28. Nicole
NICOLE
Anxiety has gnawed away at me all day long. Will he be alright? Will he make friends? Are the other kids going to be mean to him? Will he hate me for making him go there? Taking him away from his other school and friends?
It’s three o’clock, and even though he doesn’t finish school until three fifteen, I’m waiting outside with a coffee and a hot chocolate from our favourite coffee shop, ready to surprise him.
As I sit in the car, I will the minutes to tick by faster, but it seems the more I look at the clock, the slower they go.
A text notification comes through and I smile when I see Teresa’s name on the screen.
Teresa
Tell wee man I wanna hear all about his first day at school when he’s home.
I grin as I type a reply out to her.
Me
Of course I will. You enjoying your cruise?
As a thank you, and to get her out from under Brady’s feet, I’m assuming, Owen paid for an all expenses paid cruise around the mediterranean for her and a friend.
He also got his broker to find her a little two bedroom bungalow twenty minutes from the gated community we live in.
He wanted her close, but not too close apparently.
Teresa
Aye. There's a lot of eye candy here. Should’ve brought my handcuffs lol
Me
You’re incorrigible. But it’s why I love you. Be safe and have fun.
Teresa
I’m always safe (winking emoji) Love ye too.
With a chuckle, I place the phone in my bag, check the car’s clock to see how long I’ve got to wait, and do a little happy dance in my seat when I see it’s three fourteen.
I grab the takeout cups and step outside, ready to wait for my boy.
Rows of parents and au pairs are waiting at the gates and I hang back a little, not wanting to draw too much attention to myself.
I’m so thankful for the school’s zero policy on press intrusion around the school gates and sigh in relief knowing we won’t be papped today.
I really want Lucky to have as normal a life as possible while being in the public eye.
It’s inevitable when your dad’s a professional athlete, but we’ll always do what we can to make sure he’s happy.
Butterflies take flight in my tummy when I think about Owen. He’s everything I’ve ever wanted. And even though we’ve had our little blips, I really think we’ve turned a corner.
As children start to file out of the school, I strain my neck a little, trying to see Lucky before he spots me to get a gauge on how the day went before he tells me.
I scour the rows of children, but he’s nowhere to be seen.
I force down the urge to start panicking, telling myself I’m being ridiculous and it’s only a couple of minutes from when the bell rang.
An endless sea of faceless children filter past me, hugging their parents and talking excitedly about their first days back, and still there’s no sign of Lucky.
My heart hammers in my chest. Did he get in trouble? Am I supposed to go inside and pick him up?
My resolve snaps when I spot a little boy who I know is in his class come out and walk to his parents. I stride into the school playground and head toward the teacher standing at the school doors.
“Hi, excuse me, I’m Nicole Morgan. My son Lucky hasn’t come out yet. Am I supposed to collect him from somewhere else?” I smile eagerly at the lady, desperately trying to stifle the panic that's rising up my throat.
“Erm, Miss Morgan, I’m… your…” She stutters out and I grit my teeth so my smile looks more like a grimace. “Sorry. Lucky was picked up earlier. At around two forty five. We got a phone call from you to say he had an appointment that you’d forgotten about.”
My head starts to whirl and all I can hear is the rush of blood to my ears like white noise engulfing me.
I drop the takeout cups, and as they fall on the floor, their contents spilling everywhere, I let the reality of what's happening wash over me. My boy is missing. He’s been taken by someone.
I struggle to breathe as the fear and nausea takes a hold of me.
“I. I’m sorry. It wasn’t you on the phone?”
“No it wasn’t me on the phone. Who did you let take my son? Where is my son?” I shout back, my voice rising with each syllable I manage to spit out. My hands clench into fists and the bite of my nails digging into my palms does nothing to take the pain away that’s forcing my chest to cave in.
“I don’t know. This has never happened before.”
I can’t stand here doing nothing anymore. I swing my bag off my shoulder, grab my phone out of it and call the police. As the call connects, I’m ushered inside the building and into the head teacher’s office.
“My son…” I manage to utter out to the operator before breaking down in uncontrollable sobs.
I’m never going to see him again. I’m never going to hold him, sniff his head or hear his laugh again. I should never have sent him here. Who has him? Who’s taken my beautiful boy?
I’m vaguely aware of the head teacher talking to the police and then telling me they’re on their way. I can’t take anything in though. All I can do is sit and cry.
My boy, my beautiful little baby is out there in the hands of god knows who and there’s nothing I can do to help him. To protect him. And everything else ceases to matter, to exist, as I become a shell waiting for news on where my heart is and who has taken him.