Snatched

Part 46

When Antoine got back in the car he looked at his phone. 20 missed calls from Amelie. Wow! He needed to call her back, but not now, he needed a bit more time to formulate a plan.

He needed to call his parents. He'd told them that Maddie was going on a last minute holiday, with a friend who'd had some bad news and he'd had to drop her at the airport. He'd told them not to tell the boys anything until he got back, as he wanted to explain to them himself where their mummy was.
Antoines phone begun to ring again in his hand. Amelie was still trying to get hold of him. He rejected her call and dialed his mums number instead.
'Maman!' he said, when his mum answered the phone. Living in an area that was mainly filled with British tourists, Antoine and his family had mainly spoken English at home. Although, he always greeted his parents in French.
'Mon amour!' his mother replied, 'where are you my love?'
'I'm just leaving the airport' Antoine replied, but can you keep the children up? I want to explain to them where Maddie is'.
'Ok' his mum said, 'I don't know why you won't let us tell them, but don't worry I haven't said a word!'
'Thank you so much maman!' Antoine said, 'I really owe you for this. Are the boys ok?'
'Yeah, we've just had dinner and they're in their jammies now. Oh!' his mum suddenly remembered something, 'Amelie called the house. I answered and she said she really needed to speak to you.'
'Ok' Antoine said, 'I'll give her a call when I get back.'
'How long will you be?' Antoines mum asked.
'I should be about an hour' Antoine replied, 'depending on traffic, so it shouldn't be too late for the kids'.
'Ok' his mum said, 'I'll try and keep them up. Although Jace already looks like he's falling asleep, au revior mon amour, I'll see you soon'.
'Au revoir!' Antoine said, as he hung up the phone.

**

'Papa!' Louis called, as he ran towards the front door. Antoine scooped the little boy up in his arms and went to give his mum a peck on the cheek.
'Mon petit amour!' he said, 'I've missed you so much!'
'Where's mama?' Louis asked. Antoine put his son down on the floor, but crouched to his level. 'I'll tell you about that very soon. Why don't you run along upstairs and get yourself into bed?'
'Ok', Louis said, 'we already brushed teeth' and he ran off up the stairs.
'Very well!' Antoine said 'thanks again maman'.
'It's my pleasure!' his mum said back.
Antoine looked into the living room, to see a not-so-active Jace almost asleep on his grandpas knee. He felt sorry for keeping the boys awake.
'I best take him up' Antoine said, as he walked across and took the little boy from his dad. Jace subconsciously slipped his hands around Antoines neck and he carried him up to his bedroom.

When Antoine walked into the bedroom, he almost tripped over Daniels mattress, that was still on the bedroom floor. How things had changed in the last 24 hours! He put Jace down on the bed and noticed that Louis was sat bolt upright in the bed opposite. Antoine sat on the edge of Jaces bed.
'Now mon amour', he said, looking into both of the boys eyes, 'mummy has had to go away for a while, she's gone on holiday with auntie Odette and Daniel'.
'But when will she be back', a tired Louis asked, rubbing his eyes. Antoine paused. This was the question he'd been dreading answering.
'Soon, mon amour, soon' was all he could say, 'but we'll try and call her tomorrow when she gets to where she's staying'.
'Yes papa, yes'. Despite his obvious tiredness, Louis was now bouncing on his bottom on the bed.
'Ok mon amour' Antoine said, as he stood up, 'that's all I wanted to say', 'but it's time to go to sleep now'. As he turned to go over and kiss both boys goodnight, he noticed that Jace was already fast asleep.

**

When Antoines parents had finally left, he walked into the kitchen and poured himself a strong whiskey. After the day he'd had, he definitely needed it! He walked back into the living room and sat in the rocking chair that Maddie often used to get the boys to sleep. Antoine took his phone out of his pocket and swung it around in his hands. 40 missed calls. Wow! His sister was persistent! He dialed her number and made the call he'd been dreading all afternoon.