Family is Forever (Sequel to Running on Insulin)

Chapter 35

Samantha POV

Whether Jenna and Tyler cared I was missing or not I knew I couldn't stay in my old house for too long. If Stanley really wasn't dead, he might come back. And if Jenna and Tyler pretended to care, they might send the police to look for me.

I went upstairs into my parents' old room. Mom had hidden money hoping one day we could run away from Stanley. I knew where she kept it but I didn't know if Stanley had ever found it.

If he hadn't, I could use it to leave. Maybe I could go to California. Uncle Brendon and Aunt Sarah at least seemed honest. And they'd lost their daughter. Maybe I could be their new daughter.

I looked in the closet and saw a lot of my mom's stuff was gone. I bent down and pulled on the back of the shelf. It came away and the small box my mom left there was still there. I pulled it out and opened it. There was still money in it. I know mom has said it wasn't a lot, and she wanted to get more so we could get as far as possible, but I counted it. She had $472.27 in there. I looked up a bus ticket to California and found I could get one for about $250. Now to get to the bus station.

I looked up how to get there and found the public transit bus route and saw the closest stop was at the end of my street.

The decision was made and I left the house. I doubted Jenna had even noticed I was gone.

I waited at the bus stop foe about ten minutes before a bus came. I was nervous. Because If Stanley was actually still around, if that had been another lie, he could be anywhere. I paid for my bus ticket and sat at the back of the bus. This route stopped at the bus terminal anyway.

About a half an hour later, the bus pulled into the terminal and I got off. No one was paying any attention to me. No one seemed to notice a kid on their own wandering around.  I saw a bunch of families with kids around my age, and even some kids hanging around. Maybe not exactly going to buy tickets but whatever. I blended in enough.

I went to the ticket counter and asked for a ticket to Los Angeles.

"You're by yourself, sweetie?" The ticket agent asked.

"Yeah. My mom dropped me off. I'm going to see my dad. He lives in LA."

"You're pretty young to be travelling by bus alone," she said.

"I'm not as young as I might look," I said.

I tried to stay calm. If I acted like I was in a hurry to just get the  ticket and get on the bus, she might catch on and call security or the police or something.

"Did you have a nice Christmas?" She asked, as she entered some information into her computer.

"I missed my dad, but yeah. It was pretty good. You?"

"I did have a nice Christmas. Thank you," she said, handing me the ticket. "Your bus is at gate 42. It leaves in about 20 minutes, so you might want to get out there. Do you need help with your luggage?"

"No thanks. No luggage. I have clothes here when I'm with my mom and clothes at home with dad. I just need a couple days worth for the trip," I smiled.

"Well, that's smart. You have a good trip. Sit near the driver side if you have any problems or feel unsafe, he can help you out okay?"

"The lady in LA said the same thing," I smiled.

"You take care, okay?"

"Thank you," I said.

I went quickly to the bus's gate and showed the driver my ticket.

"Travelling alone?" He said, his eyebrow raised.

"Yeah. I do it all the time. My dad and I live in. LA and my mom's here. So I take the bus a few times a year,"

"You sit right in front near me, okay? Where I can keep an eye on you."

"Okay," I shrugged.

I climbed aboard and took a seat at the front. I sat away from the window, just in case.

After a little while, the bus filled up and we pulled away from the station. I breathed a sigh of relief.

I checked my phone and saw a bunch of texts from Tyler, Jenna, Josh, Gerard, Zack, Pete, Patrick and Jill.

I went into "Find My IPhone" and turned it off.

I sat back and put headphones on and pulled my hood up.

We were on the highway, driving away from Columbus. Away from Stanley and away from the two people who'd promised to protect me. And then didn't.

The lady who sat beside me was nice but once I put on my headphones, she was quiet.

The movement of the bus and the emotions is been through lulled me to sleep.

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Tyler POV

"Where could she have gone?" I asked to no one in particular.

Jake said the police had gone to Sam's old house and she wasn't there, but it looked like she might have stopped there. There were boot prints on the stairs and a shelf in the master closet had been moved. But there was no sign of Samantha.

They'd checked the park, and they'd checked along the riverbanks to see if there were any signs of ... well, a body. The thought that Samantha might have jumped terrified me. But I don't know how upset she is right now. How upside down she might feel her world is.

"Have you tried "find my iPhone" on her phone?" Josh asked.

"No. I didn't even think of that!" I said. Which made me feel stupid because that was the first thing I'd done the first time she'd run away when Jill had a seizure and she'd been afraid she'd hurt her friend.

I logged in and pulled up the last known location of Sam's phone. The bus station downtown.

"Oh no," I said, and showed Jake.  Jenna broke down into tears again. My heart dropped into my stomach.

From the bus station, she could have gone anywhere in the entire country.