Page 130 of The One for Me
“I’m sorry if I woke you.”
“No, please, it’s fine. I must’ve fallen asleep after I fed Deacon.”
“I lost him,” I say as I start to cry.
“Lost who? Sean?”
“Yes, but that’s not what I mean.”
She clears her throat. “I don’t know what you’re saying. Who did you lose if we’re not talking about Sean?”
I drop my head down, feeling so much shame and sadness. “Austin. He ran away or wandered off. I don’t know.”
“Oh, God. When did he take off?”
I fill her in on the events of the night and things leading up to my calling her. I tell her everything. I confess that Austin is really my son, that I’ve been lying to everyone, and how absolutely terrified I am that he found out about it because he overheard Sean and I fighting.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you,” I say between sobs.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Devney. What you did . . . well, I can’t imagine, but it is nothing that you owe anyone an explanation for. That boy is incredibly lucky to have you and Hazel as mothers.”
I laugh once. “Please. Hazel never lost him.”
“You didn’t lose him, honey. He was angry and took off. You have no idea if he knows the truth about you being his mom or he was pissed because he wants to stay in Tampa. I know you’re struggling, and if I were there, I’d come hug you and do whatever I could.”
I know she would. Sydney has been one of the best friends anyone could ask for. She gives her time and counsel no matter what, and she always give it with kindness.
“We have to find him, Syd. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to him too.”
“Sean won’t quit. He loves that boy just as much as you do.”
“I fought with him,” I confess. “I told him I couldn’t move here and that I couldn’t take Austin away from his home, and then he said he wanted to marry me.”
I shake my head and feel as if everything is caving in and ready to suffocate me. We had the best vacation, and it ended in the most epic failure.
“You’ll both get over it and get your heads on straight. Emotions are high and deadlines are never a good thing—unless it’s work. When Austin comes back, just hold each other. The three of you are more of a unit than you think. Lean on each other.”
There’s a buzz down at the door. “I have to go.”
“Love you, Dev.”
“Love you too.”
I hang up and touch the button I think is the intercom. “Hello? This is Officer Covey with the Tampa Police Department. We got a call about a missing child.”
“Yes, I’m Devney Maxwell. I’ll buzz you in.” At least I’ll try to.
After a few attempts, I get the code in, and two police officers enter. One must be Officer Covey, since she’s the only female. She’s shorter than I am, blonde, and very pretty. The man with her is huge.
“Hi, Devney, I’m Heather, and this is my partner, Brody. Can you tell us about what happened?”
I lead them into the kitchen and we sit at the table as I go over everything. She takes notes while her partner calls over the radio some descriptions of Austin. I do my best to keep it together, but each minute that passes feels like a lifetime. I’m terrified something happened to him or that we’ll never find him.
She puts her notebook down and gives me a soft smile. “I can imagine that you’re going crazy, but we have the entire department on the lookout.”
I nod, fighting back tears. “I should’ve . . . I don’t know.”
“It’s easy to play that game, but we’ll do everything we can to find him. I don’t have kids, but I’m an aunt, and I know how I would feel if it were one of them.”
