“Oh, my God, where is my daughter?” I yelled.
“I don’t know. I tried calling her cell phone, but it’s going straight to voice mail.” My sister looked more frazzled than I was. “I can’t handle this. I don’t do kids. Where is Felise? She needs to be here helping with this stuff.”
“I don’t know. I don’t know. I just need to know where my child is,” I cried, shaking my sister. “Call Felise—see if she knows where Tahiry is. Just find my daughter, do you hear me?”
I fell back on my sofa. “I just can’t take any more.” I continued crying as I buried my head in my hands.
25
Felise
I WAS STANDING IN THE middle of the kitchen, getting ready to go, as my husband entered. He gave me a strange look. I hoped that he wasn’t going to grill me about that Donna fiasco. I’d overacted. Big deal. I wasn’t about to get into another argument about it.
“What?” I finally said as I stuffed a bottle of Aleve into my purse.
Greg pointed to my scrubs. “So, you’re going to work?”
“Where else would I be going?” I looked around for my bottled water. I’d been off for a week and a half, and I needed to show up before I lost my job. Besides, I’d made up my mind last night that I wasn’t going to wallow in sorrow anymore. Maybe going back to the busy ER would keep my mind off my loss.
“Where else would you be going?” Greg asked. “I don’t know, maybe to see about your friend? She called me yesterday, concerned because she hadn’t talked to you.”
“Why is she calling you?” I rolled my eyes in disgust. “Fine, I’ll call her on my way to work. Does that make you feel better?”
He held up his hands in defense. “Sorry, I just . . . I don’t know, I mean Liz has been going over there every day, and it seems like you’d be trying to go over there, too.”
I tossed my purse over my shoulder, not bothering to hide my agitation. “So now you’re planning my schedule, too? Isn’t your own schedule full enough?”
“Okay, okay. Don’t bite my head off,” he said. “I was just asking.”
I huffed as I snatched my keys off the counter. I felt like I was slowly falling into a horrible abyss and I needed to escape.
“I have to go to work.”
“Fine,” Greg said, shaking his head as he turned to walk away.
“I don’t understand what everybody wants from me,” I mumbled.
He stopped, spun back around. “I don’t want a thing, okay? I just asked.” He was agitated now, too. That was how he worked. Whenever he felt on the defensive, he got mad about it.
I left without saying another word. I had just pulled out of my garage when my cell phone rang. Paula’s home line popped up. I found myself wishing she had other friends.
“Hello,” I said, answering only because I didn’t need her calling Greg and creating more drama.
“Hey, um, yes, Felise, this is Charlene, Paula’s sister. Um, is Tahiry at your house?”
I frowned. “No. Liz wants to come over to your house.”
She sighed like that was not the answer she was hoping to hear. “Well, Tahiry didn’t come home, and we don’t know where she is.”
“What do you mean, she didn’t come home?”
Charlene rushed the words out. “She went to a party last night, and oh, my God, I can’t do this! I don’t handle kids!”
I quickly pulled over to the side of the road so I could give her my full attention. “Okay, just calm down. What’s going on?”
“I let her go to a party last night.”
“Tahiry? To a party? Where?”
“I don’t know. Look, she was upset, and I thought it would help her feel better.”
I couldn’t believe Charlene. She always had been ditzy. Who lets a fourteen year old go to a night party and doesn’t get details?
“Let me call my daughter. Maybe she knows something. I’ll call you right back.” I hung up the phone and called Liz.
“Hey, honey,” I said when she picked up.
“Hey, Mom.” Her voice was cold, and that made me sad. Liz wasn’t like most young teenagers. She really was a good kid, and I know she was trying to understand why I’d been snapping at her so much lately. After I managed to lift myself out of my misery, I was going to have to do something nice to make up for how I’d been acting.
“Have you talked to Tahiry?” I asked.
“No, why?”
“She didn’t come home last night.” Liz didn’t offer a helpful response. “Do you know where she is?” I continued. When she still didn’t say anything, I said, “Liz. I need you to tell me where she is.”