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“Haley. This is obviously bigger than a missing baby. Look at yourself?”
“I don’t want to see,” I tell her.
“I get it. I do. Hales, please, listen to me. I can’t just sit back and watch this evolve. This is becoming more than even I can just help with. That’s why I asked Liam to come by. The more people around you right now, the better off you’ll be. It’s bad enough you won’t let me help you with an attorney.”
“Okay, okay,” I say, holding my hands up at her. “Please, stop.” The headache I’ve been battling all night is throbbing again.
“This could happen again. You can’t be alone right now, and I still have to work. I need you to be on the same page as me. I’m doing this because I love you, Haley.”
“Doing what?” I ask, feeling like I missed part of whatever plan she’s referring to.
“You need to let Liam help if he wants to help. Who else beside me can you depend on right now?”
“I literally just met him. I couldn’t ask him to be my bodyguard or whatever it is you’re thinking.”
“I will ask him,” she says.
“No,” I argue, “you won’t.”
“He’s on his way over with breakfast,” she says, holding my phone against her chest. “I’m hungry. So, deal with it.”
I try to lunge forward to retrieve my phone from her grip but the muscles in my neck feel like they’re shredding when I move too quickly, which keeps me hostage in the same position I’ve been reclining in all night. “You can’t just?—”
“Fine, what about your parents? I’m sure they will do whatever they can to help.”
“No,” I snap. “Do not call or message them. They’re—they’re out of town right now and I don’t want to worry them. Promise me, you won’t, Willa?” That’s the very last thing I need right now.
“Okay, okay,” Willa says, taking the hint as she holds her hands up in defense. “I’m going to see if there’s still a police officer guarding the outside to let them know we’re expecting company.”
Willa drops my phone but at the other end of the couch, which feels more like a city block away. The only thing within my reach is the remote. I change the channel with hostility for torturing me with the same clips over and over.
Another news station pops up next and though my sour stomach is telling me to keep flipping through the channels, the sight of a new view of the Smiths’ home holds my stare hostage.
“For almost thirty-six hours, fifteen-month-old Fallon Smith has been missing from her parents and two older sisters after being taken out of her crib. An investigation has been underway since Friday but without any trace of what could have happened to this little girl. Officials are asking residents to be vigilant and keep a lookout for a young child with short blonde hair and blue eyes.”
The house has been closed off with yellow caution tape and there are cruisers and reporters all around their property. Lara is far behind the reporter, close to the front steps where she has her arms wrapped around both twins.
The camera pans in toward Lara, past the reporter, catching a view of her, worse for wear than the prior clip. This time, she’s without makeup, in a gray worn sweatshirt and loose joggingpants. The girls are now beside her but still in their pajamas, both squeezing a plush toy in their hands as Lara’s hands rest on their shoulders. It’s clear the girls don’t want to be standing there in front of a camera. They’re trying to move away from Lara, but she seems to have a good grip on them. I’m sure the struggle is insignificant as the world focuses on the mother in turmoil. However, I do wonder where Corbin is or why he isn’t standing with them. Maybe he’s out with the search party. I would be if it was my child. I wouldn’t be able to sleep or stand still knowing she was out there somewhere without me.
The front door opens, my chest tightens like a vise squeezing my ribs. I hit the power button on the television, wanting to avoid a watch party. Willa walks in first, takes a couple of brown paper bags out of Liam’s hands and brings them into the kitchen. He moves past her with a tray of coffees and sets them down on the table in front of me then kneels beside me. The expression on his face is a mirror of the sight I’ve been avoiding. He’s not in the best shape either as more bruises have bloomed across the left side of his face overnight, but his lip looks better.
He hasn’t said anything, and the silence is making me squirm. “I’m so sorry this happened,” he says eventually, his voice tender and gentle—the way a therapist would speak to a troubled patient. “When’s the last time you took something for the pain?”
“She needs to eat first,” Willa shouts from the kitchen. She’s taken on a nurse-mode since we got home. It’s made me think about what it would be like to go home alone, to no one after what happened. I realize I spent so long dreaming of independence and freedom while growing up, but as of late, the thoughts of loneliness scare me. Willa has Jerry and as far as I can tell, she’s eventually going to want to live with him, as she should.
I’ll be alone. I don’t want that.
Liam reaches toward my face, and I jolt, but he sweeps a strand of hair away from my cheek and curls it behind my ear. “It’s okay. I know you said you needed some time to figure this all out yesterday, but this isn’t about me looking for another date. Let me help a bit. I won’t be overbearing or get in your way.” It’s as if he can hear my thoughts. Maybe I’m more transparent than I thought.
“What about work?” I ask. “Don’t you have to be there?”
Liam smiles and releases a quiet sigh. “Shh,” he whispers with a light chuckle. “It’s Sunday—no school today.”
The way he is gazing at me…it’s like he sees something in me—maybe something I haven’t discovered about myself yet.
Willa brings out a plate of muffins and a stack of napkins. “He got a few different flavors since he didn’t know what you like. You’re so thoughtful, Liam, and adorable,” she coos.
Willa’s compliments to Liam make my cheeks burn. She’s been more direct with him in just a few minutes than I’ve been the two other times we were together. “You didn’t have to go through all this trouble,” I tell him, “But this is—you’re very sweet.”
