Page 18 of Snake's Fate

“She’s taking a nap this late in the afternoon?” I ask, looking down at my watch which says it’s almost three.

“She hasn’t felt very well lately.” Sky says and I notice Sam jab her with her elbow.

“Okay. Well how about I leave my phone number with you two and if you need anything, I don’t care what it is, you give me a call. Alright?”

“Alright, I guess that will be fine.” Sam, ever the more grown up one, holds her hand out for a piece of paper I take out of my pocket and write my number on.

Before letting go of the paper, I say once more, “I’m serious. Anything you might need, you call me and I’ll be right here. Day or night.”

“Yes, sir.” They both answer, stepping back as I get back on my bike.

“You girls keep an eye on each other.” I say.

“We will!” They yell in unison as they take off back around the house towards the tire swing.

Looking at the house once more and not seeing any sign of Andi, I go back out of the driveway, heading back to the clubhouse to check my computer program.

Skylar

“Did you make sure the water was turned off this time?” My sister asks as I walk into the kitchen.

“Yes, ma’am,” I roll my eyes, “I did.”

“Don’t be crabby about it. I was just making sure.”

“You’re not mom, you know. Besides, I’m pretty sure I can remember to turn off the water. We are the same age.”

“But I’m older, so that makes me the big sister and the one in charge.”

“Whatever. What’s for dinner?” I ask, walking to the pantry door and opening it.

Opening it up, we both stand side by side, looking inside as if food is going to magically appear.

The only thing inside is a few crackers, coffee and a leftover pack of seasoning left over from a pack of noodles.

“Mom needs to get up so we can go to the store.” Sam says.

“We tried to get her up earlier and she yelled at us. I don’t like it when she yells at us.” I answer back with raised brows.

“Me neither.”

“What are we going to do then? We aren’t old enough to drive and the town isn’t just a short walk down the street.”

Sam’s brows draw together before she holds up her finger and runs from the room.

A few minutes later, she comes back with a huge grin and a piece of paper in her hand.

“We can call Uncle Gabe.” She says triumphantly.

“He did say to call at any time.”

“Yep! Where’s mom’s phone?”

We both look around the room and spot it on the kitchen counter. Walking over to it, we realize it’s turned off and push the power button, waiting for it to boot up.

Once it’s fully on, it dings like crazy with missed text messages and voicemails.

“Mom will probably be pissed.” Sam says, as her finger hovers over the numbers.

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