dreaming-of-jace: thanks for reviewing!
Savannah yawned, running her hand through her hair as she walked into the kitchen. Usually, she wasn't tired in the mornings. She was always wide awake, but last night she kept waking up. She felt like something bad happened, but she couldn't place her finger on what it could have been. She thought that maybe she'd forgotten to do something, but she wasn't stressing too much about it. It would probably come to her later in the day. Right now, all she needed was coffee.
She got the coffee pot set up and ready before she went back down the hall to her bedroom. She looked over to the bed and saw that Dan was starting to wake up because he was stirring around. Walking over to her closet, she picked out what she was gong to wear to work today and got dressed as quickly as possible. She walked over to the bed and shook Dan lightly. "Dan. Wake up. It's almost six-thirty."
"Hm…"
"Get up. It's getting late, you told your boss you'd be in early today."
"Okay…"
"Now."
"In a minute."
"Now."
"Fine, go away."
"You're an asshole in the mornings," she muttered, walking out of the room. She walked back to the kitchen and she got some coffee ready to go in a travel coffee thermos. As she took a sip, she got into the refrigerator and grabbed a breakfast bar, before sliding her flats on that were by the doorway. "Dan, I'm leaving!" She called out.
"Okay!"
"Check on Tyler, I'm late to work!"
"I will!"
Savannah grabbed her keys from the key rack and she made her way out the door. As she got in her car, her phone rang and she took it out of her pocket, holding it up to her ear. "Savannah Monroe," she said.
"Could you do me a favor and swing by to get Renée?" Charlotte asked from the other line.
"What time does she have to be at school?"
"Twelve."
"Alright. Have her ready because I'm already late to work. I'll just take her with me and then get her to school on my lunch break."
"Thanks."
"No problem. Love you."
"Love you too," she said before hanging up.
Savannah put her phone back in her pocket before pulling out of the driveway. As she made her way down the street, her phone rang, but she let it go to voicemail as she got onto the main road. Once she was at Charlotte's house, she parked her car and honked the horn to let Charlotte know she was there. After waiting a minute or two, Charlotte finally came out with Renée and put her booster seat in the back seat, buckling her in.
"You look like crap," Savannah said.
"I feel like crap," Charlotte muttered.
"Baby's kicking you in the ass, isn't it?"
"Hell yeah it is."
"Charlotte Ruth Monroe, that is no way for a lady to talk," Savannah said with a mocking tone.
"Oh, that's nothing Mom, you should hear Savannah; she's got the mouth of a sailor."
"I do not, I just don't limit myself to not cursing unless the kids are around."
"Uh huh. Renée, be good for Auntie," she said, kissing Renée's cheek.
"I will," Renée said.
"Auntie's got some spare time after her first client leaves, you wanna do a photo shoot?" Savannah asked.
"Yeah!"
"I better get copies of the pictures," Charlotte said.
"Duh," Savannah said. "Shut my door so I can leave, I'm late."
"Bye," she said, closing the door.
Savannah started driving down the street and pulled back out to the main road, heading for her office.
"Auntie, can we use to pink and purple backdrops?" Renée asked.
"We can use whatever ones you want to use. This photo shoot is going to be just for fun. You can even choose your own backdrop for your school pictures. I'm going to be taking the pictures of all the kindergarteners at your school."
"Really? That's a lot of kids."
"It sure is, all four hundred and sixty-seven of them."
"Your phone's ringing."
"I know but I don't answer it when I'm driving."
"How come?"
"It's illegal to talk on your phone and drive at the same time."
"That don't stop people from doing it."
"It doesn't, but it should. People can get hurt when they're distracted by their phones," Savannah said, pulling into her studio's parking lot.
"Can I have a cookie when we get in?"
"You can have a lunchable that's got a cookie in it."
"Do you have the turkey and cheese and crackers kind?"
"That's all I have right now. I need to stock up on them again," she said, parking her car. "Alright Ladybug, get unbuckled," she said, getting out of the car.
Once Renée got out of the car, Savannah locked it and started into the studio. She smiled and waved at the girl at the front desk, who wasn't more than seventeen. "Welcome back, Tracy. How's the baby doing?" She asked.
"He's great. He's already sleeping through the night," Tracy said.
"Gosh, I wish Tyler had slept through the night at three months. He had to go and get Colic so he was fussy the first two and a half months of his life. I thought he'd never stop crying."
"I hope that doesn't happen to Jake."
"I doubt it will if it hasn't already. He should have developed it by now."
"How long does it last?"
"If I remember correctly, it can last until they're six months old. You might ask his pediatrician just in case he does get it."
"I will. Where's Tyler?"
"He's at home. He didn't feel good last night, so I didn't want to risk him being sick and bringing him here. Too many newborns come in here."
"True. Who's the cutie?"
"This is my niece Renée. Nay, this is Tracy; she does all the paperwork and printing for me."
"Hi," Renée said, shyly hiding behind Savannah's leg.
"Hi there," Tracy said. "Are you in school yet?"
Renée nodded.
"Yeah? What grade?"
"I don't have one…"
"She's in kindergarten," Savannah said. "I'll come back out here after my first client leaves, we have new packets for the order form, I wanna show you how they're supposed to be filled out."
"Okay," Tracy said. "See you then."
"Come on, Nay," Savannah said, starting towards the back. Once she got into her office, she put her purse down on her desk and she took her phone out of her pocket when it started ringing again. "Savannah Monroe," she said.
"Where the hell were you? I called you twice," Dan said, angrily.
"I was driving, Dan; you know I don't answer my phone when I drive."
"Tyler's gone."
Savannah's breath caught in her throat. "…What?"
"I went into his room to check on him and he's not in there."
"Did you check everywhere? He climbs out of his crib, maybe he's in the play room."
"I've checked everywhere, Van; he's not here."
"Oh my god," she said as her eyes filled with tears. "Call the police. Check with the neighbors, everybody."
"I called the police already, they're on their way over right now. I think that's them at the door. Get home. Now," he said, hanging up.
Savannah put her phone back in her pocket and she grabbed her purse. "Let's go, Nay. Don't mess around, come on," she said, leaving her office. "Tracy, call all of my clients and cancel their appointments, I have to get home," she said as she headed to the door.
"Why? Your seven-fifteen just called and said she was on her way and she'd be late," Tracy said.
"My son is missing."
Savannah burst through the front door in tears, and she let it slam behind her. "Dan!"
"Living room," Dan said.
She let out a small sob and she walked into the living room, immediately going to Dan and wrapping her arms around him. "Where is he?"
"I don't know, Babe."
"Miss Monroe, I'm Lieutenant Thomas," a police officer said. "Do you have any idea as to where Tyler could be?"
"No. I put him to bed last night. I should have checked on him before I went to work," she said with a sob.
"My partners are looking through the house, just in case you didn't check a certain room. They're going to go around the neighborhood and ask your neighbors if they've seen him. Do you have a recent photograph of Tyler that they can use?"
"Just the ones I took of him last week. They're on my computer, I haven't printed them out yet."
"Could you do that for us? Print off two copies of two pictures. Make sure his face is clearly shown."
Savannah nodded and she whined, burying her face into Dan's chest. "What if something happens to him?"
"Nothing will happen to him," Dan said.
"I don't think anything will happen to him, Miss Monroe. Right now our main concern is finding him, dead or alive," Lieutenant Thomas said.
"Go print the pictures, Babe. I'll talk to Lieutenant Thomas.
Savannah nodded and she walked out of the room, sniffling. Dan let out a small breath and sat on the couch, running his hands over his face.
"Mr. Patch, is Tyler your biological son?" Lieutenant Thomas asked.
Dan shook his head. "No. I've raised him with Savannah."
"Do you know who his biological father is?"
"His name is Peter. I don't know his last name."
"Do you know where we might find him?"
"He's in jail as far as I know."
"Would Miss Monroe know his last name?"
"I think so. I'm not sure… What are the chances of Tyler being found?"
"Right now, fifty-fifty. They're always found. They just aren't always found alive."
"Could you do me a favor, and not say anything like that around Savannah? She'll be a basket case if she hears that Tyler could be dead…"
"I understand that, but I have to be truthful with her."
Dan sighed and he nodded. Savannah came back into the room and she handed the pictures to Lieutenant Thomas.
"Miss Monroe, who is Tyler's biological father?" Lieutenant Thomas asked.
"Peter DeWitt," Savannah said.
"Do you know where he lives or where he works?"
"Before he was put in jail, he worked at the Hoedown Haven. It's on Thornton Drive and Alistair Lane."
"What about where he lives?"
"I don't know where he lived."
"You had a sexual relationship with this man and you don't know where he lives?"
"I wasn't in a relationship with him; he raped me…"
"I'm sorry. Do you know if he's still in jail?"
"I think he got out last month. I'm not completely sure."
"Do you know what jail he was at?"
"Lancer as far as I know."
"Alright. As soon as my partners are finished looking around and outside the house, they'll go around the neighborhood and I'll interview you."
Savannah nodded. "Alright… Should I call anybody?"
"The last people to see him."
"That's Charlotte and Marti," she said, looking at Dan. "You call Marti, I'll call Charlotte."
"What are the relations between you and Charlotte and Marti?"
"Charlotte is my sister, Marti is our best friend and Tyler's godmother."
"Alright. You call them and have them come here. I'd like to interview them both separately. It would be better for them to both be here so we can get it done as soon as possible."
Savannah nodded and she sighed, walking to her bedroom. "Please let him be okay…" she whispered.
