Kidnapped

Chapter 11: Shopping

"Did anyone get hurt?" I asked urgently. "No," Luke responded. "Except three people, but they just had injuries." I sighed in relief. "We need to find the robbers,"  I admitted. "What have you discovered so far?"

"I have discovered that these robbers are the same," Luke said. "They didn't kill anyone, just stole the clothes." What exactly was their plan? "There is something weird about them." Luke added. "I watched the news again and I saw their clothes."

"What about them?" I asked. "Two of the robbers are wearing eyeshadow and eyeliner." Luke said. "In the first footage, but in the second one, two robbers have tattoos and nose piercings." I now understood. The group consists of two women and two men. But the question that was on my mind is, Who are they?

Just then, Mom tapped on my shoulder impatiently and showed me a red dress with spaghetti straps. She took me by the hand and waited for me to try it on. I stripped down my clothes and put on the stupid dress.

As I twirled around in it, Mom breathed. "You look beautiful in that dress," she complimented. "We need to find some wedges for you." "Can't I wear sneakers?" I whined. I hated wearing heels as well as wearing a dress. Mom ignored me then left the fitting room to find a pair.

When she was gone, I took off the dress and put my clothes back on. I shoved my feet into my boots and sighed in relief. It felt so good to be back in my old shoes. All of a sudden, I received a text, but this time it wasn't from Luke. It was from the unknown caller.

I looked at my phone screen as texts were appearing out of nowhere. "Did you see the news?" "What have you found?" "Does your friend know?" I swallowed a gulp and jotted down my responses. When I was finished, I waited for his or her response. "That's good," he said. "Who are you?" I typed. "How did you get this number?" "Do you believe me now?" he responded. Do I have a choice? I thought.

Eventually, I typed yes and sent it to him. He sent me a smiling face emoji. I shut off my phone and stuffed it in my denim skirt pocket. Mom returned from her trip and brought matching red wedges. "Yay," I said without any sign of enthusiasm. "Can't you be a little bit more excited than that?" Mom asked.

"Yay," I repeated. Mom rolled her eyes and placed the shoes in front of me. I took my boots off and slipped my feet in them. It felt cool under my skin. "Now walk," she instructs. I stood up from the bench and walked slowly in them.

Just as I was starting to get it, I tripped on Mom's bag. "Mom," I groaned. "Do I have to wear this junk?" Mom picked up her bag and scowled at me. "Yes you do." Mom said. "Now get the red dress and shoes and let's go."

I rolled my eyes and obeyed her orders. After Mom paid them, I couldn't wait to go home and go to Luke's house. But that's when he showed up. Dad was at the mall, wearing a green shirt and black slacks. He wore white sneakers and a long snatched.

When he looked at us, he smiled. Mom smiled back while I ignored it. "Hey Willow," Dad greeted. "How are you doing?" "Fine," she says. "Where's Stacy?" Stacy was my Dad's fiance and my future step mom. "She's doing great," he answered. "Right now, she looking for shoes."

Dad catch a glimpse at me then greeted me. "How are you doing Cole?" he asked. "Hey Mom," I began, ignoring Dad. "I'll go take the dress and shoes to the car." "Don't you want to talk to your father?" Mom asked. "I rather go to the car," I explained. "than talk to liar who broke your heart."

Dad swallowed hard and stared at the ground. Mom nodded very slowly and stroke my hair.  I kissed Mom on the cheek and walked out of the mall. As I waited for Mom in the car, I texted Luke for more details. He wouldn't respond to my texts or my phone calls.

I turned to the window and saw Mom walking towards the car. She opened the front door and sat on the driver seat. "Cole," Mom said quietly. "I understand that you hate your father, but you didn't have to say that."

"He deserved my opinion." I coldly stated.  Mom didn't say anything after that. When she drove us back to our home, I went up to my room and collapsed on my bed.

My ears perked up as Luke tapped on my window. Wanting to take my mind out of the wedding, I let Luke inside my bedroom for the umpteenth time.

"Hey Cole," Luke said. "I saw Charlie left your house. Is there something wrong?" "Yes," I sighed. "There is." Luke sat down on my bed then allowed me to speak.

"I am just really tired of Mom sometimes," I admitted. "First Mom broke up with Dad, then she tried dating really old men. It's stupid." I moaned and collapsed on the bed.

"I don't know what to do," I whined. "You want to know my experience with girls?" Luke asked. Turning my head to face Luke, I nodded.

"Choosing a girl is like flipping a coin," Luke explained. "There is a fifty percent chance that a girl will be nice or crazy. I think that's what your mom is feeling when she dated a chump like Charlie, no offense Cole."

"None taken," I replied. "I understand that Mom is trying to move on, but why would she date older men?" "Maybe she likes old guys," Luke suggested. "Just don't take her weird dating as a sign that she hates you, take it as a sign that she cares for you. "

I thought about it for a moment. That was really good advice. I think. "So, where were you?" Luke asked. "At the mall," I answered. "Shopping for the cheater's wedding."

"Did you buy something fun to wear?" Luke asked. "Mom did," I explained. "I didn't." Luke chuckled for a moment then collapsed next to me.

"Do you want to hear some news?" I thought about it for a moment. "Is it good or is it bad?" I asked. "Both," Luke answered. "The good news is that the field trip is back on, and the principal found a replacement."

"How is that good and bad news?" I asked. "The field trip costs thirty dollars and the replacement is terrible at her job." "How do you know all this?" I asked. "The principal was bragging about it on his Twitter page," Luke admitted.

I giggled. "You hacked into his account?" "I didn't have to," Luke snickered. " I already knew that his username is DaBomb and his password is Ponies4life." We laughed until tears were coming out of our eyes.