You don’t love me so I’m leaving home. Don’t bother trying to find me.
I don’t believe this! Has she run away? ‘Eva!’ I race around the house, throwing open every door, but she’s not in any of the rooms. I’m getting flashbacks to when Katie went missing a few weeks ago. But this time, Eva has chosen to leave. Why? What’s got into her lately? She must have snuck out while we were in the kitchen. How is this happening again?
I run down the stairs as the front door opens.
‘Eva?’ I cry out, breathless.
But it’s Robert, laden down with about four bags of groceries in each hand.
‘What’s the matter?’ he asks, seeing the expression on my face.
‘It’s Eva. She’s run away.’
‘What are you talking about, run away? I thought you were baking?’
‘We were, but we had an argument and she stropped off to her room. I just went up to see if she’d calmed down, and found this note.’ I hand him the piece of paper that’s still in my hand.
‘Daddy!’ Katie runs into the hall. ‘Eva shouted at Mummy.’
Robert dumps the shopping bags on the floor. ‘How long’s she been missing?’
‘Can’t be more than half an hour. Maybe less.’
‘I’ll go out in the car and look. You call my mum and James.’
‘And her friends…’ I add. ‘Maybe she’s gone to one of their houses?’
‘Call Sadie too,’ Robert suggests. ‘She’ll want to help look.’
‘It’s her day off.’
‘She’ll still want to help. Call her.’
‘Okay, okay, I’ll call her. Go! Call me as soon as you find her.’
The irony isn’t lost on me that if Eva had a phone we’d probably have been able to track her down in no time. I sink to my knees for a moment wondering how the hell things have gone from happy to horrendous in such a short space of time. But I don’t have the luxury of wondering.
I need to find my child.
Thirty-Six
I’m in the park, sitting on a damp swing, when I receive a garbled phone call from Gemma telling me that Eva has run away from home. Honestly, I have one day off, and this is what happens. Gemma is losing control of her kids. Of herself. I get up off the swing and walk a little way away, over by the park fence where no one can hear our conversation.
‘Slow down,’ I say calmly, injecting as much concern into my voice as I can muster. ‘Tell me what happened.’
‘Eva and I had an argument,’ Gemma says. ‘She left me a note saying she was leaving home. I know it’s over-dramatic. But I’m so worried. Robert’s gone out in the car looking. I know it’s your day off and I’m sorry to call, but I just wondered if you knew where she might have gone.’
‘I don’t. But I’ll start looking,’ I say.
‘Would you?’
‘Of course!’
‘Thank you so much, Sadie. And you’ll message me the moment you hear anything, or if you find her.’
‘The very instant,’ I reply.
‘Okay, I’d better get off the line in case Robert’s trying to get through.’
