Red_Roses_and_Black_Dahlias_-_Macy_T

A couple of dresser drawers were left open, their emptiness matching the
hollow that was growing in my heart. The colorful quilt I had put on my bed
yesterday was nowhere in sight, and the same went for her treasure box.
I wrenched the closet’s doors open, and just like I feared, most of Sofia’s
clothes were missing.
I cursed, slamming it shut before running out of the room and into her old
room. It was empty too, but most of her painting supplies were still there.
Swallowing the pain and betrayal that were clogging up my throat, I
dejectedly walked to Valentina’s bedroom. The chances of her leaving
without her sister were nonexistent, so I knew she must’ve been in there at
one time during the hour and a half I wasn’t home. Then she probably went
and retrieved her from school, since she was listed as a parent.
My conscience was screaming at me to call Adam and have him dispatch
a team to look for them, but I couldn't do that. They had been through so much
and it would only be cruel of me to set a whole search party for them that
would only result in getting Sofia in trouble.
But I’d be damned if I didn’t use all of my private resources to track them
down and bring them home myself.
As I turned the knob to Valentina’s room, though, the faint scent of flower
and sugar drifted to my nose, and once I could peek inside, my eyes
widened.
Sofia was sitting on the bed, her head looking down, dark hair hiding my
view of her gorgeous face. On a corner of the room was a big suitcase that
was undoubtedly filled with her and Valentina’s stuff, since the little girl’s
closet was open and I could see half her clothes were missing. For a few
minutes, none of us spoke, I just took her in, trying to convince myself I was
not hallucinating.
“My brain screamed at me to get away while I still could.” Her voice
was hoarse and weak, she probably had been crying.