Her

Chapter 15

Enzo

How. How in the hell am  going to find her? She could be anywhere at this point. I need to gather all the information I can get and try and find her. My first stop, the foster home.

Ella's phone goes off as we pull up to the gas station.

"Hey mom...I'm doing good and you?...No! I mean, I'm not feeling too good so this weekend wont be the best because I'm going to be focusing on my school work over the weekend, maybe next weekend? Month? I don't know we will figure it out sometime....Yeah, I'll be fine mom...will do, love you." and she hangs up the phone.

"Where are we going?" she looks out to me and puts her phone down.

"We're going to the foster home where I grew up at. I need to know where she went, where her parents are, and hopefully find out more." I get back into the car from pumping gas and drive off.

"Enzo..." she says and looks up at me, "...your teddy bear tattoo...is that for her?" My heart sinks for a second back to that night I got the tattoo.

"Yes..." I look at her and sadness fills her eyes. "I was going to keep her bear and be selfish because I wanted to have something to remember her by, but I figured she needed it more than me. A couple days later, I was adopted and I would always have these nightmares of Sarah's new parents hurting her and I would wake up screaming. I wanted to feel close to her again so I felt like getting that tattoo would be my best option. I ended up sneaking out of my house at age 12, four years after I got adopted, and got it. She was my light Ella. My everything, and I felt like as long as I had this tattoo, she was with me." Ella doesn't say anything and it's complete silence.

I turn on the radio and listen for any news. It's a good hour of boring ass people talking about shit I don't care about before I hear her name. I turn it up and listen carefully. She was last seen in Los Angeles at the Beverly Center. Shit that's like 5, 6 hours away. When we arrive at the foster home, there are many kids outside.

Ella looks around and looks at all the kids playing. "So, this is where you grew up?" A slight smile grows on her face and she continues, "I've always wanted to adopt ." We walk around to the front door and when I knock on the door, the same woman who took care of me and my little sister opens the door.

"Mrs. Thompson." I say and she looks wide eyed at me.

"...E-Enzo..?!" She's surprised to see me I take it because she pulls me into her for a hug. "How are you doing?"

"Well, I've been better, I think...I need your help." We walk into the house and she offers us some water. Ella and I sit down on the couch and Susan comes over and sits across from us. "It's Sarah...have you heard?"

"Heard what?" She's obviously confused and I shift on the couch.

"Sarah's been...kidnapped. Taken away from her family. I heard where she was last seen so I'll go there and figure some stuff out, but then I want to go see who her parents were. Maybe they know something."

"Sarah's been kidnapped?! That poor girl!" she puts her hands to her mouth and tears start to fall from her cheeks.

"Susan, I need to know the names of the parents that adopted her. Please."

"Um, follow me. I can't remember off the top of my head, but we can check the files." I follow her through the house and memories play through my head. Ella is walking next to me looking around. We pass the old stairwell and I stop. I remember me running up those stairs to to get the teddy bear. My head follows the imaginary little boy running out to Sarah and my heart aches. She was such a beautiful little girl. 

"Enzo? You okay?" Ella says and breaks me from my gaze.

"What? Oh yeah, I'm good." She reaches for my hand and wraps her fingers around mine. I look down at this gesture then look back up at her, squeeze her hand, and smile. I take one last look out the door at the little girl turning around and walking off with her parents, and drive off. We walk into Susan's office and she's searching through the files.

"Here it is." She pulls it out and sets it on her desk. "Jessica and Jeremy White are the names of the adults that adopted Sarah. Now I remember, they were such nice people, huge bright smiles.

"Do you know where they live?" I ask and Ella squeezes my hand.

"Yes, they live in...a little city called Maywood just outside of Los Angeles, about 8 miles. Enzo, this is where they lived when they adopted her. They could have moved."

I look at Ella then back at her. "Yeah, well, it's all I have."

"It's a great start. We should leave as soon as we can." Ella cuts in and squeezes my hand again.

"I don't mean to be rude, but who is this Enzo?"

"This is Ella, she's a real good friend. Now we have to go. Thank you for everything. Ella." I motion her ahead of me and I grab the files. I hug the woman that actually took care of me one last time and head out the door.

I start up the car and just sit there for a couple of minutes before Ella speaks.

"So where to first" I don't say anything, I'm just sitting there, frozen. This is actually happening. I can't do this, this is way to much, way out of my league. If professionals haven't even found her yet, then why do I think I can? "Enzo?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" I yell as I punch the steering wheel. "I have no idea where to start. I don't even know why I think I can do this! She could be anywhere by now and-..."

"Enzo look at me." I can barley hear her over my yelling but she takes my hand that I was throwing into the air and her touch instantly calms me. "We will find her." I look over at her and notice her beautiful hazel eyes are staring deeper into me like she's studying me, taking me all in. As I look into her eyes, I take her face in my hands and pull her head closer to mine and connect out lips. When I pull away, we rest our foreheads together and I rub her cheek with my thumb.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you. I just, I um, I don't-I don't know-..."

"I know..." she says and takes my hands down her face and holds them in her lap. "But we have to start somewhere." I take a deep breath and kiss her forehead.

"I know..." And so I start to drive off to the one place I could never be able to know or find out before. Maywood.