Escape

A life without you is not worth living

Stevie was gripping the door handle with one hand and she wrapped her other arm around herself. She looked at Andrew unable to speak, his reaction of seeing her was pretty much the same. It took a lot for her to open her mouth again. 

"What... what are you doing here?"

"We need to talk."

"Andrew, this is not a good time."

"It has to be. I must talk to you."

"You don't understand. I'm not alone and..."

"I'm not here to win you back." His voice was harsh and she wouldn't admit, but it hurt her a little. "I know you're... I know that you're back with him. This is not about us, not that there is us anymore, Steph."

"What do you want then?" 

"It's Sara."

Stevie felt her heart stop for a moment. "My Sara?"

"You mean, our Sara." Lindsey corrected from behind and she turned to look at him then back to Andrew. "Let the man in, whoever he may be." She stepped to one side and opened the door wider, then closed it once Andrew was inside. "What happened to our daughter?" Lindsey didn't hesitate. A million thoughts were running through his mind at the moment. Who was this man? Why would he call her Steph? Why would he know anything about Sara? But he tried his best to concentrate and stay calm.

"I think you two should sit down."

"Andrew, is my baby ok?" Stevie was getting agitated more and more with each second.

"She is now." He assured and they all sat down. "I... wow, I don't know where to begin if I'm honest."

"Please... don't keep us waiting and guessing."

The pain in Stevie's eyes was tearing his heart in two and she had no idea of what had happened yet. "I just want you to not get upset or get angry. I'm aware that you know nothing about this, because Sara wanted to keep this as a secret. But... A few nights ago, there was a party you could say at a club back in Santa Monica, which is owned by one of my great friends. He invited me to come and he said that there will be a young girl performing and that she's got a lot of potential and that if the night goes well, he'll introduce her to some people and you know what follows. I normally don't go to these places, but Santa Monica and young girl with an old times kind of voice made me think. I was right, when I saw Sara go up on stage." What Stevie had heard already was too much for her, she tried to keep calm, gripping Lindsey's hand in hers tightly. "She sang a few songs, the crowd absolutely loved her. I went to talk to her and she assured me that you both knew what she was doing and that Emily was going to pick her up once she's done."

"What in the hell am I paying Emily for?! She's supposed to look after Sara when I'm not home, not let her go to clubs! She's sixteen for god's sake!" Stevie had to let some of that frustration out, Lindsey only tightened his grip around her.

"Andrew, is it?" Lindsey asked and he nodded. "Continue, please. What happened then?"

He took a deep breath, not willing to do as asked. "I said if she needs anything, I'll be there somewhere, so she should go and find me, then she went her own way. I was chatting with a friend and I noticed some guy nagging Sara. I didn't do anything at first, but then I heard her tell him off loud and clear. He seemed very unhappy, but left anyway."

"Andrew, tell me that asshole didn't do anything." Stevie was on the verge of crying now.

"I was ready to leave and to avoid people, I used the back entrance. And um... That same guy apparently waited for Sara outside. He had his filthy hand covering her mouth to keep her from shouting and lord knows what he was about to do."