Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 85342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
“Hi,” I reply, my stomach sinking when I hear people shouting in the background for him to back up and give them some room.
“Um, by any chance.” He starts to talk, and I hear the sirens in the background get louder and louder. “Does the name Monica Whitehorse mean anything to you?”
I close my eyes for a second before my body flips into autopilot, and I rush off the couch and toward my bedroom. “Where is she?” I ask, knowing he’s arrested her for something, and now I have to go down there and take away Penelope.
“We are at the corner of Pine and Maple,” he informs me. “I would get here as fast as you can, and I didn’t call you.”
“Thank you,” I say, pulling on my jeans before putting on my white bra and a white sweater. I grab my bag as I slip my sneakers on and rush out of the apartment.
I punch the streets into the GPS and see I’m about ten minutes from there. The whole time I drive there, I’m filled with anger. Mostly because I gave her one more chance. Knowing I shouldn’t have and knowing that I’m going to probably get an “I told you so” from Rosalind. I can see the police lights from two blocks away. The sound of an ambulance comes from my side, and I give them the right-of-way. I pull over and park a block away, putting my cell phone in my back pocket. The whole time, I hope I’m not too late and that I get there before they book her. The whole time I actually pray she didn’t have Penelope with her so taking her won’t be traumatic. I think about placing a call to my emergency foster parents, but I wait to see before I call them. Wanting to assess the situation before starting the phone chain.
The nerves hit my stomach as soon as I start running toward the scene. A group of people has started to line up to take it in. It confuses me for a second until I see what they are looking at, and my heart stops in my chest. In the middle of the street is Monica’s car, or should I say the remains of what is her car. It’s even on a weird angle. I look around to see if I can spot her anywhere, but I don’t see her. I get to the cop, who is stopping people from going forward, as I see the fireman bring out the saw. “You can’t come past here,” the cop tells me.
“I’m her caseworker.” I point at the car, and he looks over his shoulder. “I got called.” That’s the only thing I say. It’s not like I’ve never been called to the scene before.
“You need to stay out of the way,” he tells me, moving to the side, “until they clear the scene.” I take a couple of steps as I look for Colin.
He is at the side, waiting by the ambulance. I rush over to him, my heart beating so fast in my chest. “What is going on?” I look back over when I hear screaming from the fireman. “Where is she?” I look around, wondering if she’s already been taken to jail.
“How long have you had her?” he asks. I see he’s wearing jeans and a white T-shirt. It’s his off-duty attire, so I’m confused as to why he got called in. It should just be a uniformed officer who should be here with her. I look around at the people rushing to and from the car, not sure what the fuck is going on, or maybe I’m just blocking out the bad that I know is coming.
“Since she was fifteen,” I say, looking back to the car and seeing the smashed windows. I can’t even see in the car because of the way the windows are damaged. “Did she have Penelope with her?” I look around, getting ready to snap as the guilt sinks in. I spot the ambulance and see the paramedics are waiting by the car with a gurney, and then I look back at Colin, the heat rising to my neck.
“I don’t know how to tell you this,” he says and looks around to make sure we are alone. “She’s DOA.” The minute he says those words, my knees give out, and he lunges forward to catch me before I hit the pavement.
“No.” I shake my head, the words coming out in a whisper. “No, there is a mistake.” I turn to look toward the crash site. I take a step toward the car when he wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me back to him.
“You can’t go there,” he says softly to me. “They are trying to get the door open to get the baby.”