Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“He actually learned something going to school online, Jory,” she explained happily. “I mean, who knew?”
She was beaming with pride for her oldest, and I was so happy for her.
“I told you that one day everything you taught him would kick in,” I reminded her.
“It’s true, you did.” She sighed deeply. “Thank you for believing in my kid.”
“I was there when he was born. I used to watch him when he was hopped up on sugar and Mountain Dew. I knew he was going to be okay.”
She squinted at me. “He never drank Mountain Dew,” she chastised me. “Do you know what soda will do to your teeth?”
Later, once everyone was gone and it was just me lounging on the couch with the dog and the cat, and Sam rummaging for something in the fridge, I was surprised when my phone rang and the number on the display was not one I knew.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Pa,” Hannah greeted me with a slight wobble in her voice.
“Love,” I said hesitantly. “Whose phone is this?” I asked, even as I waved Sam over.
“What’s going on?” he wanted to know.
I shook my head, waving my free hand for him to be quiet and walk over to me as I put my daughter on speaker. “Hannah?” I prodded her as I heard someone whimpering behind her.
“So you know how George told me to always wear my GPS tracker when I left the house since it also works as a phone?”
“Yes,” I replied, but just barely. I was scared, and my voice was going in and out on me.
“Well, I forgot because I was with Kola and Jake, but I thought it was fine,” she explained.
“Honey,” Sam cut in. “What’s going on?”
“Well, see, I was at a party that my friend Becca is having in this abandoned warehouse, and I know that she shouldn’t have had it somewhere without permission, but you know how sometimes in the heat of the moment your judgment––”
“Hannah,” Sam cut her off, but gently. “Sweetheart, where are you?”
“Somewhere in New City, but I’m not quite sure what street I’m on.”
“Why don’t you have your phone?” he asked, pulling his from his back pocket and texting as he listened for her answer.
“Jake was looking up something on it, so I left it with him. He’s got that terrible data plan on his, so he never gets reception. We should put him on ours.”
“Yes, we should,” I agreed.
Sam took a breath through his nose, continuing to text.
“Where are your brother and Jake?”
“The police raided the party, and they were picked up in a van, and I’m not sure where they are at the moment.”
“And why weren’t you picked up?”
“I went outside to get some air because everyone was smoking and drinking and it was super loud, but the heavy steel door closed behind me and I couldn’t get back in.”
My daughter had then begun the long process of going back around the building, and that was when she saw the Morkie.
“I’m sorry, what?” Sam interrupted at that point.
“A cross between a Maltese and a Yorkshire terrier,” I explained.
“They’re super cute,” Hannah chimed in.
“Hannah, honey, what are you doing right now?”
“Well, right now I’m driving a really big covered truck with money and RPGs in the back, because after I beat up the five guys, I didn’t think I should just leave it there.”
Sam took a breath, again, through his nose. “Are you lost?” he questioned her calmly, not wanting to upset her by freaking out. He knew his daughter well.
“Not exactly,” she assured him, “but I don’t drive down here a lot, and normally I have my phone so I could find my way out, and I’ve been driving for a bit, and I don’t see anything even remotely familiar.”
“Why didn’t you stay where the police were, since they were picking everyone up?”
“Oh, Dad, the warehouse is huge, and I ran into trouble on a whole other street over from where the entrance was.”
“You walked a long way to get your air,” I commented.
“I don’t like smoke, you know that, so I did walk a bit to find another exit.”
“Were there lights inside?”
“No, but the moon’s out tonight and the roof was glass, so I could see just fine.”
I did not go for long strolls through a Walking Dead nightmare of an abandoned warehouse to get air in the dark. In fact, I was not the kind of person to ever walk around in the dark. But my daughter was fearless, and so she went where she pleased.
“Oh! Halstead,” she announced happily.
She knew where she was now.
“Oh, it’s like seeing a lighthouse or something,” she said in relief. “But should I stop at a police station or drive down to your office, Dad?”
“I have people on the way to intercept you and drive with you to my office downtown, so head there, all right?”