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HURRICANE

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“No word from Skyla yet?” Shannon asked.

“No phone calls, text messages, voice mails, or emails,” Jared said.

“Nothing on our end, either,” Emma and Vicki said.

They all sat and waited in the living room for Tomo. They looked up at him and sighed sadly as he shook his head no.

“Where could she have gone that we don't know where she is?” Jared asked.

Shannon thought it over, and realized he knew where Skyla could have gone. He kept it to himself as he told Jared, “How about San Francisco?”

Jared shook his head and walked to Skyla's room. He laid down on her bed and fell asleep. Shannon followed him and sat down beside him.

“I know you miss her, but remember, she is eighteen. She can decide whatever she wants and she doesn't have to come to you for approval,” Shannon told him. He heard Jared grunt a reply in agreement as he got up.

“But why did she leave? I thought she liked it here!” he told Shannon. “I blame myself for all of it.”

“It's not your fault. I'll see you later, okay?” Shannon got up to leave.

“Yeah.”

After he got back to his room, he called and texted Skyla. When she finally answered, he was the first one to speak: “Listen, Skyla, I know you're in Chattanooga, but you're causing a lot of anxiety here. Jared is blaming himself for you running away. Please, talk to me, just this once.”

“I haven't called you back because I don't want to talk to anyone right now. Please stop bothering me,” Skyla told him before hanging up. Shannon held his phone in his hand and sighed.

“Thing is, Skyla, I can't stop bothering you.” He grabbed some of his things and stuffed them into a backpack and walked out to his Jeep. He started it up and as he looked out his back window, he came face-to-face with Tomo.

“You know where she's at, don't you?” he asked him.

Shannon leaned his head against his headrest. “Yes. She went home. Just don't tell Jared.”

“He'll ask where you're at,” Tomo told him.

“Tell him I'm at my beach house. But I'm really going after her. You don't have to tell him that part.” He backed out and left.

When Tomo went to tell Jared what Shannon said, Jared called him. “Can I come up there for a few days? To escape everything for a bit?”

Shannon thought about lying, then he decided to tell Jared a white lie. “I'm going to San Francisco, to see if Skyla is there.”

“Why didn't you take me? I want to see her!” Jared demanded.

“Because if she isn't there then I would have to go somewhere else,” Shannon told him.

“I still want to go!”

“No.” Shannon heard a beep on his phone. “Listen someone's beeping me. I gotta go.” He switched over to his other line. “Hello?”

“Shannon?” Skyla said. “I asked you to not come because I knew Jared would want to come too. I'm sorry, but I need my mom right now. I won't be back for awhile.”

“Wait! Skyla call Jared let him know-” Shannon got out before she hung up. He threw his phone in the passenger's seat and pulled over to the shoulder of the road. He looked at his phone and noticed he had a text message. It was from Skyla.

“I'll text him. But I won't call him.” Shannon breathed a sigh of relief. About ten minutes later Jared called him: “What did you tell her?”

“The truth? I told her nothing except to call you.” Shannon scratched his forehead.

“She told me to not come to... well... wherever she is!” Jared yelled.

“She said she won't be back for awhile. She didn't want me to come because she knew you would want to come too.” Shannon hated seeing Jared like this. But he had to tell him. “Just stay there with Tomo in case she changes her mind, okay?” he asked him.

“Shannon. Just go and get back. Please. I'm begging you,” Jared told him.

Tomo stood behind Jared and listened in on his conversation. “Jared, I don't think she wants to come back.”

“Why do you say that?” Jared asked him. He looked at him with eyes full of disgust.

“She ran away back to Chattanooga. Shannon didn't want to tell you but he hinted at it and so did she. She's with her mom. She's got to be.”

Jared looked at him. “Her mom works at a college in Chattanooga; I'm going to call her.” He grabbed his BlackBerry and quickly typed in her mother's name. He saw her number and dialed it. Someone picked up after thirty seconds and informed him Cecelia Miller, Skyla's mother, was gone for the next three days. “Does she have a cell phone number I can call?” he asked urgently. He motioned at Tomo to hand him a pen. He handed him at least five and the first one he tried worked. He wrote down Skyla's mother's cell phone number on his hand and called her.

“I think you should talk to her. If I tell her who I am, Skyla won't talk to me,” Jared said to Tomo. He handed him his BlackBerry.

“I can call from my phone, thanks.” Tomo dialed the number off of Jared's hand and waited for an answer.

“Hello?” Cecelia Miller asked as she answered her cell phone.

“Yes, my name is Tomo Milicevic and I'm a friend of Skyla's. I've been trying to get ahold of her on her phone, but she won't answer, and so I was wondering if you can help me by letting me talk to her?” Tomo asked.

“How did you get my phone number?” Cecelia asked him. Skyla stood beside her.

“Someone at your school gave it to us. But if it wouldn't be too much trouble, can I please talk to Skyla?” Tomo begged.

“Skyla can't be bothered to come to the phone now. Call her back later. Bye!” Skyla told him as she jerked the phone out of her mom's hand. She hung up on him and ran to her room.