Page 11 of Promised Love

“I don’t care, dammit! You shouldn’t have lied, at least not to us.”

I can almost hear Santino’s teeth grinding.

“Check your cell phone,” he says. “Do you have service now?”

“No. Not yet.” The words have just left my mouth when my cell vibrates. Nonstop.

My hands shake as I open the notifications to see thirty missed calls and fifteen texts.

I look up at Chiara, who’s staring at my phone. We share a worried look before I read the texts.

Mom: Autumn, Grandma wants to talk to you. Come to the garden.

Then a missed call from Mom.

Texts from Dad and Grandma.

A few more calls…until they realize I’m not home.

Mom: Where are you?

A few more calls and texts, and the last one is from Grandpop!

My grandfather is a tech-averse man, the complete opposite of Grandma. For him to text and use the phone we gifted him two years back but have never seen him with is…huge.

Grandpop: Hey, firefly. Where are you? Everyone is worried. Your dad just called the chief of police. If you’re in a bad place, try to remember the training I gave you. We’ll find you soon, kid.

“Holy shit!” I blurt as Santino drives onto my street.

“Exactly,” he mutters at the sight of police cars outside my home.

Santino parks the car behind a convoy of police cruisers.

I bolt out of the car, followed by Chiara, and we run up to my parents, who are talking to the Chief. Dad has his arms around Mom, who’s crying nonstop.

“Mom. Dad.”

“Oh my God, Autumn!” Mom, all in tears, hugs me tight before running her hands over me, head to toe.

“Where were you, tums?” Dad brushes my hair lightly.

“I’m really sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Smith.” Santino looks contrite before his almost murderous gaze slides to me and Chiara.

“Everyone’s fine. Nothing happened, right?” Dad’s jaw is pressed tight, and my sweet father looks like a stranger without his smile.

“Dad, I’m sorry.” I hold his hand, my head resting over Mom’s chest, who is still in shock, not realizing I’m the reason behind all this chaos.

“We’ll talk about this later, Autumn. Take your mom inside. Grandma and Grandpop are worried and waiting for you.”

I walk toward the house, where all the lights are turned on, including the porch.

When I open the door, Grandma stops pacing back and forth. She runs her hands over me, exactly like Mom did, while Grandpop grabs his walking cane. His whole body shakes as he gets up.

“Firefly, you’re well?”

I nod, which makes his eyebrows furrow.

“Santino just brought her home,” Mom whispers. She still isn’t out of shock, unlike Grandma.

---