Page 46 of From the Courtroom to the Court
Leah makes a head movement in gratitude, and the three women walk toward the court. Mia raises her head upon hearing the footsteps and smiles when she sees them. It disappears instantly when she notices their serious faces.
"Leah..."
"It's Aaron," the tennis player blurts out without anesthesia, "it seems he's run away from his foster parents' house."
Mia's face transforms into a look of horror. She freezes and drops the tool she had in her hand. She looks from side to side, perhaps looking for an answer or a solution to what they've just told her. Her eyes well up and a pain in her chest cuts off her breathing. She opens her mouth; the words don't come out because fear suffocates her. Her brother is all she has left, her only family, and without him, she's lost.
"Mia, we're going to look for him," Emily is the one who steps forward. "Do you have any idea why he did it and where he might have gone?"
The caddie tries to catch her breath. She looks at the sky and then at Emily. She shakes her head.
"No, I don't know where he might have gone. I'm sure it's because of the family change; he didn't take it well knowing he wouldn't be in that house anymore and that it wasn't certain he could come with me," Mia says, dismayed, and bursts into tears. "I need... I need to call the police."
The caddie starts frantically touching her pockets looking for the device and realizes she doesn't have it. She quickly remembers that she left it in her locker; she rarely does this, but when she has to do certain maintenance, she prefers to store it. The pocket of her pants isn't very deep, and it often ends up on the ground. Before she can start walking, Emily, again, is the one who intervenes.
"That's not a good idea," she explains calmly. "A police report will only hinder the adoption process; the social worker will want to change his family as soon as possible, and that will be worse for him. We have at least two hours to try to locate him. He'll be confused by what's happening. Go home, Mia, maybe Aaron will come looking for you. Leah and I will take the car and drive around the city. If he doesn't show up before nine, we'll go to the police station."
Mia isn't sure it's the best idea, but she's so overwhelmed that she finds it hard to think. She accepts. Her brother knows perfectly well how to get to her house, and maybe it's logical for her to be there waiting. She nods repeatedly to confirm.
"Mom, go to my house," Leah speaks this time. "Aaron also knows how to get there, so if he decides to go, someone should be waiting for him."
"I'll go. I'll tell Natalie to stay here just in case; this is Aaron's favorite place," Anne suggests, and everyone agrees.
Mia leaves almost running to collect her things to leave. Leah and Emily do the same. They go to the parking lot, and Emily offers to drive. She had thought about telling the caddie she'd take her home, but she left so quickly there wasn't time.
"Does Mia have someone who can stay with her while she waits?" the lawyer asks as she maneuvers to leave the club.
Leah shakes her head.
"Just me and my moms."
Emily was almost sure of it, but she wanted to confirm. She touches the controls on her steering wheel, and immediately, through the speakers, comes the sound of a call.
"Tell me, Em," a female voice answers on the other end.
"Aaron has run away from the foster home; Mia has gone to her apartment in case the boy decides to go there. Can you go over? I don't think it's a good idea for her to be there alone in that state of nervousness," Emily says without even greeting her cousin.
Emma's breathing quickens. She visualizes Mia losing her mind upon learning that her brother has disappeared and can't help but feel her pain. She doesn't think twice, stands up and grabs her purse to leave her office.
"Can you send me the address? I have it in her file, but I don't want to waste time," Emma says nervously.
Emily looks at Leah, and she nods.
"I'll send it now."
When she hangs up the call, Emily hands her phone to the tennis player. Leah manipulates it until she enters the messaging app, locates Emma's contact, opens the conversation, and writes the address.
"Stay calm, he'll show up," Emily says in a soothing voice and slides her hand over Leah's to squeeze it tightly when she realizes the tennis player is shaking.
Chapter 23
Emily and Leah have been driving around for almost an hour. The lawyer drives slowly through all the places Leah can think of, but there's no trace of Aaron. Emily glances at Leah every few minutes. The tennis player's left leg bounces frantically inside the vehicle while she twists the hem of her shorts with her fingers and releases small sighs of anxiety without stopping her search through the window.
The lawyer doesn't know what to do, feels helpless because she can't help her, and when they stop at another traffic light, she stretches out a hand and places it on Leah's trembling knee, making her jump and turn toward her when she feels its warmth.
"He'll show up, Leah. It's just a childish stunt, you'll see," she tries to calm her.
Leah gives her a grateful smile, but her nervousness doesn't cease and the light turns green.
