Disclaimer: Their Sweet Audrina and all the characters and stuff aren't
mine either.
Author's Note: Eeek! My conscience is getting at me! i felt soooooooo bad that i haven't updated in so long that i decided to make this extra long (well, by my standards anyway hehe). BTW, i haven't read the ACTUAL story in a long time so if i make any mistakes, don't hesitate to correct me. '...' means thoughts.
I swiftly stumbled away from the disgruntled ice-cream man and wandered back to the bench, my thoughts in a whirlwind of possibilities. Where had Sylvia gone? Had she been kidnapped? Was she being raped at this very second? There were so many possibilities and so few good outcomes. The heart in my chest was thumping in a mess of worry and distress. After a few seconds of pointless concentration, I took a few deep breaths. It helped a little bit and was able to think a bit more rationally.
Why was I even standing near the bench? It wasn't like my sister was hiding beneath it. Cupping my fingers around my mouth, I called out loudly, "Sylvia? Where are you? If you're playing hide-and-seek, please come out! I give up." Nothing answered me back but a few sympathetic glances from passing strangers.
I tried to look at the bright side of things even as my eyes scanned the small park. She couldn't have gotten very far. Maybe, she DID go to the bathroom like the man had suggested. Scrambling towards the toilet physicality, I shamelessly called out my sister's name the entire way. I finally emerged into the bathroom doorway, breathless. Since I was making a thorough search, I even glanced underneath stalls. My embarrassment was not going to get in the way of finding Sylvia. Nonetheless, forgetting my shyness didn't help. Little by little, my hope was disappearing while I ignored the shocked gasps of the women. Still, my helpless little sister was not to be found.
I blinked my eyes quickly. Once, I had heard that the first hour was the most important time if a child was kidnapped. Within that limited time frame, the abductor could have safely hidden the child. Not wanting to let these precious moments of time pass by, I ran out the bathroom and started out to search the grounds of the park.
Honestly, I tried my best to find her. I asked every person who happened to pass by if they had seen an adolescent girl with red hair. They would say they had seen a lot of girls fitting that description. I would tell them that Sylvia was wearing a knee-high flower skirt and a matching blouse with a blue overcoat. They would say that they didn't notice a person's attire that much. Oh! It was so frustrating when it was like these clueless strangers were purposely trying to waste time and hinder my search!
After twenty five minutes of anxiously glancing at my watch with no results whatsoever, I decided to include the police. Finding the phone and dialing the number was simple enough. The ringing tone wasn't as easy to handle. It was like the ringing was the marking point to admitting that I had actually lost Sylvia.
When a feminine voice finally answered the phone, I was struggling to hold back the tears. "Hello. You have reached the emergency offices of 9-1-1. How may I help you?"
I was obsessed with time-keeping. Why was she wasting the remaining hour telling me things I already knew?! "Please help me! I lost my sister. I'm at a pay phone at Willwort Park. It says here that the pay phone number is..." I squinted. "297-9302"
Typing could be heard in the background. "Ok ma'am. Please calm down." The operator obviously heard the nervousness in my words. "How long has your sister been officially missing?"
"Over half an hour." My voice came out as a squeak.
The operator on the other side of the phone sighed regretfully. "Listen ma'am, I'm sorry but we can't do anything right now. You must understand that our police force is very busy and must not be bothered with false claims. Someone must be missing for at least 24 hours before the cops can get involved. These precautions must be taken in case the child is at a friend's house or something similar to that."
"You don't understand! Sylvia has a... mental problem. She doesn't understand simple things like not taking candy from a stranger. If you don't help me now, she could be murdered!"
"I... I really am sorry but these regulations have to be followed. I understand your distress but-"
"But nothing! My sister is missing and yet, you're not helping me."
"Ma'am, I-" Refusing to listen to reason, I angrily slammed the phone back into its holder. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my fried nerves. I got some change out of my purse and called another person.
"Hello? Arden? It's Sylvia! She's gone missing. I'm at a park and she was there one minute and then she was gone. I was just buying her ice-cream. I checked the bathroom, I checked the whole goddamn park! Oh Arden, Sylvia's gone! I asked everybody but they wouldn't help and..." I stopped my babbling because the sobs that I had held in had found their way out.
"I'll be right there honey. Meet me at the um... parking lot. I'll be right there. Don't worry Audrina, we'll find her. I'm going to let you go now. Alright?" He hung up on me and I reluctantly put the phone back, not wanting to stray from the comforting sound of a caring human being.
I stepped out and as I raced towards the edge of the parking lot, I looked like a wild child. My multi-colored hair was a mess and my make-up was completely ruined. If I could have been chewing at my fingernails while running, I would have. Anything was a good distraction.
By the time I reached my destination, I was short of breath. Even though it was a short jog, I had pushed my body to the point of exhaustion. The adrenaline was quickly abandoning me and I was left with nothing but the rush of passing vehicles.
Maybe it was because I was looking at my watch every few seconds but time seemed to slow down. I couldn't hear the twinkling laughter of a passing couple, absolutely nothing. All my concentration, my whole being, was too busy studying the cars. When was Arden's sedan going to arrive?
Unexpectedly, I shivered. "Au-au-drina?" I turned around. I couldn't help smiling uncontrollably at the sight of my sister.
"Oh my god! Sylvia! You're okay!" I stretched out my arms and enveloped her in such a tight hug that she started struggling and pushing me away.
A distracting chuckle disrupted my wonderful reunion. I pulled away from my sister and looked at the tall, handsome stranger standing in front of me. Yes, I know that the description ' tall handsome stranger ' was much laughed at in our society but I couldn't think of a better way to describe him.
"Hello, and you are?" I asked bluntly. Was he always there?
"I'm Michael, pleased to meet you." He extended his hand but I reasoned to myself that I should just ignore it.
Michael took the hand back and awkwardly brushed back a wisp of hair. He decided to continue introducing himself. "I found her wandering around," he pointed at Sylvia, "so I decided to ask her if she was lost. When she began stuttering and having trouble answering, I decided to take her to the police station. That's where you came in." He give me a charming smile. My suspicions still weren't satisfied.
"You were nice enough to ask if an adolescent was lost," I stated wryly. "And when this beautiful, just-blossomed girl appeared mentally unstable, you decided to drive her to the ' police station '."
"Look lady! I was just doing an act that any decent citizen would do and I'd appreciate if you didn't turn it into something ugly. I don't take it too nicely when somebody thinks that I would molest an underage child. It's bad enough that I don't even get a thanks but jeeze!" He turned to leave but I stopped him.
"S-sorry. I've been through a lot today..." I smiled warily.
Michael turned his head around, snickered, and started walking away again.
"Audrina! It looks like you've found Sylvia after all! That's great," an enthusiastic voice exclaimed as a car door slammed shut.
"I didn't, he did." I explained quietly to Arden while I pointed at the stranger's back.
My husband, being the friendly guy that he is, ran up to catch up with Michael. Within minutes, he had his arms around his shoulders and was walking back towards me and Sylvia like they had been best friends for ages.
A quizzical expression was aimed at me. After a short pause, my husband spoke. "Honey, he's agreed to come over for dinner today as a thanks. Isn't that great?"
Michael gave me a glance that said how-did-someone-like-you-end-up-with- someone-like-him. I ignored the look and answered Arden's question instead. "That sounds great, just great.
He continued to try joking to ease the tension in the air. "I hope that isn't sarcasm."
I was surprised to find myself telling the truth. "No." Why ponder over something so stupid? Sylvia was back with me and that was all that mattered.
~~~
I wish we didn't have any hired help. That way, I would be washing dishes instead of pretending to pay attention to Michael and Arden discussing the last football game. Sylvia was playing with that light-up yo-yo. The only one that was bored to death was me. I was almost jealous of papa. He had incidentally been called to work another couple of hours and couldn't make it home for dinner.
"Ya, I know! What an idiot. Even a two year could have caught that pass. I mean, they get paid like..."
"I think the IGL stock would be a good investment."
Blank eyes stared back at me. "Huh?," they asked unanimously.
I laughed self-consciously at their puzzled faces. "Just a random thought." I had always been interested in stocks and coincidentally, both were involved in them. Michael was a major stockholder and my husband was a stock advisor. I had figured this out during dinner.
Arden finally shook his head with a slight shrug of his shoulder. He grinned. "Maybe you should work with me and your dad, Audrina. You know a lot about this stuff, maybe even more."
I had to make things work between the two of us so I mustn't rub his ego the wrong way. "More than you? Never."
He chuckled and moved to where I was sitting and wrapped an arm possessively around my shoulder.
"IGL hmm? Interesting thought. They've just gone under a new advertising campaign. Could be worth the look," remarked Michael.
I glanced over at him and genuinely smiled towards him for the first time. "Definitely worth the look."
He raised his eyebrows and turned to face Arden. "Now I know what you found so attracting about your wife. She's a beautiful business woman with an equally beautiful smile."
I could tell that he was trying to smooth things over from the previous incident where I accused him of wanting to molest Sylvia. However, charming men were the most dangerous.
"True, but that wasn't what attracted me to her," Arden smiled with an intimate smile aimed at me. "What attracted me to her was the fact that well... Audrina was just being Audrina. I don't know how to explain."
"You don't need to. I used to feel the exact same towards someone," Michael stated with a hint of irony. It seemed the tall handsome stranger had a past too.
~~~~~~~~~Author's Note~~~~~~~~
K, no idea what the IGL stock is. Just something I just randomly typed lol. I know, I know, that wasn't very long but it's like my second longest chapter that I've ever written on fanfiction.net. so ya. i tried :( It's just that writer's block gets to me after a while. Anyway, there you go. PLEASE REVIEW. Thankies for everyone who's reviewed or anybody who read this. THANK YOU SO MUCH! i hope i didn't disappoint anyone. ^.^
Author's Note: Eeek! My conscience is getting at me! i felt soooooooo bad that i haven't updated in so long that i decided to make this extra long (well, by my standards anyway hehe). BTW, i haven't read the ACTUAL story in a long time so if i make any mistakes, don't hesitate to correct me. '...' means thoughts.
I swiftly stumbled away from the disgruntled ice-cream man and wandered back to the bench, my thoughts in a whirlwind of possibilities. Where had Sylvia gone? Had she been kidnapped? Was she being raped at this very second? There were so many possibilities and so few good outcomes. The heart in my chest was thumping in a mess of worry and distress. After a few seconds of pointless concentration, I took a few deep breaths. It helped a little bit and was able to think a bit more rationally.
Why was I even standing near the bench? It wasn't like my sister was hiding beneath it. Cupping my fingers around my mouth, I called out loudly, "Sylvia? Where are you? If you're playing hide-and-seek, please come out! I give up." Nothing answered me back but a few sympathetic glances from passing strangers.
I tried to look at the bright side of things even as my eyes scanned the small park. She couldn't have gotten very far. Maybe, she DID go to the bathroom like the man had suggested. Scrambling towards the toilet physicality, I shamelessly called out my sister's name the entire way. I finally emerged into the bathroom doorway, breathless. Since I was making a thorough search, I even glanced underneath stalls. My embarrassment was not going to get in the way of finding Sylvia. Nonetheless, forgetting my shyness didn't help. Little by little, my hope was disappearing while I ignored the shocked gasps of the women. Still, my helpless little sister was not to be found.
I blinked my eyes quickly. Once, I had heard that the first hour was the most important time if a child was kidnapped. Within that limited time frame, the abductor could have safely hidden the child. Not wanting to let these precious moments of time pass by, I ran out the bathroom and started out to search the grounds of the park.
Honestly, I tried my best to find her. I asked every person who happened to pass by if they had seen an adolescent girl with red hair. They would say they had seen a lot of girls fitting that description. I would tell them that Sylvia was wearing a knee-high flower skirt and a matching blouse with a blue overcoat. They would say that they didn't notice a person's attire that much. Oh! It was so frustrating when it was like these clueless strangers were purposely trying to waste time and hinder my search!
After twenty five minutes of anxiously glancing at my watch with no results whatsoever, I decided to include the police. Finding the phone and dialing the number was simple enough. The ringing tone wasn't as easy to handle. It was like the ringing was the marking point to admitting that I had actually lost Sylvia.
When a feminine voice finally answered the phone, I was struggling to hold back the tears. "Hello. You have reached the emergency offices of 9-1-1. How may I help you?"
I was obsessed with time-keeping. Why was she wasting the remaining hour telling me things I already knew?! "Please help me! I lost my sister. I'm at a pay phone at Willwort Park. It says here that the pay phone number is..." I squinted. "297-9302"
Typing could be heard in the background. "Ok ma'am. Please calm down." The operator obviously heard the nervousness in my words. "How long has your sister been officially missing?"
"Over half an hour." My voice came out as a squeak.
The operator on the other side of the phone sighed regretfully. "Listen ma'am, I'm sorry but we can't do anything right now. You must understand that our police force is very busy and must not be bothered with false claims. Someone must be missing for at least 24 hours before the cops can get involved. These precautions must be taken in case the child is at a friend's house or something similar to that."
"You don't understand! Sylvia has a... mental problem. She doesn't understand simple things like not taking candy from a stranger. If you don't help me now, she could be murdered!"
"I... I really am sorry but these regulations have to be followed. I understand your distress but-"
"But nothing! My sister is missing and yet, you're not helping me."
"Ma'am, I-" Refusing to listen to reason, I angrily slammed the phone back into its holder. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my fried nerves. I got some change out of my purse and called another person.
"Hello? Arden? It's Sylvia! She's gone missing. I'm at a park and she was there one minute and then she was gone. I was just buying her ice-cream. I checked the bathroom, I checked the whole goddamn park! Oh Arden, Sylvia's gone! I asked everybody but they wouldn't help and..." I stopped my babbling because the sobs that I had held in had found their way out.
"I'll be right there honey. Meet me at the um... parking lot. I'll be right there. Don't worry Audrina, we'll find her. I'm going to let you go now. Alright?" He hung up on me and I reluctantly put the phone back, not wanting to stray from the comforting sound of a caring human being.
I stepped out and as I raced towards the edge of the parking lot, I looked like a wild child. My multi-colored hair was a mess and my make-up was completely ruined. If I could have been chewing at my fingernails while running, I would have. Anything was a good distraction.
By the time I reached my destination, I was short of breath. Even though it was a short jog, I had pushed my body to the point of exhaustion. The adrenaline was quickly abandoning me and I was left with nothing but the rush of passing vehicles.
Maybe it was because I was looking at my watch every few seconds but time seemed to slow down. I couldn't hear the twinkling laughter of a passing couple, absolutely nothing. All my concentration, my whole being, was too busy studying the cars. When was Arden's sedan going to arrive?
Unexpectedly, I shivered. "Au-au-drina?" I turned around. I couldn't help smiling uncontrollably at the sight of my sister.
"Oh my god! Sylvia! You're okay!" I stretched out my arms and enveloped her in such a tight hug that she started struggling and pushing me away.
A distracting chuckle disrupted my wonderful reunion. I pulled away from my sister and looked at the tall, handsome stranger standing in front of me. Yes, I know that the description ' tall handsome stranger ' was much laughed at in our society but I couldn't think of a better way to describe him.
"Hello, and you are?" I asked bluntly. Was he always there?
"I'm Michael, pleased to meet you." He extended his hand but I reasoned to myself that I should just ignore it.
Michael took the hand back and awkwardly brushed back a wisp of hair. He decided to continue introducing himself. "I found her wandering around," he pointed at Sylvia, "so I decided to ask her if she was lost. When she began stuttering and having trouble answering, I decided to take her to the police station. That's where you came in." He give me a charming smile. My suspicions still weren't satisfied.
"You were nice enough to ask if an adolescent was lost," I stated wryly. "And when this beautiful, just-blossomed girl appeared mentally unstable, you decided to drive her to the ' police station '."
"Look lady! I was just doing an act that any decent citizen would do and I'd appreciate if you didn't turn it into something ugly. I don't take it too nicely when somebody thinks that I would molest an underage child. It's bad enough that I don't even get a thanks but jeeze!" He turned to leave but I stopped him.
"S-sorry. I've been through a lot today..." I smiled warily.
Michael turned his head around, snickered, and started walking away again.
"Audrina! It looks like you've found Sylvia after all! That's great," an enthusiastic voice exclaimed as a car door slammed shut.
"I didn't, he did." I explained quietly to Arden while I pointed at the stranger's back.
My husband, being the friendly guy that he is, ran up to catch up with Michael. Within minutes, he had his arms around his shoulders and was walking back towards me and Sylvia like they had been best friends for ages.
A quizzical expression was aimed at me. After a short pause, my husband spoke. "Honey, he's agreed to come over for dinner today as a thanks. Isn't that great?"
Michael gave me a glance that said how-did-someone-like-you-end-up-with- someone-like-him. I ignored the look and answered Arden's question instead. "That sounds great, just great.
He continued to try joking to ease the tension in the air. "I hope that isn't sarcasm."
I was surprised to find myself telling the truth. "No." Why ponder over something so stupid? Sylvia was back with me and that was all that mattered.
~~~
I wish we didn't have any hired help. That way, I would be washing dishes instead of pretending to pay attention to Michael and Arden discussing the last football game. Sylvia was playing with that light-up yo-yo. The only one that was bored to death was me. I was almost jealous of papa. He had incidentally been called to work another couple of hours and couldn't make it home for dinner.
"Ya, I know! What an idiot. Even a two year could have caught that pass. I mean, they get paid like..."
"I think the IGL stock would be a good investment."
Blank eyes stared back at me. "Huh?," they asked unanimously.
I laughed self-consciously at their puzzled faces. "Just a random thought." I had always been interested in stocks and coincidentally, both were involved in them. Michael was a major stockholder and my husband was a stock advisor. I had figured this out during dinner.
Arden finally shook his head with a slight shrug of his shoulder. He grinned. "Maybe you should work with me and your dad, Audrina. You know a lot about this stuff, maybe even more."
I had to make things work between the two of us so I mustn't rub his ego the wrong way. "More than you? Never."
He chuckled and moved to where I was sitting and wrapped an arm possessively around my shoulder.
"IGL hmm? Interesting thought. They've just gone under a new advertising campaign. Could be worth the look," remarked Michael.
I glanced over at him and genuinely smiled towards him for the first time. "Definitely worth the look."
He raised his eyebrows and turned to face Arden. "Now I know what you found so attracting about your wife. She's a beautiful business woman with an equally beautiful smile."
I could tell that he was trying to smooth things over from the previous incident where I accused him of wanting to molest Sylvia. However, charming men were the most dangerous.
"True, but that wasn't what attracted me to her," Arden smiled with an intimate smile aimed at me. "What attracted me to her was the fact that well... Audrina was just being Audrina. I don't know how to explain."
"You don't need to. I used to feel the exact same towards someone," Michael stated with a hint of irony. It seemed the tall handsome stranger had a past too.
~~~~~~~~~Author's Note~~~~~~~~
K, no idea what the IGL stock is. Just something I just randomly typed lol. I know, I know, that wasn't very long but it's like my second longest chapter that I've ever written on fanfiction.net. so ya. i tried :( It's just that writer's block gets to me after a while. Anyway, there you go. PLEASE REVIEW. Thankies for everyone who's reviewed or anybody who read this. THANK YOU SO MUCH! i hope i didn't disappoint anyone. ^.^