It has been 16 wonderful years. Maverick and I have even welcomed our own son, Logan, three years after getting married. He is now a very smart 13 year-old. Alison and Caleb have built a cabin next to ours and had a little girl they had named Raven. And just like Alison and I, Melody and Raven are the best of friends.
“Hey mom Raven and I want to go shopping. Can I borrow the car?” Melody asks since the twins got their license last month; they have been nonstop asking for the car.
“Not today, honey, sorry, but I need the car to do my own errands,” I say
“Why don’t you go and ask your dad for his van?”
“Oh my god, you can not be serious, Mom,” she says
“Have you seen that thing? It is older than I am and such a rust bucket,”
“Hey now” we look up to see Mav and Cole
“She may look rusty, but she has style; she is a classic,”
“The van is junk, dad,” says Melody
“I am not driving that thing. Can you not take dads van mom, and let me take the car?”
“I said no, Melody. I am sorry, but I am not driving that thing either,” I said
“Hey that hurts,” says Mav
“Face it, Dad,” says Cole
“You need a new ride; I think you and I should go car shopping”
“I agree, dear, you really do need a new car, that one is just, eww,”
We all laugh,
“Ok ok, I guess car shopping it is,”
“YES!” says Cole
“Well, what about me and Raven?” says Melody
“Look I can drop you girls off at the mall and pick you up after my errand’s ok,?”
“But mom,”
“No buts Mel, I can give you a ride, or you can stay home,” I said
“Make your choice. I am heading out”
“Fine, I guess you can drive us then,”
I kiss Mav goodbye and meet the girls in the car, then head out towards town.
Stopping at the front entrance of the mall, I let the girls out.
“Text me when you’re done, and I will come to pick you up,” I tell them
“If I get done early, I’ll text and see how you are doing, ok?”
“K mom, thanks see you later,” says Melody
I watch as the girls enter the mall before driving off to do my errands.
Melody
Raven and I enter the mall and right away head for our favorite jean store. We are laughing and having a good time when Raven nudges me.
“Check out the hotties over there,” she says, pointing to the left of me
I turn and see two young guys, not much older than us. They were pretty hot,
I grab a hold of Raven and pull her along, continuing to the jean store.
Within 2 hours, we have hit most of the stores in the mall. I bought a lot of new cute jeans and tops and some new makeup and stuff, now I was feeling hungry,
“Let’s take a shopping break and go grab some food. Raven, I am hungry,”
“Yeah, me as well, let’s go,”
We get to the food court and freeze,
“You have got to be k*****g me,” I said
“There is not one seat or table left; they’re all full,”
“Come on, let’s get some food,” said Raven
“Perhaps by the time we get our food, there will be a table open.”
20 minutes later, we have our pizzas and cokes and head out looking for a table.
“Nope, still no table,” says Raven
“Well then, I guess we go eat at the fountain,” I said, pointing to the big main fountain in the mall.
“You too, ladies can sit here with us,” came a voice
We look over and see the same two hot guys we saw when we first arrived at the mall.
“It is just the two of us, so there are 2 empty seats at our table,” one says
“Sure, thank you,” says Raven, taking a seat
Is she for real? We do not even know who these guys are. I shake my head and take the second seat beside Raven.
“Thank you for sharing your table with us,” I say
“Your welcome, I am Riggie, Riggie Thompson,” said the guy with blonde hair and blues eye
“And this is my cousin Scott Peterson” he pointed to the Black-haired Brown eyed boy
“I’m Raven Adams. This is my best friend, Melody Mathews”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Melody,” says the one named Riggie
Raven continues to talk away. She was a gabber. Unlike me, I was more of a quiet person who kept to myself, especially if I did not know you. I was like my mother, always cautious and on guard.
I feel eyes on me and look up from my food to see both boys looking at me smiling. Raven says something else, and I could see the guys roll their eyes. I noticed Raven hasn’t even touched her food yet.
“Um, Raven?” I said, cutting her off
“Wanna eat so we can go back to shopping before my mother picks us up?”
“I’m talking, Mel. These guys are cool,”
“You don’t talk much, do you, Melody?” says the one named Scott
“No, she is too shy around strangers and guys,” Raven Laughs
“Unlike me, I love talking to hot guys”
“Yeah, I see that,” he says
Riggie gets another text message. His phone has been going off nonstop.
“So how old are you sexy ladies?” Riggie asks, looking up for his phone, but before I could answer Raven chimes in again,
“I am 15, but it will be 16 soon. Melody here is 16,” she says
The boys look at one another; they seem to have disappointment on their faces.
“How about you guys? How old are you?” Raven asks
“I will be right back,” says Riggie
“I need to make a phone call.”
As he walks away, Scott speaks up,
“Riggie and I are both 17,” he says
“Only Riggie is 2 months older”
“That is so cool, I think”
“So, tell me about yourself, Melody,” Scott says, cutting Raven off
I could see the hurt look on her face, but she finally picked up her pizza and began to eat.
“Nothing much to tell,” I said
“Oh, come on now,” he says
“I doubt that a beautiful girl such as yourself, I am sure there is a story there,”
“Nope, nothing,” I say
Riggie returns to the table with a smile on his face and then whispers something to Scott.
“I will be right back,” I say
“Nature calls” I get to my feet
“Hurry Back Mel,” says Raven
“Oh well, we have to go anyway,” says Riggie
“It was nice meeting you girls, especially you Melody, here is my number give me a call sometime, I would love to see you again,”
I could see the look on Ravens face
“Don’t worry pretty Raven” says Scott
“Here is my number. I would love to hear from you,”
“Well enjoy the rest of your day, ladies, we shall see you soon,” then they turn and walk away
“I will be back raven. I am heading to the bathroom,”
As I enter the bathroom, I look at the piece of paper Riggie handed me. I shake my head and toss it into the garbage.
Sorry, Riggie, but not going to happen.
I do my business wash my hands, then exit the bathroom to rejoin Raven. I just got through the door when a bag was thrown over my head, and someone grabbed me. There is something in the bag, making it hard to breathe. I am thrown over someone’s shoulder and carried away. I heard a door open and bang shut. I can just make out the voices of guys. Whatever I am inhaling in the bag knocks me out.
Raven
I can not believe a hot guy gave me his number, and he is 17. I type his name and number into my phone and then notice the time. Man, Mel has been gone a while. She should have been back by now. I get up, pick up all our bags, and Melody’s purse she left at the table and head towards the ladies’ room.
When I get there, I check all the stalls, and the bathroom is empty. I head back out and look around. I do not see her anywhere in the food court. Maybe she went into a store. I started to check all the stores around the food court but no melody. So, I head down the mall, walking back the way we came, re-entering stores we had been in. I was starting to get worried. Where the hell is Melody? Did she leave me behind? But she would not do that, nor would she leave her purse and bags. I just reached the food court again when I heard her phone go off in her purse. I take it out and see it is her mom, Aunt Payton calling, so I answer.
{Phone call}
“Hello?”
“Oh, hey, Raven, where is Melody? Why are you answering her phone?”
“Oh, um, Aunt Payton, where are you?”
“I am outside where I dropped you, girls, off, are you two done and ready to head home?”
“Aunt Payton. I need you to come into the mall, please, meet me at the food court,”
“Ok sure, I will be right in,”
{End of phone call}
Please hurry Aunty Payton,
Payton
The girls must still be eating, that’s why they want me to come in. that’s ok. I wouldn’t mind grabbing a coffee while I wait for them to finish.
I park the car and job into the mall. I head over to the food court and see Raven standing alone by the fountain, holding a lot of bags and Melody’s purse.
“Raven dear,” I say, walking up to her
“Oh, Aunt Payton,” she says
“Thank god you’re here,”
“Why?” I ask, looking around
“Raven where is Melody?”
“I do not know, Aunty; I can not find her,” she says
“Wait, what do you mean you can not find her?” I asked
“You two were together,”
I listen to Raven tell me about the shopping and getting food, She told me how the boys offered their empty seats to them, to the boys leaving, and Melody going to the washroom and not coming back. She even told me she went all over the mall and into every store looking for her.
“She is gone, Aunt Payton, just gone”
I take Raven’s hand and head to the washroom Melody went to. I did not even have to enter it. I caught a faint smell of her scent heading towards the loading doors down the hall from the bathroom. I ran down the hall, following her scent. It leads me out the door and to the back ally. There, I lost her scent.
Dear God, someone has taken my daughter.
“We need to call Maverick and the guys, NOW” I said
