The Perfect Moment

Chapter 4

I yawned, watching the ceiling. And then I heard it. I sat up, turning to face the window. Luke, sure enough, was in the distance, but I had no interest in sneaking away. My mother would ship me to my father’s, for sure, if she caught me sneaking out there to see him. I had considered that, but that option would have been worse. He wasn’t a friend, and I wasn’t going to risk getting myself in trouble for a kid I had only just met.

The waves seemed to be growing louder, and I cocked my head, trying to figure out why they were so much louder now than they had been. By listening, however, I had only discovered that McKayla was still howling.

 "Arielle! Arielle, can you come down here?"

I cocked my head, curious to what was going on. My mother’s voice seemed, while not urgent in the sense that there was danger, definitely rushed. Moving quickly, my socks sliding across the wooden floors as I ran, I reached the kitchen, where she was standing. Seeing her smile like that took me slightly by surprise, but not as much as her small body had, yet again. I knew that by this point, I should be used to her, and how unusually thin she was, but I wasn’t. I blinked, taking in a deep breath.

"Ally's taking me to the shop, and the baby's sleeping," McKayla screamed again, and my mother corrected herself, "or, at least, she was sleeping. Can you watch her? We're right down the boardwalk."  I hesitated, shaking my head slightly. “She doesn’t like me, Mom.”

“Oh, nonsense!” my mother exclaimed, and I narrowed my eyes slightly at her use of big words. She was weird like that, always using such exaggerated words when describing the simplest of facts. Ally appeared empty handed, moving to hug me, happily. “I just can’t wait to show this to your mom! I’ve been telling her so much about it! The baby’s asleep, for now.”

I hugged back unenthusiastically, frowning, already annoyed that Ally didn’t take care of McKayla at all. It seemed as though it was Luke or myself that was in charge, and it had only been a few hours since I’d arrived. The baby was most certainly not asleep. I could hear her cries, although they didn’t seem as loud as I’m sure they would when I was up close to her. I followed behind, exiting the kitchen as I watched the sisters rush out, giggling, their hands tangled in each other’s as Ally yanked my mom down the walkway.

When I closed the door, blocking out the screen with the wood, the crying seemed louder. I moved into the kitchen, bending over the car-seat carrier. The baby had fallen asleep in there earlier, but evidently, she had been moved.  I checked her room, the basement, the dining room, and although you could hear her crying in every room, she wasn’t in any of them. It was like she was gone, only, her screams proved otherwise. I tried following them, thinking that whenever the screams would get louder, it would mean I was closer, but it wasn't that simple. The screams lead me to the back door. The door was ajar, but the locked screen prevented not only bugs and insects, but unwanted visitors. I clicked open the lock and pushed out gently, following the screams. I stood out on the deck, looking out into the distance, listening, puzzled. I was tempted to go down the beach in search of the store, but I figured that with her screaming this loud, it would be a bad idea to leave her unattended.

I could find her, I figured, but I knew that without help, it’d be useless. I had checked every room in the house already. I hesitated, but turned, regardless, to the direction of the pier. Sure enough, Luke still sat there, messing with that phone. “Hey!” I screamed, waving my arms.

When Luke looked up, he raised a hand, waving. "Everything okay?"

"Can you help me?"  I shouted.

I looked around, still hearing the baby's cry. From the distance, I could see him stand, making his way across the yard. I leaned over the deck, frowning, “I can’t find McKayla.”