Chapter Three
"What?" Chris sat up in bed, now fully alert.
"I want Raina. I'm back in town and I want my baby."
"Melissa?"
"Wow, aren't you smart."
"Boy, you've got a nerve, don't you. Calling me up after four years of completely ignoring me and Raina, and demanding to take her? I don't think so."
"Damnit Chris, don't argue with me. I just want to take my daughter and go. You can't tell me that you actually like her getting in the way of everything."
"And what makes you think I'm just going to let you step in and take her away from me?"
"Chris, if you don't just let me take her you are going to be in a world of trouble. Just get her things ready and I'll be over later to take her."
"Hell no, she's my daughter and you're not taking her anywhere."
Chris slammed the phone down angrily and ran his fingers through his hair, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. He knew there was no way he'd ever get back to sleep, so he got up and took a shower, then headed downstairs.
"I've got to talk to someone about this... Who would be up this early?" Chris thought out loud.
Chris picked up the phone and dialed Lance's number, ripping at a piece of paper in front of him. After three rings Lance picked up, sounding wide awake, as Chris knew he would.
"Hey Lance."
"Chris? What are you doing up this early? Did something happen?"
"Yeah. I got a phone call a little while ago... From Melissa."
"Melissa? What'd she want?"
"She wants to take Raina. Lance, she said if I don't give Raina to her I'll be in trouble."
"Ohh... Wow. Okay, well I don't see how she could. She'd have to make a pretty good case against you to get Raina away from you."
"She could pull the 'Always on the road' thing on me..."
"We're on break. That won't work anyway, not if she loves it and her life stays stable during it. Don't worry, you should be fine."
"It's not me I'm worried about. I don't want Raina to have to go through any of this."
"Well, hopefully Melissa will get the picture after a while and just leave you alone. She didn't want a kid in the first place."
"Yeah... I can't believe I didn't see that. I guess I was just excited about having a kid."
"Well, she should have told you. It's not your fault she wanted to spend her life drinking and messing around."
"I guess. Lance I better go. I hear Raina upstairs."
"All right Chris. We'll see you tomorrow."
Chris hung up the phone feeling slightly better than he had earlier that morning, but the thought of what Melissa had said still hung over his head. He knew Melissa, and he knew that she was going to try something stupid to get what she wanted. His head started to fill with possibilities of what she might do, but he was pulled from his thoughts by Raina, who was now sitting in the chair opposite him and looking at him with a worried expression.
"Daddy, are you okay?"
"Yeah baby, I'm fine. What do you say me and you get ready and go out for breakfast."
"Yeah!"
Chris smiled and watched as Raina jumped down from the chair and run upstairs to get dressed. He slowly followed her, and chuckled when he walked in and saw her with her shirt on backwards and her shoes on wrong. He walked over to her and fixed her clothes, then brushed her hair. Once they were all ready they headed out.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"And then we went to the park and we ran into one of my friends. He had his dog with him, so Raina played with her for a while. I don't even think she remembers that today's her birthday."
"Sounds like she had fun. Joey's headed out with Bri and Kelly a few minutes ago, they should be there anytime. The rest of us will be there in a few."
"Okay Jace, see you in a bit."
Chris hung up the phone just as there was a knock at the door. He walked over and opened the door, greeted by Joey and Kelly.
"Hey guys."
"Hey Chris. How are you? Lance told us about Melissa..."
"Yeah Kelly, I'm fine. Where's Bri?"
"She saw Raina and ran off with her somewhere," Joey said, stepping inside and following Chris to the kitchen.
"Chris, you seem kinda... on edge. Melissa did freak you out, didn't she."
"Yeah... I just know what she's capable of."
"Well, it'll be fine. There's no way she could do anything with us around."
"Don't jinx it..."
"Right, sorry."
"Hey Chris, where are ya?"
"In the kitchen, Justin."
Justin, Jc and Lance came walking into the kitchen, birthday gifts in hand. They each set their gifts down and sat down around the kitchen table.
"So, where's Raina?" Justin asked.
"She's outside with Brianna," Kelly answered.
"Umm... I didn't see Raina out there. I saw Brianna --"
"What do you mean you didn't see Raina?" Chris asked, slightly alarmed.
"I'm sure she's around here somewhere, Chris. No need to panic..." Jc said, but he could see he wasn't helping.
Chris stood up and headed out to the front yard, looking around. The only child in the yard was Brianna. Chris kept checking around, hoping she was just hiding, or went into the backyard, but there was no sign of her anywhere. He jogged over to everyone else, looking desperately from one to the other.
"Okay, calm down... lets ask Bri where she went," Joey said, walking over to Brianna and carrying her back with him.
"Brianna honey, where did Raina go?" Kelly asked.
"She went with her mommy."
"Her mommy?"
"Yeah. Her mommy drove up, and called her over, and they left."
Chris felt like he had been kicked in the stomach. Brianna looked at him and tilted her head to the side slightly.
"Uncle Chris?"
Chris couldn't answer her, he was afraid that if he opened his mouth he would throw up. The guys looked at him, not really sure what to say. Finally Lance stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Come on, Chris, we better call the police."
Chris took a deep breath to try and calm himself. He felt like he was in total shock. He looked up at Lance with an almost helpless expression before following him back into the house. Everyone else followed behind, all worried about Chris and Raina.
Chris didn't look like he could talk, so Lance called and reported the kidnapping, and the officer on the other line said someone would be right over to get the information needed. When he hung up he sat down in the chair next to Chris and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
"We'll find her, they can't have gone to far."
Joey and Kelly brought Brianna into the living room so she could watch TV, and the rest of the guys sat around the table talking to Chris, trying to keep him calm. The shock had started to wear off on him, and he was getting even more angry by minute. by the time the police arrived and talked to everyone, he was fuming.
"My baby is gone. I don't want any bullshit, I just want you to find her!"
"Sir, you really need to calm down. We know you want your daughter back, and we'll find her. Now what I want you to do is get yourself some rest. We have people watching all over the place, there's no way she'll leave the state. We'll find her in no time."
Chris let out an exasperated sigh and sunk down into the chair behind him. He knew the officer was right, but he couldn't help it. His daughter was gone, and all he wanted to do was find her. The weight of all the emotion he was feeling was really starting to get to him, and he felt like he was about to pass out. The officers assured him once more that everything would be fine, and then they left.
The guys didn't want to leave Chris alone that night, so they all stayed at his house for the night. Kelly brought Brianna home, telling the guys they'd be back first thing the next morning. Chris had passed out on the couch by then, and the guys didn't want to wake him. They set him up with a pillow and blanket, then they headed to bed, praying that the next day would bring them good news.
| Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four |
