Artex
Chapter two-away
"Now wait a minute...Stephanie would never hurt her sister," Joey said, firmly. "Unlike someone I know."
I've never heard Joey scold like that before. He must be really mad at D.J. for some reason. I was mad at her too. I've never known her to be like this.
"I tripped over something on the first step," Michelle replied to D.J. "No one pushed me."
Now, D.J. was starting to look guilty.
"Let's get Michelle to the hospital," Danny replied.
"I'm going too," D.J. said as she followed Danny out into the backyard.
Stephanie's face was pale white.
"It's okay Steph," I said, soothingly. "I told D.J. that I touched her makeup."
"You did?" Stephanie asked, slowly.
"Yeah. We believe you," I said, softly, wrapping my arm around her shoulders.
Stephanie nodded.
"I'm going upstairs…okay?"
"Sure. Be down for dinner. I'm making my famous spaghetti and meatballs," I said, my lip twitching.
Stephanie smiled, and then headed upstairs.
Sighing, Joey and I headed into the living room.
An hour later, Danny, D.J. and Michelle came home. Michelle had a cast on her right arm. Jesse and Becky were with us as well.
"Sign it?" Michelle asked us eagerly.
"Sure!" I cried, getting out a pen.
We were all in the middle of signing it, when Haley came hurrying down the stairs.
"Have you seen Stephanie?" she asked.
"No. She went upstairs after Danny, D.J. and Michelle left for the hospital," Joey said. "Why?"
"Because I went into her room and she wasn't there," Haley replied.
Alarms began going off in my head. I let the pen drop and we all tore upstairs.
"Stephanie?" Danny called as we poked our head into the bathroom, Joey and I's room, the bathroom, and finally Steph's room.
No sign of her.
"Where could she be?" Jesse mused.
We searched the entire house and even in the backyard…no sign of Stephanie.
Danny called the SFPD. They came and checked everything out. They believed that Stephanie ran away from home.
"Why would she run away from home?" Jesse mused.
I angrily stood up.
"It's no wonder she ran away! With everyone accusing her of doing things!" I snapped.
"But who else could've done those things?" D.J. asked.
"I don't know! But accusing someone without proof isn't smart," I replied, folding my arms over my chest.
Just then, Haley came into the living room looking upset. The police had left already and had begun searching for Stephanie.
"Mom? Dad? D.J.? I have something to tell you," Haley said, keeping her eyes on the carpet.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I touched D.J.'s makeup and CD player," Haley said, quietly.
Joey and I looked at each other before looking at D.J. D.J.'s expression drained of all color.
"You?" D.J. asked.
"I'm sorry, Deej…I didn't mean to break it," Haley said, looking up at D.J. Tears began forming in her eyes.
Joey held out his hand. Haley went over to him and he picked her up onto his lap.
"Why would you touch D.J.'s stuff without asking?" he asked.
"Because I wanted to be like her," Haley replied.
I looked at D.J.
"That's really sweet, Haley…but you could've asked and I would've let you seen my makeup and listened to my CD player," D.J. said, gently as she put her arm around Haley's shoulder.
"Why didn't you say something before?" I asked.
"Because I was scared that you would all hate me," Haley replied.
"We could never hate you," Jesse said.
"No. We love you," Joey said as he gave her a hug and kiss.
Everyone gave her a hug and kiss.
"Man, I feel terrible," Danny said.
"Me more Dad," D.J. said. "I was the one accusing Stephanie all along."
"I think right now, we should just get some sleep. Hopefully the police will have lead on Steph in the morning," Becky replied.
We all headed upstairs.
In the morning, we all ate breakfast solemnly. There was an empty seat that was Stephanie's.
Needless to say, I doubted everyone slept well and I was right. They all had dark circles under their eyes. Michelle was snoozing at the table, her face inches from her pancakes. Jesse yanked her head up just in time before her face went right into them.
"Thanks, Uncle Jesse," Michelle said, groggily.
Danny and D.J. looked worse than the rest of us. D.J.'s hair was frizzy and standing on end. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy.
I was exhausted too. I closed my eyes and dozed off. I slid right off the chair. As soon I hit the floor, I woke up abruptly and climbed back quickly onto the chair. Michelle had a smile on her face.
"Are you okay?" Joey asked, torn between amusement and worry for Stephanie.
"Fine," I mumbled as I cleared my throat and began eating my breakfast.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
Becky got up to answer it. It was a police officer.
"Hello. I'm Officer Mary Porter. May I come in?" the police officer asked.
"Sure," Danny said, as Becky held the door open for the officer and she stepped into the kitchen.
The officer was dressed in dark blue slacks, a white short sleeved shirt and black shoes. On her shirt was a badge and shield, with her last name. Her blond hair was pulled into a bun. She had a cap on. The brim was pulled down over her eyes, shielding them slightly.
She pulled out a pad and flipped to a section.
"Okay…you called yesterday to report a missing person, right?"
Danny nodded and swallowed.
"Stephanie Judith Tanner…5'3'', approximately 120 pounds. Blond hair, blue eyes. She was last seen wearing jeans and a white tee shirt. Is this information correct?" Officer Porter asked.
We all nodded.
"Okay…now I know this is tough, but I have to as you a few questions. Number one: Do you have any idea as to why Stephanie would want to run away from home?"
"Yeah…We accused her of doing stuff," D.J. said quietly.
Officer Porter wrote down on her pad.
"Okay…Number two: Do you have any idea where she might go?"
We all shook our head. Steph really didn't have a favorite spot to go.
"Number three: Has she ever done drugs, frolicked with the boys, or stole? Basically been in trouble with the law before?"
Once again, we all shook our heads.
"No. She is a good kid," Danny said, quietly.
"Good…we've put out the APB on her. There's nothing we can do right now except wait. It's possible that she'll contact you. When that happens, as her where she is and not to move from that spot. Contact us immediately if you hear from her. Don't worry, Mr. Tanner…we'll find her," Officer Porter said, reassuringly.
Danny nodded mutely.
Becky showed the officer out of the house and closed the door behind her and locked it.
Then, there was another knock at the door.
"Stephanie?" Danny cried, hopefully jumping up and yanked open the door again.
There was a door in the kitchen that led to the backyard and driveway.
It was Kimmy Gibbler, D.J.'s best friend.
"Hi Tanners," Kimmy said, cheerfully.
She stepped into the kitchen as Danny closed the door behind her.
She scanned everyone.
"Why all the long faces? Did Jesse's hair mouse run out?" Kimmy asked.
"Stephanie ran away from home," D.J. said, miserably.
Kimmy looked shocked.
"I saw her heading west,"
Danny looked up abruptly.
"You saw my baby?"
Kimmy nodded.
"She was carrying a black backpack,"
"That's it…Deej? Michelle? You can stay home from school today. We're going to go look for Stephanie," Danny replied.
Michelle and D.J. nodded gravely.
"Let's go," Danny replied.
"Wait…we call can't fit into your Taurus, Danny," Joey replied, standing up.
"Okay…Jesse, Becky, Michelle and D.J…I want you guys to stay home incase Steph shows up here. Emma, Joey and I will go searching," Danny replied.
Everyone nodded that they understood.
We headed into the Taurus.
Danny and Joey were in the front seats. I was sitting in the back, leaning forward in the space between the passenger seat and driver's seat.
"I do hope Steph is okay," I said, weakly swallowing.
Joey glanced back at me over the shoulder of the passenger seat.
"Me too," he said, quietly.
I could see the tears forming in his blue eyes.
"This is all my fault…I should've never took sides like that…I never did that…why would I do that now?" Danny asked, looking like he'd fall apart any minute.
Joey put a hand on his shoulder.
"Because I think you just got caught up in the middle of everything…kind of like the heat of the moment," I replied, also putting a hand on Danny's shoulder.
"Actually, this is my fault," I said, quietly.
Danny looked at me in the rearview mirror and Joey glanced back at me again.
"How do you figure that?" Danny asked.
"I should've been watching Stephanie. She probably snuck out the back way and I never saw her," I said, miserably, resting my forehead on the back of the passenger seat.
"No, we're all to blame…not just you," Joey said, gently as he reached back and put a hand on my back.
"Joey's right," Danny replied.
"Well, let's start yelling for Stephanie," I replied.
We rolled down our windows and began yelling.
"STEPHANIE!" We yelled out the windows.
STEPHANIE.
I was glad I ran away. I wouldn't have to hear D.J.'s and Dad's accusations anymore and I didn't want Aunt Emma to take the blame for anything. I wouldn't feel right.
It hurt. I was really mad and didn't think I could ever forgive them.
Although I did miss Aunt Emma and Aunt Becky, Uncle Jesse and Joey…and Michelle.
Aunt Emma and Joey were the only ones who believed me. I had packed a good amount of clothes to keep me going to a week or so. There was no way I was going back home. I wanted to make sure they were sorry for accusing me.
I didn't know where I was going. All I knew was that I had to get far away from San Francisco as possible. I had some money saved…about 50 dollars from my allowance. I needed to spend that for food and water. I managed to hitch a ride with a family in a van. They were going north. I decided to catch a train going even more north. The family dropped me off at a local train yard. The station was a few minutes from the yard.
I began walking along the tracks.
I began humming to myself as I walked.
Suddenly, the bottom of my jeans got caught between the billets and the rail. I crouched down and began tugging. I heard a train whistle in the distance. I looked up. The headlights of a diesel coming straight at me looking like a huge spotlight. It was on the same track I was stuck on.
"Come on!" I cried frantically tugging at my jeans now.
They still wouldn't budge.
"PLEASE!" I screamed, as I kept tugging at the cuff of the pants leg.
The train was getting closer.
I screamed in frustration now. It kept coming. The horn was blaring.
Finally, just when I thought that was it, the jeans came loose and I fell backward.
I scurried away from the tracks and tried to catch my breath.
The train whizzed by.
"Whew," I breathed relieved.
I got to my feet and continued walking along the tracks. The station should be coming into sight at any moment now.
Suddenly, as I passed over one of the tracks, my foot went through one of the planks. I felt my whole body falling into some kind of a ditch. I screamed as I fell and landed on my back. There was mud, which now splattered all over me. Plus, I heard my left leg snap. It was broken.
From the sheer pain, I passed out.
EMMA.
We were yelling for Stephanie for hours that our throats were raw and sore.
"Where could she be?" Joey mused.
"Anywhere," Danny muttered miserably.
I checked my watch.
"It's getting late. Why don't we try again tomorrow?" I suggested.
"No. We've got to keep looking," Danny said firmly.
"Dan, it's 9:23 PM. It's late," Joey said.
"We're not giving up! If it was your daughter, you'd keep looking!" Danny replied.
Joey looked pained.
"I know…but I also now that burning myself out wouldn't help the situation either," Joey replied, gently.
Sighing, Danny nodded.
He turned the car around, doing a U-turn and we began heading back home.
When we arrived back home, everyone asked us if we had any luck trying to locate Stephanie.
We told them no…no such luck.
D.J. looked worse than she did earlier this morning. She looked like she was crying more…so did Michelle.
"Hey, we'll find her…don't worry," I said, soothingly to Michelle.
Michelle threw her arms around me and hugged me. I hugged her back.
"It's my fault…If I hadn't touched Deej's makeup and CD player, Stephanie would still be here," Haley muttered.
"Hey," D.J. said, affectionately. "It's not your fault. It's mine."
"It all of ours," Danny replied. "Right now, I just want Stephanie home safe and sound."
We all nodded. I had hoped nothing serious had happened to her.