "We were so worried, honey! All these years..."

Then Kenz started to fidget, "Momma, who dis?" Mom's eyes widened, "Oh right, a baby! How old is she?"

"She's three. And I'm twenty-five, not seventeen or eighteen, in case you forgot," I laughed. My dad started glaring at Alex,"This was your doing, I presume?"