Cypress's P.O.V.
When Frank and Joe told me that Sami had run away, I didnt believe it at first. I didn't want to believe that she had run away. I knew she wouldn't do it just as a joke. No one would ever run away as a joke. But why she ran away was my question.
It had been nearly two days, and there wasn't a single sign of her. We were all beginning to worry. Dad wasn't at home at the moment, which was the other issue. If dad wasn't home, we would get nowhere. He was supposed to get home later that night, but we never knew anymore. We'd already been to the police station twice to check prison records to make sure that there wasn't anyone who would've kidnapped her that we knew of. Then again, it wouldn't be kidnap if she had taken her stuff, but then dropped it bak off.
Joe invaded my thoughts with another theory of why or how she left. "So maybe she was running away, but then someone snatched her up and dropped off her bag here so that she wouldn't be found thanks to modern technology of her computer."
"It's completely possible, but you never know. Maybe she just ran away and decided that she'd have a new start. Not keep anything from here." Frank suggested.
"Ugh... Will you guys please stop talking about this? Because now I have to go to school with this on my plate. It'll be hard enough not to burst out crying every period." I scoffed. Frank's eyes shifted to mine. He gave me a look of sadness. "Why are you staring at me like that?"
"Well, just thinking." Frank said. "Does anyone know where dad is going on his trips?"
"No," Joe said.
"No, we don't" I mumbled.
"What if we followed him?" Frank smiled.
"Frank," Joe interrupted. "Usually, I go right along with your plan of following dad. And usually they work. But I don't know if it's the right thing to do on this one if we want to find Sami."
"Joe," I said. "It's the only choice we have. If we don't follow dad, we may never get to see her again." I choked. "And I know none of us would want to live with that, right?"
Frank and Joe both shook their heads. I sighed.
"We're going to find her." Frank said, his voice full of determination. "That's a promise I make to you Cypress."
Later that night, we all sat around the dinner table. Even dad sat with us. I glanced at Joe. He was just stabbing at his food, not putting any of it in his mouth. He still had a plateful of chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans to eat, and he was just sitting there, poking at it like a five year old. I understood that he was upset that Sami ran away, but he had to eat something at some point.
"Joe, dear, why so upset." Mom asked. She knew why. We all did. We all knew because we all felt the same way.
"Mom, you know why..." Joe said quietly, not even looking up. I shook my head.
"We just really want to find Sami. She ran away. I don't even know why she would..." I said.
"We'd all like to know that." Dad said, setting down his glass of water. "But we won't ever know. I filed a missing persons report with the station and nothing has turned up."
"How would you know we'll never now?" Frank inquired.
"Frank, it's been nearly two days. Nothing has shown up at the station. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but face it, she's gone." he snapped.
"But how do you specifically know that she's gone?" With every question Frank asked, I could feel the hot tears building up in my eyes.
"Because I know Frank. I've dealt with many missing persons cases-"
"And so have Joe and I. We know how it works. You've even told us yourself that you always want to stay alert for signs of where they might be and -"
"But Frank, you don't understand. This is different. If she were still alive or willing to come home, she wouldn't be missing. Someone would've noticed something. Frank, she is a Hardy. If something was found out about her, we'd know."
"Yes, I know. But I'm just saying that we shouldn't give up hope."
"Frank, you aren't listening! She isn't-"
"SHUT UP!" I yelled. Tears were streaming down my face like a river. I wiped my eyes with my balled up fists and coughed a little bit. "Just shut up! Both of you! I can't stand it! Can we all just agree that she is out there somewhere?"
"But Cypress sweetheart, she's not out there, that's the thing. She's probably dead." Dad said in a soft tone.
"No, dad. You're wrong. I know she's out there. And until you can admit that, I'm not talking to you." I crossed my arms and slumped backwards in my chair. "Mom, may I be excused?" I asked. She nodded.
I picked up my plate that was half full of food and set it on the kitchen counter. I walked briskly up the stairs and slammed my bedroom door shut. I didn't want to believe dad, but somewhere in my mind, I thought that he was right.