Expectations || Completed but unedited

{Prologue}

Absquatulate
to leave without saying goodbye

"Come on, Sophia." Mommy dragged me through the crowds and towards the kid's section. "You need to get your Christmas pajamas, and a present for Ariel."

"Can I get her Ariel?" I asked her since my sister was named after the redheaded mermaid.

"It's called The Little Mermaid, and no. We already have a copy." She dodged past a couple of people standing near a clothing rack and stopped in front of a pajama rack. "Hurry up and pick a pair."

"Bumblebees!" I pulled away from Mommy and grabbed a pair of the bumblebee printed pajamas. "Look, Mommy!"

"What about the princess one or the one with stars?" She pulled the other two and showed them to me.

I blinked as I looked at before wrinkling my nose up and shaking my head no. "I like the bumblebees."

"Try these." She ripped the bumblebee pajamas from me and shoved the two I didn't want into my arms. "Changing rooms are over."

"But I-" she cut me off by shoving me towards the changing rooms.

"Go try those on." She hissed, and I nodded.

The lady by the changing rooms, Tammy, helped me with getting out of my boring non-bumblebee dress and into the princess nightgown my mom gave me.

"There you go, sweetie." Tammy smiled and patted my cheek. "Let's go show your mommy."

"Okay." I slipped my hand into hers and left the little stall. "She's by the pajamas."

"Pajamas?" Tammy smiled at me. "My grandbabies say PJs."

"Mommy doesn't like it when Ariel and I say PJs," I told her. 

"Are you sure she was by the pajamas?" Tammy asked me. "I don't see her."

"She might have gotten Ariel's present." I shrugged and tried to look around for her, but I couldn't see past all the clothes. "Can I try the bumblebee pajamas on?"

"Of course, sweetie." Tammy grabbed a pair of pajamas. "Right after I asked one of my friends to find your mommy."

"Okay." I held onto the pajamas for her as she led me back to the changing rooms. 

"Hey, Ricky." Tammy tapped a man in blue on his shoulder. "Can you find little Miss Sophia's mom? We can't."

"Of course." The man, named Ricky nodded and kneeled in front of me. "Hi, Sophia. I'm Officer Richard."

"Hi." I smiled widely and showed him the pajamas I was holding. "Miss Tammy is gonna let me try on the bumblebee pajamas since Mommy isn't around."

"They're very pretty." He told me. "What does your mommy look like?"

"Blonde like me, but her hair is shorter." I pointed at my ears because that's how long her hair is. "She has Ariel's pretty green eyes, though, and she's wearing pants and a tank top."

"Okay, anything else?" Officer Richard asked me.

"Hm." I tried to think. "Daddy calls her Maggie even though her name is Mommy."

"Thank you, Sophia." Officer Richard ruffled my hair before standing up and saying something to Tammy.

I didn't listen because I was too busy looking at the cute little bumblebees. I ended up hanging out with Tammy for a long time so long that the store was empty, and I got to go into the Employee Room and drink hot chocolate with Tammi's friend Macy; she folds the clothes and helps people find what they want.

"Want a cookie?" Macy asked me.

"Do you have a chocolate chip one?" I kicked my feet under the table so they wouldn't fall asleep.

"Yup." She leaned in and whispered. "I'll even get you two."

"Okay," I whispered back.

She winked and got up to get the cookies and more coffee for herself.

"Hey, Mace." Another girl entered the room, swinging keys on her fingers. "I'm headed home. Want a ride?"

"Tammi's gonna drive me home," Macy told the girl. "I'm watching Sophia here until her dad comes."

"So, they haven't found her mom yet?" The girl came and sat by me.

Macy shook her head and sat back in her seat. "Here are your cookies, Sophia."

"Thank you, Macy." I thanked her because Daddy would be upset if I didn't. "I like your hat," I said to the new girl.

She looked a little confused but then touched her cool hat. "It's called a hijab, Sophia. It's more of a headscarf than a hat."

"Oh." I nodded. "It's pretty."

"Thank you." She smiled. "I like your shirt. Bees are cool."

I gasped and immediately handed her a cookie. "No one in my family like bees! My best friend, Willow, likes butterflies, and my other best friend, Aurora, likes ladybugs."

She smiled and took the cookie from me. "Thank you for the cookie. I like honey and bees make honey."

"Bees are cool," I told her. "They scare my sister, though."

"Where's your sister?" Macy asked me.

"Spending the night at a friend's house." I picked my cup up and took a sip. "Do you know when my daddy will be here?"

"He should be here soon." Macy rubbed a hand on my shoulder. "And they'll find your mom."

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This story is going to be different from my other stories, so I hope you enjoy it!

Quick thank you to my awesome friend ChasingMadness24 for helping me with something in this story. I love you, and y'all should check out her stuff because she's excellent.

Updates are Wednesdays after 4 pm Central Time unless I don't have a chapter ready or update my other Wednesday story The Truth About Life instead.

Thoughts are appreciated!
-Brianna