"Tinsel, where the hell is the freaking tinsel?!" I growled to myself stomping down each isle while pushing my squeaky cart. "Of course! They're out! The moment I need it the most." I face-palm and walked down a smaller isle still searching for the sparkled tree decor. I saw two more boxes in their lonesome in the clearance bin and looked around to see if anyone else noticed. I grinned evilly as no one paid the least bit of attention towards it and scurried over in a haste to reach it. Right before I could scoop it up in my arms, another hand grabbed it. "Hey! What the fuck?! I saw it first!" The man turned and chuckled. "I was here first." I rolled my eyes. Where did he even come from? "Ha ha very funny, there's two boxes, why don't you just grab one and find a different store for the second?" I huff. He held the boxes up higher and shrugged. "This is the last store that has any in San Diego, trust me, I checked five times. And if I don't decorate the tree tonight, my daughter is gonna kick my ass." I scoffed. "Not my problem, I have a Christmas party tonight, mine is more important." He smirked. "Didn't see where I was supposed to care?" I glared up at him and tried to jump and grab it but he chuckled and held it up higher than before. This is the exact reason I don't hang out with tall people. "Dude, just give me one box what the fuck." I groaned and face palmed. "Fine, But in return I need a favor." I shrugged and he slowly brought it lower, eying me suspiciously. "Okay? Depends the favor." He sighed. "My daughter just turned 12 a month and a half ago and apparently she's outgrown dolls and dresses, I have no clue what to get her for Christmas. Every time I ask she just tells me it doesn't matter. Then I drop hints of things she used to like but she just laughs it off and calls it all silly.." He trails off with a sad expression on his face. I frown. "You must be a single dad, huh?" He blushed. "How'd you figure it out?" I smile sadly. "You'd do anything for her and you're asking a stranger in a store for advice simply because she's female." He laughed a little and scratched behind his head. "Right, well, her mom kind of left her with me and never came back. I don't wanna ever see her feeling that disappointed ever again." I tilted my head. That sounds familiar for some reason. I shake my head to dismiss the thought and turn back to my cart. "Follow me." He smiles brightly and nods, following behind my obnoxiously squeaky cart. "Does she watch YouTube on your phone at all?" He pulls it out quickly and hands it to me, unlocking it. My eyes went wide.
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"Well, aren't you popular?" He laughed nervously. "You have no idea." I smiled at the photo and looked at him. "You don't have any recent photos of her or you just love this one?" He smiled to himself. "She's my babygirl. I love all our photos together, but this one has been my home screen for years." I grinned and looked closely at the baby. She had the same colored hair as me and the same pasty white skin, it weirded me out so I quickly went to the YouTube app. I clicked on the search icon and began scrolling through his recent searches. "It seems to me that make-up and slime is her new forté. She seems to look it up a lot more than anything else." I handed it back and passed the clothes isle. "You look familiar by the way, have I seen you around here before?" I ask, scanning the isle signs for make-up. This was the last Target in San Diego that was fully stocked with Kylie Jenner lip kits so it had to be here somewhere. "Uh, nope, I-I don't think so. Where would I find the slime isle?" I laughed. "It should be a kit in isle 4 last I checked, I came here for my nephew a few weeks ago to pick one up." He nods and ventures off in the opposite direction in search of the messiest equipment known to man and I continued to search for the make-up. That's when I started thinking. There's no way that that could be her, right? I mean my mother was a bitch but she wasn't a bitch enough to ditch my kid at a strangers house. I gulped and began to think of the day my mother took Luna to the park. Flashback "Will you shut her up?!" Charles shouts from his room. I rolled my eyes. "It isn't that easy! I can't find her blanket anywhere!" I looked under the couch and searched under my bed. No luck. The front door opens and I try to coo Luna to sleep but she wasn't having it. "Amanda! Make your child shush that incessant shouting this instant!" My mother sighed and took off her coat. "It's a baby, Charles! Not an alarm, you can't just press snooze." I smiled small at my mother and she gave me an apologetic look. Her husband was said to big the richest snob that you could ever meet. And when he met my mother he fell for her, and when he met me..well, he put up with me. But the moment he found out I was pregnant with no job and nowhere to go, he never let me have an easy day. He wanted both me and my baby gone and if it wasn't for my half-brother, Chase we would be. Sure, he was a year or two younger than me but he protects both of us. "I'm sorry, dear. I'll go talk to him." I nod and keep looking for the blanket. I sigh and sit down next to a crying Luna, picking her up and holding her close to me, tears slip my eyes and I realize how terrible of a mother I had been. I lost the one thing that meant the most to her and I had no clue how to get it back. I was exhausted to say the least, I hadn't slept in days and it was like the entire weight of the world was on my shoulders. I heard them arguing incoherently behind their door and sighed. I caused so much damage by one accident. Then, I looked down at Luna and smiled as she slowly fell asleep. It might've been an accident but I wouldn't change a thing. I love this girl so dearly that if anything were to happen to her, I have no clue what I would do. There was a loud door slam from upstairs and I looked to see my mother coming down with streaks of mascara running down her cheeks. I stood and she looked from me to Luna. She smiled sadly. "Why don't I give you the day to yourself, dear? I'll take the baby to the park and you can stay here and rest." I frowned. "A-are you sure?" She nods. "Besides, I need a break from Charles for the day." I couldn't tell if it was the timing or the look in her eyes but something gave me an uneasy feeling. I shook it off and smiled gratefully. She was my mother, she loved me and Luna. She'd never let anything happen to either of us. I had to trust her. "Sure, thank you, mom." She smiled small and held out her hands for the baby. I glanced down at Luna and kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Luna-bug. I'll see you tonight." I brushed her hair past her eyes with my finger and handed her to my mother. She grabbed the diaper bag and left without another word. And from there I felt my exhaustion overtake me as I slept soundly. Later that night when I woke up, my brother had been screaming from the living room. I shot up and ran down the stairs to see two officers at our door, my mother looking disappointed, my bother wailing, and Charles looking pleased. "W-what's going on, is everything alright? Where's Luna?" The officer looked at me with a sad expression. "She's been reported missing earlier today, your mother is claiming a kidnapping." I felt my face go stalk white and I screamed at the top of my lungs. My chest broke and my eyes went blurry. Flashback to present day
I never saw her again. My mother never wanted to talk about it, she even called off the search after the second year of looking. I lost all hope and tried to move on with my life, but there was always some part of me that would never be the same and I would never let go of what I had lost. "Hey," I felt a hand on my shoulder and I jumped, turning around and facing him. "You okay? You've been staring at the same eyeshadow palette for five minutes." I frowned, feeling tears escape my eyes. "Can I ask you a question?" He nods and sets the slime kit in the cart he had been holding, setting everything down next to mine. I place the thing I had been holding back on the shelf and fully face him. "What's your daughter's name?" He grinned. "Luna Perry. What's your nephew's name? They might know each other?" I felt my heartbreak and pick up speed at the same time. "Do you have a recent photo of her?" I ask completely disregarded anything he had said other than her name. He raised a brow and looked through his phone before showing me. She had my emerald eyes and a bright white smile with brown freckles splashed across her face. That was her, my little girl. Smiling with a man that I barely even knew. That's when it hit me. He kidnapped my daughter. My instincts kicked in and without me even noticing I had him in a chokehold on the ground. Luckily we were in the more secluded part of the store otherwise I would've probably gotten kicked out by now. "What the fuck?!" For a person of my height, I was pretty strong, I took kick boxing lessons in high school so it was hard to get out of my grip. He struggled to get back up and I held him tighter. "Where is she and what do you want with her?" He looked up at me confused and I rolled my eyes "Luna." He raised a brow. "My daughter? She's in school-what's this about-" I held the hold tighter and he choked. "No, my daughter. How did you find her and what do you want with her?" He finally pushed me off-much to my surprise-and faced me. He looked at me, almost analyzing my every feature and blinked. "Anna?" I tilt my head. "That's my name,...how do you know my name?" He frowned. "I figured you wouldn't remember. Your mom told me what they did to you, I'm so sorry. But..what do you think happened to Luna?" He asks, taking cautious steps towards me. "My mother told me that someone kidnapped her." His jaw dropped. "THAT'S RIDICULOUS!" I jumped back and he sighed. "..Would you like to meet her?" My hands got sweaty and I slowly nodded. He did the same and picked up his basket and the pallets I had before. "Meet me at the Garden Cafe tomorrow at 3. She'll be there and I'll explain everything." I nodded again, silently. He turned and began to walk away but stopped. "Anna?" I hummed and looked at him. "Ask your mother about Dr. Young." And with that, he was gone. Leaving me with so many questions and such little answers. Why didn't I feel like he was going to hurt her, like he was safer with her than my own family? I couldn't tell you.
