Matthew's POV
Mommy was gone.
Annie was gone.
I didn't understand what was going on. Mommy was always so nice and Annie was always here. No matter what.
But Mommy wasn't nice anymore.
And Annabeth wasn't here.
I miss Annie. I'm miss Daddy.
I miss Mommy.
Annie's boyfriend was cool, but he wasn't Annie. Sally was nice, but she wasn't Annie.
It had been a day since I'd seen Annie, but it was about a month before that.
I just wanted Annie back.
I held the picture of my family from a year ago. It was the one we used for the Christmas card. Mommy never liked the idea of Annie being on the card, but Daddy insisted.
I couldn't stop crying, the picture had marks on it from my dried tears and was crumbled, but it was still my family.
I woke up early than I had in a while and had to go to the bathroom. After I went, I saw my reflection in the mirror. My face was red and blotchy. My eyes were red, too, and they felt super dry.
I left the bathroom and passed the room Bobby was still sleeping in. I stumbled straight to the kitchen. Straight to where the phone was.
I wanted Daddy to come home.
I dialed his number that I memorized from of school papers and stuff. He had to pick up.
I wanted him to come home. He would know where Annie is. He would find her. If Daddy came home, everything would be alright.
But he didn't pick up.
Not this time or the next ten times I called.
I finally gave up and started crying again.
I was wailing, when Sally came into the kitchen. I was on the floor, wrapped in a ball.
I wasn't supposed to cry. Boys in my class didn't cry. Boys in movies didn't cry. Why was I?
I should be strong and I should be out looking for Annie. But instead I was crying in the kitchen.
Sally wrapped me into a hug. It was kind of weird. Mommy never hugged me.
Never.
Mommy said I should grown up.
But Sally said it was okay to cry.
Is it?
Maybe it was.
I had heard Annie cry before. She wasn't weak, right? So why was I weak when I cried?
That doesn't make any since.
So I cried.
I cried about missing Mommy and Daddy.
I cried because I missed Annie.
I cried because my leg really hurt.
I cried because I just wanted everything to go back to normal.
But here crying with Sally, it felt a little better than normal.
She was like a Mommy that cared about me.
That cared about me and my family.
Would Mommy be like that for me? Would I even see her again?