A/N: Hey, everyone. Happy belated valentines day. I'm afraid this isn't going to be romantic... like A Walk To Remember, sniff. Ok, anyways... sorry I haven't posted in awhile... I'm concentrating more on Time Goes By Too Fast at the moment, hope you'll forgive me. When it will be done, expect more updates for this fic. Omg... I'll be sad when TGBTF ends! WHAAAA! lol... anyways, enjoy.
Chapter Three
The Same Day
Once Detective Louis heard that someone had spotted Hayden Clancy, he immediately rushed with the police over to Sunnyways.
He had been on the case since the beginning, and one of his goals before he died was to find little Hayden, or teenage Hayden, which she would be now.
At the Ridge house, Tessa was watching tv in the living room and Benjamin and Clarissa were discussing what to do with the wedding problem. Then, they heard the sirens. Sirens that they were hoping never to hear.
"Oh no," said Benjamin, and they hurried into the living room.
He grabbed Tessa.
"Daddy, what are you doing?" she asked him, as the three of them were going into the basement.
"No time. Clarissa, open the passage door, now!" he yelled, as he heard the sirens right outside.
She moved a table, which revealed a passage door behind it. It was opened, and Clarissa and Tessa got in. Benjamin moved the table against the wall again, and closed the passage door. He got two flashlights, money, and keys that were beneath the dirt. They started crawling.
"Daddy, where are we going? Why are the cops upstairs?" Tessa asked, as they turned, and the tunnel was big enough so they can run in it.
He didn't answer, and they started running.
"Mom, what's going on?" Tessa asked, afraid.
"You should have never stepped on the lawn," she told Tessa, and they continued running.
The cops upstairs, searched the entire house. No Hayden, but they knew for certain she was there, based on things hidden in Benjamin's office. They found every article of Hayden that was ever written, dvds of news reports, documents about her life, and so much more, including a video surveillance system she didn't know about.
There were tons of pictures of the day of Hayden's kidnapping, when they were at the house, the campsite, ect.. There were even documents on Melinda and Jim.
It frightened Detective Louis.
"Did you call her parents yet?" his partner asked him.
"I'll call them when we have her. I don't want to put them through turmoil. They've been through enough already."
Meanwhile, the Ridges came to the end of the tunnel. They climbed up a ladder, and they were outside. There was a garage there, in the middle of the woods.
Clarissa opened the garage door, and they entered a nice, never used SUV. Once they were in, Benjamin turned it on, and they drove out of the woods.
They were on the highway. Benjamin was trying to go fast.
A parked cop car noticed speeding, so he turned onto the highway, and sped after the SUV.
"Mom, Dad, what's happening?" Tessa yelled, tears rolling down her face.
Clarissa sighed, and got in the back.
"Tessa… it's clear that we aren't going to win this. We just wanted you to know that we love you so much, and we always will. We fell in love with you the first time we saw your face, and we wanted to have you." said Clarissa, stroking Tessa's cheek.
"What do you mean… wanted to have me, mom?" she asked, as two other cop cars begun chasing them.
Clarissa took Tessa in her arms.
"No matter what happens, you'll always be our little girl," she whispered, and she cried, too.
"We knew they'd find you someday." said Benjamin, and he slowed down the car.
"Daddy, what are you doing?" she asked, confused.
Then, the cop cars surrounded them. Clarissa hugged Tessa one last time.
"Mom, what's happening?" asked Tessa through tears.
The cops surrounded them.
Clarissa let go of Tessa.
"Bye, bye, baby." she said, and the cops opened the doors.
Benjamin put his gun to his head and pulled the trigger before the cops could stop him. Clarissa and Tessa both screamed.
"DADDY!" Tessa screamed, and cried even harder.
"He wasn't your daddy, sweetheart." Tessa turned her head, and there was detective Louis.
"Who are you?" she asked through tears.
"I'm one of the many nice guys who's been looking for you, Hayden."
She scooted away a bit, and nearly fell out of the SUV.
"My name's Tessa!" she screamed.
"No it's not. I don't know what they told you, but your name is Hayden Andrea Clancy, and I know two people who really want to see you."
"Who?" she asked, and begun to tremble.
"Your parents, of course!"
Hayden jumped out of the SUV.
"MOM! What's going on?" she yelled as she watched Clarissa being put in the cop car.
"MOMMA!" she yelled, as the car drove away.
She fell to her knees, and cried once again.
Later that day, Melinda and Jim dropped Delia off.
Then, they went home.
Melinda went upstairs to put her things away.
When she went back into the corridor, she heard a child's giggle.
It was one she recognized immediately. It was Hayden's.
"HAYDEN?" Melinda exclaimed.
She barged into Hayden's room, and she saw Hayden, holding a drawing.
"Look at my drawing, Mommy!" she exclaimed.
Melinda begun to cry.
"Hayden, baby…," Melinda begun, and tried to hug Hayden.
Hayden slowly disappeared.
"NO HAYDEN, COME BACK!" Melinda screamed, and cried harder.
She glanced at the drawing on the table. She looked at the unmade bed. She looked at the toys on the floor. Melinda only comes in here, to clean. They haven't gotten around to cleaning out her room.
Melinda knew in her heart Hayden was gone. But, she couldn't let go.
Afterwards, her and Jim went to the grocery store. At the cash, she looked at the magazines.
Justin Bieber Married! they all said.
Melinda sighed. Hayden was crazy for him.
Then, they were back in the truck.
"Melinda, I forgot some paperwork at the hospital… can we go?" Melinda nodded and they drove to the hospital.
There was a news crew getting set up outside.
"I wonder what's going on," said Jim, as they were walking inside the hospital.
A lot of people eyed them, wondering why they weren't excited.
One of Jim's coworkers ran up to him.
"Jim! Did you hear? It's all over the news!" he yelled, happily.
"Hear about what?" Jim answered, confused.
Then, Detective Louis came down the hall.
"Did someone get hurt?" Melinda asked, as they watched the detective speed walking towards them.
They ran up to him.
"Detective, what's going on?" asked Jim.
"You didn't hear?" the detective asked, breathlessly.
Melinda and Jim glanced at each other, and shook their heads.
The detective smiled.
"We… found your little girl today!"
There was a moment of silence.
"What?" Melinda asked, not believing what she just heard.
"We found your daughter, a couple of hours ago."
Mel and Jim looked at each other.
"That's impossible! Is she dead?" Jim asked, fearing the worst.
The detective shook his head.
"No, we found her alive, in Sunnyways. She's ok."
"Oh my God...," they whispered.
Melinda and Jim both fell to their knees.
They hugged each other, and cried.
Then they both rolled on the floor, surprisingly laughing.
The detective turned around, when Mel and Jim begun to kiss each other happily, something they didn't do for a long time.
They then got back up.
"Do you… want to see her?" the detective asked.
Jim and Melinda smiled and wiped their tears away.
"What do you think? We haven't seen her in seven years." said Melinda, and they begun walking.
"I just want to remind you two, 8+7=15. She's fifteen now, and… she doesn't remember… who she is."
Jim and Melinda stopped dead in their tracks.
"What?" asked Jim.
The detective sighed.
"I don't want you two to panic, but the couple who had her completely brainwashed her. They made her believe she is their daughter, and that her name is Theresa Ridge. Her father was a psychologist, so he would know how to brainwash her."
"Oh my poor little angel!" Melinda cried.
Jim put an arm around her shoulder.
"Yeah, so don't be surprised if she doesn't recognize you, or she has a breakdown or something. The father committed suicide right in front of her, and she really doesn't understand what is going on. She's still convinced her name is Tessa. She doesn't believe us when we tell her that she's Hayden Clancy."
"How did you find her?" asked Jim.
"The neighbour across the street saw a young girl in the front yard of the house. We're guessing she was always kept inside. Hayden got into a fight with the mother and Hayden took off her wig, and splashed water on her face, to reveal her freckles. Luckily, the neighbour was reading The Missing Children Of The Past Decade. She called, and we investigated. Still are, you will not believe what we found in the father's office, practically solves the case for us."
They then stopped at a hospital room door.
"Well, are you ready to see your daughter again?" The detective asked them.
Melinda and Jim were unsure, but they both nodded.
Jim opened the door and they both entered.
Hayden was just putting her uggs back on, since her examination was done. She was wearing a yellow v-neck, with American Eagle jeans. The yellow really made her look perfect, with her long dark, curly brown hair, her deep, almost black eyes, and her little freckles on her cheeks.
Melinda and Jim stared at her for a moment.
Hayden looked up at them.
"Who are you?" she asked.
Melinda and Jim continued staring.
"Um, hello?" Hayden asked again, getting a little freaked out.
Melinda and Jim both started crying once again.
Melinda completely ignored what the detective said, and started slowly walking towards Hayden.
"Baby… don't you recognize me?" Melinda asked, stepping nearer and nearer to Hayden.
Hayden shook her head.
"Sweet angel… I'm your mommy… I'm your mommy, this is your daddy."
Hayden shook her head.
"No, your not. He's not!" she yelled.
"Yes, Hayden, I'm your mommy. You're my baby girl."
She backed Hayden into a corner.
"No, I'm not." said Hayden, starting to get afraid.
Jim came to them.
"Melinda, remember what the detective said… she wont remember us."
Melinda turned to Jim.
"I DON'T CARE! I DON'T CARE!" she screamed, and turned to Hayden again.
"A LITTLE GIRL IS SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHO HER MOMMY IS!" she screamed again, and tried to hug Hayden.
Hayden pushed her off.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" she screamed, and begun to cry.
"I wont leave you alone Hayden, because I haven't seen you or touched you for seven years!" Melinda yelled, and cried some more.
There was only the sound of crying in the room.
"Hayden, your supposed to remember me!" she whimpered, and Jim took her in his arms.
She cried on this shoulder. Hayden got past them, and grabbed her things.
"I'M NOT HAYDEN!" she screamed, and left the room.
She left her parents crying.
It wasn't supposed to be this way.
As you guys can see, Mel sort of went into... shock, I guess, seeing Hayden again. She can't see that Hayden is fifteen, and not eight. I'm excited to read your reviews!