The Story of Tonight

Chapter Thirty Six

"Who the hell thinks parents actually buy that their scrawny kid would turn into the size of a lumpy pillow at night?"

"Your daughter, apparently."

Vanessa tried to hold in the smile that was minutes from escaping as her boyfriend paced back and forth around their bedroom.

"What the hell were they thinking? It's almost two in the morning!"

Vanessa adjusted herself on the bed, having a feeling she wouldn't be going back to sleep for a while. She had nearly wanted to kill Lin when he had woken her up after finding Lia's room empty. Did he not realize how long it took the pregnant mother of two to find a sleeping position that was comfortable?

"They were probably thinking we were asleep and wouldn't wake up before they got back?"

The look on Lin's face made it clear to Vanessa that her sarcasm wasn't helping the panicked father's demeanor. "Okay," She rested her head on her lifted fist, "Here's what we know. They've been gone, at max, an hour. Hunter has her phone with her,"

"Which she didn't answer when I called!" Lin interrupted.

"And if they aren't back by 2:30, you can go wild. But let's just give them some time to panic about being in a world of trouble when they get back,"

Lin continued to pace around the room, "But why wouldn't Lia bring her phone? Who sneaks out in the middle of the night and leaves their phone!" When he had realized the lumps on Lia's bed were made out of pillows instead of kids, his first instinct was to call his daughter. When the sound of her ringtone illuminated her bedroom, he immediately ran and woke Vanessa.

"Someone who has never sneaked out before," Vanessa stated the obvious, "You said Lia's phone was on the charger, right? She probably was so wrapped up in the idea that she didn't think of taking it with her,"

"She wasn't thinking about a lot of shit," Lin said in a grumbled voice, filled with conflicting emotions of worry and irritation, "And she has snuck out before!"

"When?"

"Can I remind you of the first time I had to bring her back to your place after she came to the theatre?"

"Oh," Vanessa replied, "Well, that was different,"

Lin looked at her like she had two heads, "Please explain how because I don't see it,"

Vanessa yawned as she tried to calm down her boyfriend, "That was Lia going into the city to talk to her favorite celebrity," She hoped the sleepy smirk she was giving him would ease him enough that she could get back to sleep. It didn't seem likely.

"Well, what am I now? We could talk here! We can talk all night if she wants to!"

Vanessa finally sat up against her headboard, succumbing to the fact Lin wasn't going to calm down in the slightest until the moment the girls walked through the front door, "You're her dad. And this time was our normal - and apparently tonight - rash fifteen year old going on some crazy adventure with her cousin that always sounds like a good idea when you're a teenager."

"Then why are you not pissed?" He had stopped pacing, and was now leaning against their dresser, his arms crossed over his chest, "If we were going to switch the roles of good cop and bad cop, a little warning would have been nice,"

"I'll make sure to call a board meeting next time," Vanessa scoffed, "And I'm just as disappointed with her as you are, and we are both on the same page that she'll be in trouble when she gets home. But I also know the girls are together and are good kids. You also checked the security footage twenty times," Although Lin had previously been aware of the negative aspects of being in the limelight, he had become even more so aware of it when it came to his family. Moving forward, he would not be giving Lia the passcode to the security system.