Chapter 16

"Jo we are going to be late... Hurry up!" Alex called from downstairs while Jo was still getting herself ready for the last meeting to discuss Abigail's custody agreement. When he got no answer from Jo's part he went upstairs and found her sitting on the bed with her face buried in her hands. "Jo..." He said making startling Jo who hadn't heard him coming inside the room.

"Oh... Sorry." She wiping her tears and standing up "Let's go. I'm ready."

"Hey...What's wrong?" Alex said grabbing Jo's arm when she tried to leave their bedroom.

"Nothing... It's just..." she sighed and shook her head "Never mind. Can we just go?" She asked him a little bit annoyed making him nod his head for an answer. They left the room and start walking down the hall, Alex walking behind her, until Jo stopped to open Camilla's bedroom door and stared inside it.

"She will be back..." Alex said, a couple of feet away from Jo "She will be back..." he said again.

"Alex... Stop it..." she said with tears threatening to fall out of her eyes, "You... You don't know that." She looked back at him, making him sigh before stepping closer to where she was standing and embrace her.

"She will be back, Jo, she will." He kissed her temple and tightened his arms around her "I'll find her and bring her back."

"Do you know what day it is today?" she said lifting her head up to look at his eyes.

"I know..." he said quietly closing his eyes

"Two months, Alex. It has been two months... What if she is-"

"She is okay" he cut her

"You don't know that..." she said with her lips trembling "It just hurts so bad... Why does it hurt this bad?" she sobbed

"I know, babe, I know..." he said crying himself now too "I miss her too..." They stood there like this for a couple minutes before Jo pulled her head out of his chest.

"Alex, we have to go..." she whispered

"No, you stay... I'll go. You need to rest..." he said and kissed her head before leaving.

She stood on the bedroom entrance watching Alex leave. "I miss you baby..." she whispered into Camilla's bedroom after she heard Alex close the front door "But I'll see you soon... Mommy's coming" she said and closed the room's door.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Camilla?" Mia called, standing on the backyard porch with her arms crossed on her chest, trying to look serious but failed when she smiled.

"Mia?" Camilla said mimicking Mia.

"Come on, you can play with the sprinklers later. You need to eat something now..." She said but Camilla shook her head and ignored her. "Okay then..." Mia said and started walking towards Camilla. When Camilla saw her, she started running making Mia run after her, both of them giggling.

"No..." Camilla said still giggling when Mia caught her "Stop it" she said laughing when Mia lift her up and started tickling her.

"Say sorry"

"I'm sorry..."

"Thank you." Mia said while placing Camilla on her hip "Now let's get you dry and fed."

"Okay. Do I have to take a nap today?" Camilla asked when Mia put her on the floor and started drying her bathing suit.

"We'll see"

They entered the kitchen and Camilla sat in one of the chairs at the kitchen table waiting for Mia to give her her food.

"Mia, when is mommy coming back? She is coming back?" she asked while watching prepare her snacks.

"Yes she is coming back..."

"When? I used to see her every day and now she is never home. Where is she?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know but I promise you she will come back, okay?" She said handing Camilla her plate of food.

"Okay... Mia?"

"Yes?" Mia answered.

"Is this your house too?" Camilla asked after swallowing the food.

"No. This my sister's house." Mia said.

"Who is your sister?"

"Your mommy." She said making Camilla look up from her plate with big eyes.

"No she is not." She giggled, "Mommy's sister is Auntie Jane and you are Mia not Auntie Jane."

"Well your mom has another sister."

"Has not." The little girl dared

"Has too. I'm gonna go peepee. Eat your food." Mia announced.

"Okay." Camilla said before Mia left. A little after Mia left the doorbell rang "Mia, there's someone at the door." Camilla yelled from her seat. When Mia didn't answer she got out of the chair and walked out of the kitchen, passing the living room and going into the hallway. "Who is it?" she asked.

"Police." They answered. Camilla stepped away from the door and went to look throught the window that was next to the door.

"Hi." She greeted them.

"Hello. Is your mom or dad home?" the police officer asked.

"No, they are working." She answered him.

"Are you alone?"

"No, silly... I'm too little to be alone" She said giggling, making both of the officer laugh with her "I'm with Mia"

"Okay. Can you call Mia for us?" the other officer asked. She nodded.

"Oh, she went peepee." She said remembering

"How old is Mia?" he asked.

"I don't know..." she shrugged her shoulders "She is big like you" she pointed to the youngest officer that was asking her questions "She is mommy's sister."

"Okay. Can you go tell her we are here?" he asked again.

"Okay... But don't come in, okay?" she warned them.

"We won't little miss." The older one said.

"Okay." She said walking away "Mia?", she called "Mia, the police is here."

"The police?" she asked, meeting her halfway, "Why?"

"I don't know. They told me to get you."

"Okay. Did you finish your food?" she asked and Camilla shook her head "Go finish it then."

Camilla did as she was told to and went into the kitchen to finish her food. She stayed there eating alone until Mia came back a couple of minutes later.

"Why did the police came?" Camilla asked Mia as soon as she entered the kitchen.

"They were looking from somebody who lived here before us."

"Oh okay. I'm done." She told Mia "Can I-" she started but was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. "Mommy?" she said looking at Mia. Mia nodded her head with a big smile on her face. Camilla smiled too and started getting out of the chair intending to meet the person that had come in at the hallway but the person beat her and appeared at the kitchen before Camilla could leave the kitchen.

"Baby!" the woman said when Camilla hugged her "Hi baby." She said after kissing Camilla's cheeks.

"Mommy?" she asked not believing it was her mom standing in front of her.

"Yes, sweetie. It's me. It's mommy." The woman said.

"Hi mommy. Hi" the little girl said petting the woman's cheek "Hi."

"Hi baby. I missed you too," the woman said embracing Camilla's body. "Why are you in a bathing suit?" she asked

"We were playing with the sprinklers." Camilla answered looking back at Mia.

"Hi Mia." The woman greeted her

"Hi." Mia said and left the kitchen.

"You look different, mommy." Camilla said looking weirdly at the woman that was holding her.

"I cut my hair. Do you like it?" she asked and Camilla nodded.

"Mommy, down." Camilla asked and the woman put her down "Mia said I could play in the playground if I eat my food and I ate it all." She said with delight

"Okay, go. I'll come check on you in a bit."

"Okay." Camilla said already going to the backyard.

"So..." the woman started, startling Mia, who was picking Camilla's toys up from the living room floor. "How have you been?"

"Do you really care?" Mia asked back. "You know... I know you don't really care about mom... But I do." Mia said point at herself "and she needs someone to look after her. So either you start showing up a lot more or I'm grabbing Camilla and take her right back to Seattle where she belongs."

"First of all, she is NOT my mother. She is just some woman who gave me and my sister up." The woman stated "For what? So, she could have you and raise you after?"

"You would know her reasons if you for once let her explain them to you!" Mia said and then looked out the sliding doors that led to the backyard where Camilla was playing at.

"Whatever Mia." The woman said shaking her head at Mia "I'm going to be with my daughter like a mother should."

"What for? So that your daughter won't be so sad after you leave?"

"At least I always come back."

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"Jo we're home." Alex said as soon as he and Abigail entered the house. "Jo?" he called again when she didn't answer.

"Maybe she is not home..." Abby suggested shrugging her shoulders.

"She should be though." He answered.

"Am I staying here the night?" Abby asked Alex.

"Yes you are." He answered after he started walking up the stairs, Abigail following him.

"But I don't have a pajama." She said and stopped walking.

"I remember you bringing some clothes the last time you slept here..." he said turning back to look at her.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot." She giggled and kept going up the stairs. Alex opened the door to her bedroom and put her schoolbag on the chair by the desk.

"Do you have homework?" Alex asked and Abby shook her head. "I'm in my bedroom, call me if you need me, okay?" Alex said when Abby turned her back to him and walked to the toys box at the end of her bedroom.

"Okay." She answered not looking at him.

Alex left her bedroom and started walking to his while taking his phone from his pocket intending to dial Jo's number. He stopped dialing it when he heard Jo opening the house door and went down the stairs to meet her.

"Hey" he said approaching her.

"Hey" she said and accepted his kiss. After they parted, Alex scrunched his face at her. "Still not used to it?" she asked after rolling her eyes at him.

"I'll get used to short hair Jo" he said smirking when she started walking away in the kitchen direction.

"You better get." She said and put the grocery bags on the kitchen island.

"Where did you go? I mean beside the grocery?" he asked her.

"How do you know I went somewhere besides grocery?" she asked back.

"Well, because I told you to stay and rest and you don't looked rested..." he said caressing her cheek with his thumb.

"Nowhere, really. I drove to Ryan's stayed there for a little and then went to a park."

"Do what?" Alex asked frowning.

"... I don't know... Sit there, enjoy the view" she shrugged and shook her head.

"Okay then. Abby is upstairs. I'll make dinner."

"Okay..." she said, gave him another kiss and went up the stairs. When got into the hallway, upstairs, she knocked on Abby's bedroom opened door making the girl look back at her "Hello there."

"Hi." Abby said smiling

"What are you up to?" Jo asked when the girl hid her right hand behind her back.

"Nothing..." she answered. Jo looked at her suspiciously "I have something for you..."

"You do?" Jo asked eagerly.

"Yes... but you can't be sad, okay?" the girl asked and Jo nodded. "Here..." she handed her a picture and Jo looked at it shocked.

"When was this taken?" she asked with a trembling voice and then cleared her throat.

"The day I met you guys. I asked my nanny to take a picture of us while I was at the park." she said looking up at Jo.

"Thank you..." Jo said wiping a tear that had fallen from her right eye and then hugged Abby.

"You're welcome," Abigail said hugging her back.

"What do you want for din-" Alex started but then stopped looking at the scene in front of him making both Abby and Jo look at him "Am I interrupting something?" he asked.

"Yes!" they both answered.