Chapter 2:

Gone?

I wake up in my own bedroom in Malibu. I missed this place. I missed the openness of the windows. I missed my mauve walls and massive walk-in closet.

After the time I've spent away for college, I missed being home.

I walk into the kitchen to find my parents in their pajamas. Dad is sitting at the breakfast bar while Mom is at the stove. I smell the sign of cinnamon rolls.

"Well, look who finally decided to grace us with her presence," Dad says jovially. He just greets me with a big grin.

"Did you sleep well, honey?" Mom asked me.

"Comatose," I reply.

Dad just laughs. "I'll say. I picked you up and you didn't move."

"I really am proud of you for how you handled yourself at the ceremony," Mom tells me.

"You should have seen her talk to that tabloid, Pep. She was trying to kiss my ass and Andie kicked hers. It was great," Dad says, laughing.

Mom just looks at me, eyebrow raised.

"Sorry. You would have done the same if you saw her running up with that smirk and lustful gleam in her eyes," I mock Ms. Everhart by batting my eyelashes.

Mom thinks about it for a second and then nods.

"She was kind of pretty, too," Dad says — sounding kind of disappointed. I pick up the pillow on an empty barstool and toss it at Dad. It hit him in the head. "I was kidding," he tells me.

Who would have known what I started? Mom then takes a pillow and hits Dad with it, too.

"Pep? I was joking. It was supposed to be funny."

Mom laughs sarcastically, but she is having fun.

"Two against one, this isn't fair." Dad grabs a pillow and takes off running. Mom and I each grab a pillow and go looking for him. Mom finds him — I can tell by her shriek. I hear running footsteps throughout the house. I run towards the sound and join the fray. Laughing, we go back into the kitchen. Where the cinnamon rolls smell ready.

Mom's ginormous cinnamon rolls are to die for. They're so gooey, sticky and sweet.

"It's nice having you back in the house," Dad says.

"Is my old man trying to say that he missed me?" I ask him playfully.

"Old?" Dad asks.

"No. Never. Heaven forbid," Mom replies as she tosses me a wink.

"Okay, there might have been a rough night or two," Dad admits.

"I love you too, Daddy!" I tell him as I give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Whaddya say we go surfing?" Dad asks me. "But wait — I'm too old, remember?"

"Ha! Aren't you funny?"

HEART*OF*STEEL* HEART*OF*STEEL* HEART*OF*STEEL*

When we get back to the house, I'm exhausted. I take the stairs two at a time and go into my bedroom. My dark mauve walls and canopy bed are very inviting to me. Dad will be leaving tomorrow pretty early for a weapons demo in the Middle East.

I wish I had more time with him before he leaves, but it's the life. It's the rootlessness that I've come to know.

"Jarvis, if I'm not awake by zero six hundred tomorrow, wake me."

"Yes, Andrina," Jarvis replies in his robotic voice.

"Thank you."

I run and jump into my bed, smiling as I fall asleep.

I wake up the next morning at 6:00, right on the dot.

"Good Morning, Andrina. It's 6:00 AM. The weather in Malibu is 70 degrees with scattered clouds. The surf conditions are fair with high tide at 10:52 AM." Jarvis pulls my curtains back and I walk up to my window. I will never get tired of this view — seeing the sunrises and sunsets over the horizon.

I just yawn and stretch.

Hmm. I might go surfing again today. I stay in my PJs, but brush my teeth and hair and then go into the kitchen, and find Mom cooking.

"Morning," Mom greets me.

"Morning. Happy Birthday," I tell her.

Mom smiles. To her, acknowledging the birthday is just as good as a present. Dad buys her whatever she wants anyway.

"Mmm. Smells good. Anything I can do to help?" I ask her.

"I think I got it covered, but thanks."

"No problem. Dad still asleep?" I ask her.

"No, he's down in the shop."

"Oh, okay." I go downstairs and type in my code at Jarvis's pad at the door.

"Hey. Morning, Andie," Dad says.

"Aren't you supposed to be on your way to the airport?" I ask him.

"It's my plane," he replies. He is working on the hot rod in jeans and a black t-shirt and dark denim, listening to "Institutionalized" by Suicidal Tendencies. Mom then comes down with a tray — Breakfast. She is barefoot and doesn't even shake the glasses of water.

"The compression in cylinder three appears to be low," Jarvis reports.

"Log that," Dad tells him.

"Breakfast is served," Mom reports. "You are supposed to be on an airplane right now," Mom tells Dad.

"Are my girls trying to hassle me out of here?" Dad asks, eating his breakfast.

"No, but your flight was scheduled to leave a half hour ago," Mom retorts in her bossy voice.

"I thought it being my plane and all…that it would just wait for me to get there."

"What about Rhodey?" I ask.

"I mean, doesn't it defeat the purpose of having your own plane if it departs before you arrive?"

They then talk business and I tune that out, and eat my breakfast. After we are both done, I take the trays and wash the dishes. I hear footsteps and Dad comes back out with his suitcase and in a suit, Mom follows him out.

"Don't you look all fancy schmancy? You're going to a desert, not the Hamptons," I observe.

"This will make them take me seriously," he replies, tugging at his lapel.

"You supply them weapons, Dad. I think they already take you seriously. And besides, I think the JERICHO speaks for itself."

"Good point," he replies with a smug smile.

I go over and hug him.

"Now you be careful over there," I tell him.

"Always," he tells me, kissing my head. "Be good."

"Never," I tell him jokingly.

"I'll see you in a few days. Bye, baby," he tells me as he kisses my head once again.

"Bye, Dad. I love you."

"Love you too, Andie."

I unfortunately heard Mom and Dad say their goodbyes last night.

I hear the Audi and what is presumably the Phantom peel out of the driveway. Once Dad and Happy are gone, there is nothing left to do but carry on with the day. This isn't the first time, nor will it be the last that he's gone.

Happy returns in Phantom.

"Is it okay if I go surfing?" I ask Mom.

"I've got to go run errands, so make sure Happy goes with you," she replies.

"Okay." Happy just returned from racing Dad to the airport, and he seems more than happy to go surfing with me.

I go upstairs, change into my bathing suit and put a cover over it. I get my wet suit and grab my beach bag and surfboard and leave with Happy. The sun is beaming down right now, so I put on some sunscreen. I see paparazzi, but pay them no mind. They're everywhere in California. I'm confident in my body and I can actually surf pretty well. I paddle out, and Jarvis was right. The conditions are good, but not excellent.

HEART*OF*STEEL* HEART*OF*STEEL* HEART*OF*STEEL*

It is already three or four in the afternoon when I get back home. Mom has already returned.

"Hey, did you have fun?" she asks me.

"Yeah, it's a beautiful day. Have you heard from Dad?"

"He called me a few hours into his flight. He tried to call you, but you didn't have your phone on you."

"Oh."

Too bad I missed his call. I pull out my call to see that Dad has left me a video message.

"Well, I see how things are. Your "old man" tries to call you and you don't pick up. Kids just don't have respect anymore. Well, I guess you're busy or something…I hope you're busy being good for your mother. I'll see you when I get back. Toodles."

The message just makes me smile.

"What do you want for supper tonight?" she asks me.

"Nothing fancy," I reply, putting my surfboard in the closet. After a little bit of discussion, we end up settling on spaghetti and meatballs. I help Mom cook. We always make homemade sauce, so it takes a bit longer to cook and we bake bread. It is a quiet dinner because Dad isn't home. When it's just Mom and I around, there's usually a comfortable silence.

We get done eating around 6:00 and I go upstairs, take a shower and go back downstairs. Mom is channel surfing.

"Nothing good on?" I ask her.

"No, it's all reality TV now. I'm surprised that no one has tried to make a TV show out of our lives."

"They'd probably know better not to ask," I say, laughing.

Mom just smiles.

Finally at 7:00 there is something on: NCIS. We watched that for an hour and then I went upstairs and fell asleep. I woke up the next morning and I go downstairs and immediately go to the fridge, but stopped when I see a note on it.

Andie, I had to go into the office. If you go anywhere, make sure Happy goes with you. Love you.

I get some milk out of the fridge and my box of cereal of the cabinet. I hear the front door open, and see Happy come into the kitchen.

"Did Mom send you to babysit me?" I ask him.

"Yeah," he replies. Happy's inability to beat around the bush is one of the many things I like about him.

"Well, I went through my regular closet and picked out of stuff that I wanted to donate." I have two closets, one for day-to-day wear and one that would be fit for a queen. My fancy closet is massive. Each dress is assigned a number and is in a digital log. There is a large vanity table, and my shoes are on a wall, each pair having it's own numbered cubicle.

"Alright, I'll let you eat breakfast and change...Did you wanna donate them to goodwill or a church?"

"I think they'll be put to better use at a church, don't you?" I question.

"Probably."

I finish up my cereal and change into a navy blue shirt and a pair of white shorts. I let my hair stay wavy and tie it back in a low ponytail. I put on my white converse. I grab one of the garbage bags that I stuffed with old clothes that don't fit or I just don't wear anymore. It is nothing too incredibly fancy. I bring the bag downstairs and Happy volunteers to get one and I get the remaining one.

"Your car or mine?" Happy asks. My car is a white Toyota FTHS that had 4 seats but goes to 2 in convertible mode. It is an electric/fuel hybrid. STARK 12.

"I'll go pull my car around front." I go downstairs and grab my car keys and pull out of my spot and up the ramp to the front of the house. I pop my trunk and Happy already have two bags in his hands and I grabbed the last one.

"Jarvis, we're going out. Go ahead and lock everything down. I don't think we'll be out too long."

"As you wish, Andrina," he says. Jarvis used to call me ma'am, but I usually reprimanded him for it, but he still does on occasion. He can't help it; it's how he's programmed.

Happy and I get into my car, and it is a beautiful day so I decide to put the top down.

"Which church should we go to?" I ask him. Church is something that I've never done. It's not that I don't believe — it's just something I've never really thought about, really.

"Hmm. The closest one is on 18th and Holmes," Happy replies.

"That's over there by the hospital, isn't it?"

"That'd be correct, ma'am."

I pull out of our driveway and make my way there. It is about a 20-minute trip since we are on the outskirts of town. I pull into the parking and Happy and I grab the bags and make our way into the church. I don't exactly look church-worthy but I still go in. The pastor meets us when we walks in.

"Donations?" he asks me.

"Yes, sir. Just old clothes," I say.

"So nice of you to give to those less fortunate."

"Thank you," I reply. "Where should we put these?" I ask him.

"Right this way." He shows us through the back and we place the bags in a room with a woman sitting behind a desk.

"Thank you for your donation."

"No problem. I just went through my closet."

"Well we appreciate it and I imagine a lot of girls will as well," the older woman replies.

"There will be a service tonight at 6:00 if you're interested. Thank you again for your generosity. Have a wonderful day."

"You, too."

As soon as we breach the doors and walk across the street to the parking lot, there are paparazzi there with video cameras and regular ones.

"Andrina, are you taking over the company?"

"Do you think you'll receive a ransom note?"

"What are you talking about?" I ask the hounds. Don't they realize that they are on holy ground? Do they even care? I don't even know what they are talking about.

"Your father."

"What about him?" I ask them.

"You don't know?"

"Would you stop asking me questions and just tell me what is going on?!" I tell them loudly, interrupting several questions being thrown my way. It takes a lot of strength to not say Hell in that demand, but I remember where I am.

One of them takes out their cell phone and shoves it in my face.

"Today, Tony Stark was giving a demonstration of his new missile, and on the way back to the airbase, his convoy was ambushed and Stark was taken. They suspect it was by a radical militia group, but his location is unknown."

I just let the person take their phone back. I turn my back on them and get out my cell phone. I dial Rhodey's number. He picks up on the first ring.

"Is it true? Is he gone?" I ask him before he could get out a 'hello."

"Yes, but believe me, we are going to do anything to get him back. I'm going to stay over here until we get him. Andie, it's going to be —"

I hang up on him. "No!" I scream. "No!"

Happy is right next to me. I am about to collapse, but Happy catches me. It's like I'd just been told he's dead and not missing. Happy just lets me bang on him, it's not I am punching the daylights out of him — they are more like shoving punches. I finally stop and collapse in Happy's arms.

"All right, that's enough, go away," Happy tells the press.

I feel him take the lanyard off my neck that holds my car keys. Happy helps me into the car and as soon as I get in the car, I start shaking with sobs and go absolutely hysterical.

"Andrina. It's okay. Rhodey will do everything in his power to get him back home. And you know your Dad; he's as stubborn as a mule. He'll come back to you."

The questions are: Will he come back alive and in one piece, or come back in a box? Even if he did come back, he is likely to be affected psychologically. Would he still be the Dad I know? We drive home and I see the Tesla Roadster in front of the house— Mom's preferred car.

I run out of the car still crying hysterically and Mom comes out to meet us. She is crying, too.

"Mom!" I cry.

"Andrina!"

I jump up and give her a bear hug. We both hide our faces in the crook of each other's necks.

She pulls back and cradles my face in her hands.

"It's going to be okay. He'll be okay. We'll be okay."

She seems to be trying to make herself believe it, but I certainly don't.