And Baby Makes...?

Chapter 11

Jenna POV

I finished my phone call with Erin, discussing whether Sam could stay with her family for a day or so when the baby came. I had nowhere else to send her that I trusted.

I went to get a drink of water from the kitchen and saw Sam standing there, a look of hurt on her face.

"Sam? What's wrong?" I asked. She looked up at me with such hurt in her eyes, tears threatening, and then she ran. Out the front door and down the driveway.

I called after her, but she kept going.

I replayed what I'd been discussing and wondered what had set her off. I couldn't think.

I called Erin first and told her what had just happened so she could get Jill to try to call Sam. But I tried her first. It went to voicemail.

I called Tyler. I didn't know what else to do.

"What's up, babe? It's not time for the baby, is it?" He asked. I broke down crying.

"Sam ran," I said.

"What do you mean? What happened?"

"I don't know. She was in the kitchen while I was talking to Erin about Sam spending some time there if the baby comes while you're away. When I went into the kitchen, she was just standing there looking so upset and hurt."

"Think hard, Jenna, what did you say?"

"I told Erin that if you aren't home when the baby comes, I need somewhere to send..." I trailed off. "Oh no."

"You said 'send'? Jenna, she's terrified we're going to get rid of her when the baby comes," Tyler said.

"I know, I know, I didn't think she was even downstairs. She'd been in her room doing homework and I didn't hear her come down."

"Have you tried calling her?" Tyler asked.

"She sent it to voicemail. And Jill called and just texted to say she got voicemail, too."

"Try 'Find my iPhone'," Tyler said. "She may not have turned it off."

I put Tyler on speaker and went into the app.

"Taylor Park is the last place her phone was."

"Okay. She's run there before. She might be near the bridge. She likes looking at the water. It's where she'd go after her mom died and she needed escape."

"It's showing her phone in the playground part,"

"Okay, she might be on the swings or something. Hop in the car and go see. I'll stay on the phone with you," Tyler said.

"I can't believe this," I said. "How could I have been so stupid?"

"It's a slip of the tongue. It's okay, Jen. You'll find her."

I wished I felt as confident as Tyler sounded

I pulled out of the driveway and headed towards the park.

"I don't see her, Tyler. There's no one here," I said, tears threatening again.

"Look around the park. Maybe she's on one of the play structures," he suggested.

I got out of the car and looked around. I had Tyler on speaker and was texting with Erin. Jill was trying to reach Sam as well.

"She's not here," I said to Tyler after looking at the play structures. A glint of light caught my eye in the small concrete tunnel. I walked over and found a phone. Sam's phone. But no Sam.

"Tyler, I found her phone in the tunnel. But she's not here!"

"Shit. Okay. Um. Go check the bridge."

"The bridge?" I asked.

"Yeah. When her mom was alive, she'd sometimes go watch the water imagining what escape would look like. If she had a boat.

I ran towards the bridge. There was a figure sitting on the railing.

"Tyler, I think she's sitting up on the railing!" I cried.

"It's okay. She's just watching the water. Don't scare her."

I ran again towards the bridge.

"Sam!" I called as I got close. She spun around quickly, and I saw fear in her eyes. But not at me. The fear came from her sudden movement and her loss of balance as she fell backwards.

I don't know who screamed louder, me or Sam.