Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
KASS
It's nearly one in the fucking morning, why is someone trying to call me right now?
I roll over in bed and grab my phone off my nightstand. It's Jade.
Fuck! My throat tightens up, and my heart starts to race as I panic.
"Hello? Jade! Is everything okay?"
"No..."
"What the fuck do you me—"
"Kass. Someone took her."
My ears start ringing, and a knot forms in my throat. I can't breathe. My absolute worst nightmare is coming true. I have a million questions I need to ask, but nothing is coming out. I shoot up out of bed and scramble for the light switch.
"Kass, don't panic—"
"Don't panic! Are you fucking kidding me?" I barely recognize my voice, laced with pure rage.
"Kass, listen to me! I'm pretty sure she's fine."
"Pretty sure she's—" She cuts me off again, and I'm about ready to punch a wall, but instead I focus on finding my pants.
"She went with that girl."
"What girl?"
"The one with that was prancing around your house in her underwear a few months ago."
My head isn't clear right now. Who the fuck is she talking about? Underwear? Couple of months ago?
"Blake?"
"I don't fucking remember her name. The one with purple hair!"
"Blake." I'm more confused now than I was a second ago.
Why would Blake take Clover? From Jade's house? It's then that I hear music in the background on the other end of my phone.
"Jade. Where are you?"
"My house. She barged in here with some guy, and they just carried her out of here like it was their own goddamn kid."
"I gotta go."
"What? Kass—"
"I'll call you back! Text me if you think of any more details."
I finally have my head screwed on enough to throw on some sweats and a sweatshirt.
I run through the house, grab my keys, and run out the front door.
I didn't bother putting on shoes, so I'm running across the driveway barefoot.
I have no clue where I'm going, but I get in my car and call Blake's number.
She answers almost immediately.
"Kass?"
"Blake! Do you have Clover?"
"I do. How do you—"
"What the fuck is going on?"
"Kass, everything's gonna be okay. She's safe. She's with me. We're on our way back to your house. We'll be there in five minutes. I'll explain everything when I get there."
I'm stunned into silence by this fucked up sequence of events. How did the woman who ripped my heart out end up taking my daughter from the house of a girl I used to hate but recently started to trust? Man, if I wasn't mentally fucked up already, I sure as hell am going to be now.
I look down at my phone and realize that Blake hung up on me.
What the hell am I supposed to do now? I start by climbing out of my car and walking to the front door that I'm now realizing I left wide open.
My whole body is on autopilot. My feet carry me inside, my lungs pump air in and out, my hands close the door behind me, but my mind is somewhere else.
My mind is still in panic mode, struggling to come up from the hell it was just plunged into.
I thought I had lost her. I thought someone had taken my little girl.
That is a new level of pain that I never want to feel again.
The closest I've ever felt to something like this is when I got the call about Daisy.
It took me over an hour to gather my thoughts before I was able to confront Clover about it.
I find my way to the couch, and my body collapses onto the cushion. I place my hand over my heart to reassure myself that it's still beating. It is.
As I lay there, staring up at the ceiling, my mind is blank. Only moments ago, it was running wild with horrible and endless possibilities; now there's only silence.
Time passes—as it usually does—and before I know it, I hear a car in the driveway.
Shooting up and off the couch, I run outside, still barefoot.
This time, I stop on the porch. There's an SUV that I don't recognize.
Unless Blake got a new car in the past couple of weeks, then it must belong to the man that Jade mentioned, the one who was supposedly carrying Clover out of her house.
The first person I see is Blake. I haven't had time to process anything, let alone the fact that she's the one who has Clover right now.
She holds her door open, and Clover steps out behind her.
I check her over for any injuries. None that I can see.
The odd thing is, she doesn't look as excited to see me as I am to see her.
Her head is down, and she can't even look at me.
"Are you okay, Lovie?"
She nods without looking up. A whirring noise alerts me to the fact that the driver’s window is being rolled down. A man, one I don't think I recognize, asks Blake a question.
She responds, "I should probably go in there and explain. You guys can head back. I'll find a ride home."
The driver rolls up the window and starts backing out of the driveway.
I watch as Clover takes Blake's hand in hers and they make their way toward me.
I'm trying my best to remain calm. Whatever happened obviously has Clover feeling some sort of way, and I don't want my stress to make things worse, since I have no clue what's going on.
I silently let the girls pass me and enter the house.
Blake flashes me an apologetic smile, but Clover doesn't look up at me.
I can't help but run my hand over her head.
Maybe that's the wrong thing to do, but I can't help checking to make sure she's real and not just a figment of my imagination.
She doesn't stop or even slow down. She follows Blake into the house, hand in hand.
The girls take a seat on the couch, whispering back and forth, and I sit in the chair next to the couch to give them some space.
I want to bark questions at them and demand answers, but I somehow manage to keep my lips pressed tight.
It's agony, but I need to practice my patience right now more than ever.
"Clover, would you like to tell your dad what happened tonight?" I've never heard Blake's voice so soft and sweet. It doesn't suit her, yet I find it endearing.
Clover shakes her head, but she finally makes eye contact with me. Tears fill her eyes, and my heart starts to break all over again.
"You can tell me, Lovie."
"I don't want you to get mad."
"Oh, sweetie, I'm not mad at you. I was just really worried about you."
"Not at me..."
I look to Blake for an explanation.
She shakes her head. "Not me, either."
"Who?" My question is directed at Clover.
"Auntie Jade."
My blood starts to boil, and it takes everything I have to not let it show. "What about Jade?"
Clover leans over and whispers to Blake, "Can you just tell him?"
Blake whispers back, "Are you sure you want me to tell him. I think he'd rather hear it from you."
"Please..."
Blake continues to hold Clover's hand. I want to reach out and grab both of them, but I don't.
"I was out tonight with some friends when I got a call from Clover. She asked me to come pick her up at Jade's place. She said she was scared."
I look to Clover for confirmation, and she nods before Blake continues.
"It looks like after Clover went to bed, Jade invited some people over for a party, and it got a bit out of hand."
Out of nowhere, Clover speaks up, apparently having a lot to say now.
"There was loud music and a lot of people talking and yelling.
I woke up to get a glass of water, but I was too scared to go downstairs.
I didn't know anybody there. I tried to call Raina and Winnie, but they didn't answer, so I called B.
" Her confession continues to spill out as if she can't contain it anymore.
"She told me to lock myself in my room, so I did.
I waited for her to get there, but there was this guy banging on my door, trying to get in. "
My stomach drops, and I feel like I'm going to explode. "Did he—"
"No." Blake cuts me off and answers for her. "Nobody was able to get in. Bear and I got there within 20 minutes and got her out of there."
A million questions are on the tip of my tongue, but only one can come out at a time. "Clover, why didn't you call me?"
"I didn't want you to be mad at Auntie Jade. You just started letting us hang out, and I didn't want this to get her in trouble."
This got her in big fucking trouble all right.
But that's not what's important right now.
"I'm sorry that you didn't feel comfortable calling me because of how I acted toward Jade.
But, Clover, I need you to know that you can always call me when you're in trouble.
I don't ever want you to think that my feelings about someone else trump how much I care about you. "
She nods, and a few tears fall down her cheek.
"Come here." I open my arms, and Clover walks over, collapsing into me. "I'm so glad you're okay. I got really scared."
"Did Jade call you?"
I look over Clover's shoulder at Blake. "Yeah. Why didn't you call me?"
Her eyes go to the back of Clover's head, and I catch her drift. "Lovie, let's get you ready for bed so I can talk to Blake for a minute."
Clover looks down at herself. "I'm kind of already ready for bed."
The mood is a little lighter in the room now, but my heart still aches from the stress of it all. "Come on, you goofball." The playful look on Clover's face makes me smile despite myself.
I walk her down the hallway and get her settled into bed.
Before I leave, I check in to make sure she's actually okay.
She was clearly shaken up by what happened, and I don't want her to go to bed worrying that I'm upset with her.
She puts my mind at ease and seals it with a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"How did I get so lucky to have a kid like you?"
"I don't know. You must have done some good shit in your past life."
My smile is so big it almost hurts. "Goodnight, Lovie."
"Night, Dad."