Taken «Stauren»

«2»

What am I doing?

Those same four words flowed through my mind on repeat over and over again until I couldn't even hear Lauren's voice anymore. There was a one year old baby sitting in the back of my van as I drove it down the road at twelve thirty in the morning.

My baby.

My baby that I kidnapped.

Kidnapped.

It was as if something had taken over my mind that night. A sudden feeling of attachment towards the little girl that I had just met a few hours ago. The thought of leaving her in that place for one more night was unthinkable. I couldn't just leave my child with a woman who was constantly smoking a cigarette while intoxicated.

I was soon snapped out of my thoughts and back into reality by the sound of Emmie's high pitched cries mixed with Lauren's worried voice. Finally, I could make out the words that Lauren's muffled voice was saying into the phone. "Steven, is that you?"

"Y-yes," I stuttered, trying to force out my words while pulling into an empty parking lot. "I need your help."

"What's going on?" Lauren asked, her tone of voice frantic. "Is that a baby crying?"

I took a moment to crawl into the back seat once the van was parked, and I lifted Emmie up into my arms. "I can't say," I told her while stroking Emmie's sweaty back. "I just really need your help."

"Steven, tell me what's going on," Lauren demanded through the phone.

A sigh escaped my lips. For a moment, I considering telling her what I had done, but shook my head. "I can't tell you over the phone. It has to be said in person."

Lauren's voice turned from angry and demanding to a slightly more sympathetic tone. "I don't live in New York anymore, Steve."

A small moment of silence lingered between us before I finally gave up. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't of called anyway. Have a good night." I pulled the phone away from my ear and reached to press the "end call" button when I suddenly heard Lauren's voice mumble something.

"Steven, wait," she said. "I guess I could make a trip up to New York in a couple of days. Besides, we haven't seen each other in a while, right?"

A smile spread across my tired face. "Yeah, we haven't."

"Whatever is going on, just hang in there, and I'll see you soon." I nodded at her words, a sense of comfort filling my head considering Lauren would be with me in a couple of days. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"Okay," I replied. The two of us said our goodbyes, and I hung up the phone. "We're gonna get some help," I whispered to Emmie, placing a kiss on the top of her head. "I promise."

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I couldn't help but feel nervous as I approached a baby store, for I knew the money I had wouldn't cover everything I needed to buy for Emmie. A few beads of sweat rolled down the side of my head, and I readjusted Emmie on my hip.

"Let's do this," I mumbled to myself as I walked inside the store.

I had a small list of things to get scribbled on a crumbled up piece of paper.

Diapers.

Clothes.

Food.

Car seat.

As soon as we found our way into the diaper aisle, I suddenly became overwhelmed by all the different brands and sizes. "Do you know which one of these to pick?" I asked Emerson, somehow hoping she would give me an answer."