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The beginning of the intertwining begins...
CHAPTER 3
August 23, 2012
Edward
"Dada home?" Elijah asked on our nightly video chats. I chatted with each of them and my parents every night after my shift. Since I hadn't taken any vacation time since I had started to work at the age of 18 my supervisor approved me for 6 weeks vacation after my initial 2 weeks on shore time so I had two months to spend with my kids and get my legal issues straightened out. I was looking forward to the time off. Lauren had been bugging my parents incessantly because I had stopped paying child support as well as issued an eviction notice to the house that I had paid cash for.
"Yeah buddy, daddy's coming home tomorrow." I reassured him.
"Mama?" he asked again. He and his sister both asked this question every night. I think it was because she was showing up to my moms every day as well as calling several times a day. I wasn't sure if they missed her or not but she was still their mother.
Running my fingers through my hair I looked at my son who was watching me with curious bright green eyes that matched mine. "I don't know, buddy. Daddy will see what he can do when he gets home tomorrow." I told him though he probably didn't understand. "I love you, Elijah Michael."
"Lub Dada." He said before blowing me a kiss like my mom had showed them a few days ago.
His chubby little face was replaced with my dad's which was rare as he abhorred video chatting. "Hi Son." He said with a small smile.
"Hi Dad, what's up?" I asked nervously.
He sighed as he shook his head. "I got the call a bit ago that your car has been vandalized at the yard."
"Wow. How bad?" I asked because that was my only way home.
"They think it's totaled. I will be there to pick you up tomorrow morning when the chopper lands." He said reassuringly.
I shook my head. "That's not necessary Dad. I can just catch a ride with Jasper. Do they know what happened?"
I could see it in his mannerisms that I wasn't going to like this bit of information. "The cameras show a dark blue four door car pull up beside your Volvo and a person with a hooded sweatshirt on began destroying your car. They slashed your tires, busted all your windows, put something in your gas tank, and wrapped your wiring harness to shreds."
"Lauren had a junkie in her bed when I took the kids. Could it have been them?" I asked because my gut told me she had something to do with this because messing with my car would piss me off and she knew that.
My dad shrugged. "They keep their faces hidden and Lauren's car is red or at least that is what she keeps showing up in. The police are on it."
"Okay, thanks Dad. I'm gonna get some shut eye and will see you tomorrow."
"Okay, Son. Be safe. Love you."
"Love you guys too. Give my babies an extra kiss from me."
After disconnecting the chat window I began the tedious task of packing up all my belongings. This time I would be taking everything back with me instead of just my clothes since I would be gone for two months. I had my own private room since I was the head welder for my shift so that allowed me to leave some stuff on my typical 14 on 14 off shifts.
I cringed the next morning as I followed Jasper to his truck that had been parked beside my car. "Damn dude, she's really pissed off ain't she?"
"Yeah. I think she's more pissed about the money and free house being taken away than me keeping the kids." I told him as I tossed my bags into the bed of his truck.
Jasper nodded. "Yeah, she had gold digger written all over her that night and you were too drunk to realize it. "Sucks for you that the condom broke."
I shook my head. "I wouldn't trade my kids for anything. If I could go back I would do it all over again because of Elli and Elijah." I told him as we hopped in the truck to head to our onshore lives.
"I know, dude. Ali and I love those little guys too but it sucks that Lauren comes with them."
I couldn't help but nod in agreement. "Any word yet on the adoption front?" I asked to get the conversation away from my fucked up life. He and Alice found out last year that she couldn't have children so they had decided to just adopt one of the many babies that needed a home.
We spent the next hour talking about anything and everything but Lauren and my shitty choice in women. We were just pulling into my street when we saw a bunch of police cars with their lights going. "Oh God." I said as I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Jasper got as close to my parents driveway as possible before we both jumped out of the truck running as fast as we could to where my parents stood. My mom was sobbing against my father's chest as a detective tried to get information from her. "Dad, what's going on?" I asked when I finally reached them.
My moms head spin around to look at me with fear in her eyes. "It's all my fault, Edward. I'm so sorry." She sobbed before my father pulled her back into his arms as he nodded at the detective.
"This is my son, Edward. He is the father of the children."
The next few days were a blur as I searched and hunted alongside our police force for my children and their deranged mother that had kidnapped them. After ever lead seemingly ended at a dead end I turned to God and began praying that he make my babies safe and healthy where ever they were. Lauren had left a note on the changing table in the nursery at my Mom and Dads house leaving no doubt who had taken the children.
If I can't have my children then neither can you. Goodbye Edward. I will be sure to give them extra kisses from you!
I had searched the house for clues of where she would take them but it was completely empty except for a bunch of trash and their nursery furniture. Everybody I talked to said that she had gone completely off her rocker since falling in cohorts with James Hunter. Two months had passed with no new leads so with a heavy heart and a lot of reluctance I headed back to the oil rig while my parents handled the continued search for my missing babies.
BELLA
Running in the early hours of the morning both gave me the opportunity to exercise in peace and quiet while also preparing for the adventures a day in my life was bound to bring about. Running with me this morning was Sadie, a German shepherd that had been found almost starved to death, Roscoe, a beautiful solid white pit bull that had been severely beaten and torn apart in a horrific dog fight his owners had put him in, and Alexia, a mixed breed that had been tossed in a dumpster along with her entire litter. With Shanna Twain blaring in my ears I picked up the pace just a bit. I was so engrossed in singing along with my eclectic music that I failed to notice when my dogs took me off course until they came to a stop. "What's up, guys?" I asked the dogs as I tugged my earbuds from my ears.
They just looked between me and the blue car that hadn't been parked here yesterday. I noticed the flat tires on the left side of the car. Knowing how far we were from town and how spotting cell service could be I approached the car tentatively to see if the owners were maybe sleeping inside waiting for daylight to seek help. I peered through the window and was blown away by what I saw inside.
Two toddlers still strapped in their car seats sound asleep. I could see the dried tear tracks on their little faces from here. Without a moment's hesitation I pulled out my phone and called my ex father in law who was the sheriff in town. "Hey Bells, what's got you calling me at this hour?" he said in a gruff voice that caused me to smile.
"Have you seen anybody in town recently with two small children?" I asked as I checked the doors to the car but found them all locked and the windows rolled up tight. It was still early November so the children has a good chance at being okay but these babies needed to be rescued. "No, why?"
"I found a car abandoned with two babies locked in the car about 3 miles from my house. I'm about to bust out the windows and call Sam to come get us. I will send you pictures of everything but I will have breakfast ready and waiting in 2 hours." I told him before hanging up the phone. After placing a quick call to Sam I went around the car snapping picture after picture before throwing a rock through the driver side window that caused the kids to wake up screaming.
