Adopted by Heathers Cast

Stick Around Here, Make Things Better

It's been 3 days since Cat went missing, and honestly, I think we were all a bit of a mess. I could not stop crying, Jessica was trying, and failing at holding herself together, Evan has been panicking nonstop, Alice has been trying to console Evan so he doesn't make me feel worse, while also trying not to cry, Ryan has been blaming it all on Violet Gardner, Barrett has been trying to stop Ryan from throwing everything in my apartment, and Katie was always on the phone with people trying to find Cat. And as for Jon, he was driving all over the city.

"Any new updates?" I asked as Katie hung up her phone. Katie solemnly shook her head and said, "No...I'm getting kind of worried."

"What, like you weren't worried before? It's only been seven months and there's a chance Sunshine is dead!" Jessica yelled, crying. That broke me. I started sobbing, I couldn't lose my daughter.

"What coaxed her out the last time she ran away?" Katie asked. Ryan looked at us and said, "Elle sung to her. But that was when we had an idea of where she was. This is serious."

"Is...is there a chance...she could've gotten kidnapped?" I asked. Jessica stared at me with a serious look on her face and said, "Maybe..."

"Don't think like that. She probably just got scared and ran away." Alice said. I sighed, I hoped this was just a misunderstanding.

But how could my daughter, my world running away be a misunderstanding?

It then hit me. She brought her phone with her. Why couldn't I just call her and ask where she is?

"Guys. Cat brought her phone with her. Is there a chance that she'd answer it?" I asked. Everyone looked at me and shrugged, and I looked around for one hopeful face. Everyone just questioned me.

I sighed and dialed Cat's number. It started ringing, then I heard a small "Hello?"

"Sunshine!" I yelled, crying. "Sunshine, where are you? Are you okay?"

"Mommy...I'm sorry..." I heard Cat say over the phone. The poor girl was crying.

"Hey, no, no, shh...baby girl, you don't need to apologize. Just tell me where you are." I said.

"No." Cat said, then she hung up.

"Wait!" I yelled, but was cut off by Cat hanging up. "Well, I screwed up."

"Listen, Elle. I think I know why Cat won't let any of us look for her. She's scared we're gonna send her back to the hospital, the last place she needs to be." Evan said. I nodded, and said, "I won't send her back right away, but she was in the middle of treatment when she ran away, so we have to take her back sometime."

"Do you know if she's eaten anything?" Jessica asked. I shrugged, and said, "That was the first time I heard from her, and I didn't get a lot of information."

We all sighed, and I sat down on the couch, crying. "I don't know what I'd do without her." I said in between tears.

"You gotta have hope, Elle. Think of the car crash. Did Cat lose hope right away? No. She tried to stay positive." Katie said.

"Yeah, but deep down inside her, I think she had a feeling that Jess wasn't gonna make it much longer. She said her goodbye." I said. "That's how I feel. I wish I got to say goodbye to her."

"She's not dead! Stop thinking like that!" Ryan yelled. "Jon's trying to look for her and I think this is the first time in three days that Katie's been off the phone. We're all doing our best, okay? Panicking isn't gonna help. What would Cat do?"

"Probably cry and panic, the poor girl." Jessica scoffed. "I'm not mocking her, it's just that...she has a lot of fear and anxiety, and I think it rubbed off on us."

Suddenly, Jon ran in the apartment.

"Any new updates?" Alice asked hopefully. Jon sadly shook his head and said "No. I've checked everywhere." We all sighed.

"But, I did call her phone and she answered. She was crying." I said.

"Wait, what?" Jon said excitedly. "Elle! This is great news!"

"Wait a minute. We gave Cat all of our addresses a while back in case of emergency. Do you think she's in one of our apartments?" Evan asked.

"Maybe..." Jon said. "Hang on, let me go check." We all nodded and Jon ran out.

_________
Catlynn's POV

It's been three days, and the only contact I've had with anyone in my family was Elle calling me. But when she asked where I was, I immediately hung up. I didn't want her to send me back to the hospital, the one place I hated.

My stomach rumbled. I haven't had anything to eat for 3 days. I kept a bottle of water in my hospital bag, but I was rationing that. Just in case everyone forgot about me.

My phone started rapidly vibrating, and I picked it up.

"Cat? Where are you?" I heard.

"Hi." I said coldly.

"Cat? Are you okay? It's Jon. I'm checking everyone's apartments now. Elle is worried sick." Jon said over the phone. I sighed, and said, "I don't want to tell you."

"Please. For me." Jon said.

"No." I said.

"I'm begging you. Tell me. I'm almost at Barrett's apartment, checking it right now." Jon said. I froze and hung up. He's gonna find me.

I heard the front door open and Jon call out "Sunshine? Sunshine?"

I couldn't take it anymore. I needed some stability, I needed to apologize. I opened the closet door and ran to Jon.

"JON!" I yelled. Jon picked me up and hugged me tight, and I started bawling. "I'm so sorry..." I said.

"No, no, Cat, you don't need to be sorry. I do." Jon said softly.

"No, I'm the one at fault. I ran away from the hospital because I'm a chicken." I said, crying.

"You're not a chicken. Now come on, let's go home. Everyone's worried sick and they miss you."

"Okay." I said.

________

"Guys! I found Cat!" Jon yelled, banging open the door. Almost immediately, I was attacked with hugs and kisses. Elle would not stop clinging to me.

"Sunshine! I missed you!" Elle said, squeezing me tight. Jessica hugged me too and said the same thing.

"Okay, now that we said our hellos, in all seriousness, Cat, why did you run away?" Katie asked. I sighed and said, "I was scared and sick of the hospital so I ran away and hid in Barrett's apartment. I was scared to tell anyone where I was because I didn't want to go back to the hospital."

"Aww, my poor sweet Sunshine." Elle said. "You don't have to go back just yet, but you will have to in a few days." I sighed and started to cry.

"No hospital talk just yet. Movies and cuddles?" Evan asked. We all nodded and then Jessica said, "Wait! Ballet!"

I grabbed my ballet shoes and started dancing.

It feels so good to be home.

AN: 100TH CHAPTER OF ADOPTED BY HEATHERS! I'm SO SO thankful for all the support, love, and praise you guys have given me! And don't worry, this book is not ending for a LONG time. Hope you enjoyed! Catch ya later!