Page 18 of Sven

8

Sven

The next morning, Sven woke up to the sound of Winnie crying again. Not that he minded. He slipped into her nursery and picked her up. Stacie’s door was still closed, but he would let her sleep.

He got Winnie out of bed, changed her diaper, and headed down to the to make her a bottle.

“Hey, sweet girl. Let’s get you some breakfast, huh? After that, we’ll talk to Mommy and see if you can start eating other food. I really should know more about you. Like when your birthday is.”

As he turned the corner into his kitchen, he couldn’t help but feel like something was off. He finished getting the bottle ready and settled on the couch to feed Winnie. She settled back, holding the bottle with one hand and Sven’s pinky with the other. He smiled at her as she started to suck the bottle down.

“Let’s take a little look at some of the games from last night.” He pulled up highlight reels from the previous night’s games.“We play then soon,” he said to Winnie as he watched Florida’s game highlights. “We are going to beat them next time.”

They had lost to Florida in the playoffs last year, and they had taken Wes out earlier in the year with a season ending injury. The whole team was ready for their rematch in a couple of weeks. He watched Malone’s slap shot, noting his positioning on the ice.

That’s when he noticed it. The puck that sat in a glass enclosed dome on his mantel was missing. It was the puck from his dad’s game winning goal in game seven the year he won his first cup. It was gone. He situated Winnie and stood, carrying her to the mantle. All that was left was a little spot of dust. Then his focus drifted to the TV, and his Playcube 5 was gone.

No.

He went into his office. His dad’s signed jersey, along with the hockey stick framed behind his desk, were also gone.

No.

Still carrying Winnie, he made his was up to his bedroom. While his closet seemed mainly in tack, he could tell some things had been touched. Some of his sneakers, along with a couple of Gucci belts, were gone. Then he looked at his jewelry box. He was missing a Rolex and some diamond cuff links.

Gone.

This couldn’t be happening. Had he been robbed? The thought he’d been trying to keep at bay came to the forefront. There was no way Stacie could have done this, but what other explanation was there? He went to her room and knocked on the door.

No answer.

He knocked again.

Still no answer.

Slowly, he opened the door and found the bed empty and her bags gone.

“What the fuck?”

There was no way. His mind was running a hundred miles an minute. There was no way she left. And he didn’t even have her number. There had to be an explanation. Winnie was still here. She had to be coming back.

Walking through his house like he was in a nightmare, he made a way to the garage... but his car was gone.

His back hit the door, and he slid down onto the floor. Winnie babbled in his arms and reached her chubby little fingers up to his face.

“Don’t worry, sweet girl. I’m sure she’ll be right back.”

She will be right back, he told himself.

She had to be because... she would not have robbed him... but that seemed to be likely. But she would NOT leave Winnie. How could she leave Winnie?

But he had to wonder what if she came back to get her. She would disappear with Winnie and take her from him.

What was he going to do?

9

Natalie

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