Chapter 693: Adams Residence
Monday, March 13th, Afternoon
She used her key to open the front door. Walking in and peeked into the bedroom that was once a dining room. The home nursing aide looked at her with tired eyes.
"How is he?" Shay asked.
"He's having an okay day," the nursing aide said.
Shay nodded, "I'm looking for Kristen," Shay said.
"She came home and went upstairs. Miss Kristen never came down," the nursing aide said.
"I'll go find her," Shay said, heading upstairs.
The first place Shay looked was where she found Kristen. The older woman was sitting on the floor, back against the bed. Shay got down on one knee and looked Kristen over. What makeup Kristen wore was ruined by tears; Shay wondered if stress or some other emotion caused it.
Shay nodded, stood up, and retrieved Noah's tissue box. Like all teenage boys, he had Kleenex in his room. Shay returned to Kristen, sat beside her, and handed Kristen the box. Kristen took it and started to wipe her face.
"So, want the bad news or good news?" Shay asked.
"I could use the good news," Kristen said.
"Noah did go to school today," Shay said.
Kristen nodded and wiped her face again. A Jackson Pollock pattern was left on the soft paper when she pulled it away. "The bad news?" Kristen asked.
"He didn't attend all his classes," Shay said.
"That's not helpful, Shay," Kristen said.
"Did you try the skate park?" Shay asked.
"He's banned from there," Kristen said.
Shay looked over the ransacked room. "I know; he could be hanging out with friends in the parking lot, as we used to," she said.
Kristen shook her head, "No, he's not there," she said.
"What's going on, Kris?" Shay asked.
Kristen nodded, "Last night, Noah and I got into an argument," she said.
"He's a teenager; that's normal; you know how it was in my house when I was a teenager," Shay said.
"My brother, Jack, is a hardheaded SOB," Kristen said.
"Kris, you called Nana a bitch," Shay said.
Kristen laughed, "Your Nana could be, and you're right, teenagers are a pain in the ass; I was," she said.
"Well, it wasn't my dad I was arguing with most of the time," Shay said.
"You did have Jack wrapped around your fingers; who was it?" Kristen asked.
"My mom," Shay said.
"Sarah does have a stick up her ass," Kristen said.
"Well, she's my mom," Shay said.
"That she is," Kristen said.
"What happened last night to get you so worked up?" Shay asked.
Kristen took in a deep breath. "After you dropped him off, we argued. I told him to stay away from his sisters, he refused, it got heated, and I slapped him," she said.
"Oh, Kris, you didn't," Shay said.
Kristen nodded, "I did, and I've been hating myself ever since," she said.
"Kris, you, you, there's nothing you could do to make up for that," Shay said.
"I know," Kristen said, starting to tear up again, "Believe me, I know."
Kristen shook her head, "Right now, I want my son back home, safe and sound," she said.
Shay sighed, "I get it," she said.
"So, any ideas?" Kristen asked.
Shay shrugged, "He's a teenager; he's probably left some sort of hint. People are sloppy," she said.
"Oh, so cynical," Kristen said.
Shay snorted, "Work with teenagers, heard every excuse you could think of," she said, "But I do love my job."
"Maybe it's in the locked desk drawer," Kristen said.
"Locked desk drawer?" Shay asked.
Kristen nodded, "Yes, and he never locks his desk," she said.
"Okay, do you have a key?" Shay asked.
"No," Kirsten said, "Hence why I never looked into it."
"Well, it's either his drugs or his porn," Shay said.
Kristen shook her head, "It's not his porn," she said.
Shay looked at Kristen and cocked an eyebrow, "How do you know that?" she asked.
"It was in the nightstand," Kristen said.
"Again, how do you know that?" Shay asked.
"When I ransacked the room," Kristen said.
"You're not worried about drugs?" Shay asked.
"Yes, but right now, I want to know where he is," Kristen said.
Shay nodded, "I get it," she said.
"So, do you have any ideas?" Kristen asked.
Shay shrugged, "Not really, but give me a minute," she said.
"I need to send the aide home," Kristen said.
"So, go do that, but first, we have to clean this mess up," Shay said, pulling out her smartphone.
"What are you doing?" Kristen asked.
"Sending out a blast on the O'Brien Family Group," Shay said.
"Why?" Kristen asked.
"Just encase someone saw him," Shay said.
"Oh, good idea," Kristen said.
"Yeah, let's get cleaning," Shay said.
Kristen nodded, Shay stood up and helped Kristen to her feet, and they started to clean up Noah's room.