****
Stacy quietly held Jackson, slowly rocking him and patting his butt while he slept. Rebecca sat on one end of the couch with her knees were drawn up tight against her chest and her arms wrapped around them, staring into space. She hadn’t spoken since they came downstairs, nor had she drank any of the tea that Sam had sat beside her on the table.
Sam overtly watched Rebecca as she sat on the other end of the couch. She was worried sick herself, but she knew Jenna was looking for Shawn and right now, that’s all any of them could do. She felt helpless as she watched her friend in such pain. She was even more concerned about her sister, though. As much as Shawn had endured from their parents, she had never seen her react like this. It was one thing for her to take out her anger on her father, but for her to run? Well that just wasn’t a typical response for her. I can’t imagine how father’s words must have hurt her. God, why did he have to show up now, when Shawn was finally happy?
Sam jumped as her cell phone rang. She snatched it off her leg where it had been perched for the past two hours and answered quickly. “Hey baby, did you find her? Okay honey, I’ll tell her.” She laid the cell back down and looked up to see Rebecca staring at her intently.
Rebecca felt hollow and something inside her knew that Shawn was not coming home. “She hasn’t found her, has she?” She whispered.
“Not yet, but she is going to try a few more places.” Sam offered encouragingly, hoping the smile on her face looked sincere. Please don’t do this Shawn.
Sam had drifted asleep with her head leaned against the back of the couch and Stacy was asleep in the rocker with Jackson sleeping soundly in her lap. Sam’s eyes opened as she realized she was drifting in and out of sleep. She turned her eyes and saw that Rebecca was still sitting in the same position; her posture reminded Sam of a child who was lost and scared.
Swinging her legs to the floor she stood and laid her hand gently on Rebecca’s head. “Rebecca, honey you should go lay down. You and the baby need to rest. One of us will wake you if we hear anything.”
Rebecca allowed herself to be led upstairs to her bedroom. Our bedroom. Oh God, baby please come back to me. I need you. She lay down and pulled Shawn’s pillow tight against her, the scent of her perfume comforted her. She had no idea how long she laid there after Sam covered her and closed the door, before she fell into an exhausted sleep. Her alarm blared at her as she struggled to open her eyes; they felt like lead. She automatically reached for Shawn but her arm touched only cold sheets. She bolted upright, disoriented and still feeling like she couldn’t breathe. She choked back a sob as she realized it was morning and Shawn was still not there.
Sam stretched in her sleep and snuggled tighter against the back of Jenna, who was lying tucked in front of her on the couch. Jenna had stumbled in at four a.m., exhausted and worried. She had been unable to find any trace of Shawn. She had driven to all of Shawn’s favorite places and called every friend should could think of but found no trace of her. She must have dialed Shawn’s cell a hundred times, only to have it go straight to voicemail each time. Sam had pulled her into a tight hug when she had returned empty-handed. They had fallen asleep on the couch, hoping that Shawn would call.
Jenna startled at a noise from the kitchen and slowly sat up. She saw Rebecca moving around, looking like she was getting ready to leave. Jenna nudged Sam and got up to check on Rebecca.
“Oh, I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to wake you.” Rebecca said softly as she turned and saw Jenna standing across the kitchen. “I was just grabbing some fruit before I leave for work.” She absently held an orange up.
“Rebecca, you don’t need to go to work. Call out, it’s not like you don’t have plenty of time off. You didn’t sleep well last night and you need to rest.” Jenna said quietly. She observed the dark circles and the drawn look on her friend’s face.
“I appreciate your concern, but I’d rather keep my mind busy. I promise, I have no intention of putting my baby in any danger.” She squeezed Jenna’s arm as she walked past and out the door to her car.
Rebecca tried to focus on her patients before discreetly pulling the charge nurse aside. “Cheryl, did Shawn call out this morning?” She said in a low tone so she wouldn’t be overheard.
Cheryl looked at her with a startled expression. “Rebecca are you okay? You look exhausted. Did you two get into a fight?” Cheryl asked with concern. “Shawn called me this morning and said she needed to take a leave of absence and that she would burn all her paid time off she had accumulated, which was three weeks. She said something about a family issue.”
Rebecca barely had time to realize what was happening as she felt the darkness close in; she reached for Cheryl’s arm as her legs gave way. Thankfully, Cheryl recognized the signs and braced herself to catch Rebecca as she fainted.
Rebecca slowly opened her eyes, struggling to understand why she was laying down in a hospital bed and then it came slamming back into her mind. Shawn is gone. She’s gone and she’s not coming back. Oh God, I can’t do this without her.
Sam was sitting quietly next to the bed. She reached out her hand and held Rebecca’s silently. She didn’t have any words that would make
