Prescient

Chapter 36

Back at the house, Tanya and Maggie sat at the kitchen table drinking coffee. Maggie couldn't stop scratching at her arms. It wasn't even like she meant to do it; Tanya could see the distant look in her daughter's eyes as she floated far off somewhere in another world. A world where Tanya imagined her daughter's very soul was craving the stuff her body so badly wanted.

She was proud of her girl.

Elated she was finally back.

Yet part of her, guilty as she felt, blamed Maggie for what had happened to Kaylah. Although she didn't want to blame her. Tanya only wanted to forgive Maggie and give her every chance to come back from all this.

Hardly any words were exchanged between mother and daughter as they sat there, waiting for the sluggard of a clock to move its arms to rest at twelve and eight.

Michael still wasn't back. He dropped them off nearly an hour ago. Tanya knew some of his colleagues worked late, as Michael himself sometimes did, so she assumed her husband was merely talking to someone at work. Perhaps he was simply caught up and didn't want to be rude and cut the other person's conversation short. Or maybe his phone had gone missing and he was looking for it.

Tanya tried to call his mobile a few times, but it just continued to ring out.

So all they could do was wait.

He would make sure he was home in enough time to pick them up and drive to meet Gizmo by eight.

He had to be.

He promised.

But the time kept dripping by slowly and soon it would be time to leave.

Pacing back and forth in the kitchen, Tanya held the cordless phone in one hand, continuously slapping it into her other hand. Waiting impatiently. Michael should have been back and she still couldn't get him on the phone. She'd tried calling the office, but of course, no bastard would answer after hours, even though she knew people were there.

The clock's hands were winding closer and closer to eight o'clock and if he wasn't back soon, they'd have to go without him in her car.

What the hell was wrong with him? How could he possibly not be back when he knew this was so important. More important than his damn mobile phone. More important than anything.

Worry set in as she wondered if something had happened to him. She wondered if perhaps he'd decided to confront the dealer alone and something went wrong.

But surely he wouldn't do something that stupid.

It had to be something else.

She looked down at the phone in her hand, about to dial Michael's number on speed dial when she heard the front door fly open, slamming hard against the doorstopper.

"Thank God," she huffed, rounding the kitchen counter to head for the hallway. "It's about bloody t—"

Her voice caught in her throat.

All words failed her as she was overpowered by the strongest emotion she'd ever felt.

There was no name for that conglomerate feeling that was happiness, relief, love, appreciation and so much more, twisted into one and assailing her heart, head and stomach all at once.

It wasn't her husband who had just walked through the door.

It was her daughter.

It was Kaylah.

She was home.

Tanya burst into tears as she ran to meet her daughter, who also had silent drops of salty relief, streaming down her face.

Hearing the commotion, Maggie came running from the lounge-room.

"Kay-Kay!" She squealed and ran to embrace her sister.

"Oh my God, Maggie," Kaylah cried out, sobbing even harder at the sight of seeing her sister for the first time in so long.

For a moment, mother and daughters simply stood there in the hallway of the house paid for by Kaylah's kidnapper. They held each other tight and cried. Tanya had never felt so blessed in her life as what she did now, to finally have both daughters back in her arms. If only Michael was there. If only—

"Mum, you need to call the police and an ambulance," Kaylah said, before telling her mother the address to send them too.

"How did you get away Kay-Kay," Maggie said and the three of them wandered back to the kitchen where Tanya could call the emergency services from the landline. "Did Gizmo let you go?"

"Gizmo, who the hell is Gizmo?" Kaylah asked puzzled. "Mum, Maggie, I know this is going to be a shock, believe me, it was a shock to me, but it was Michael that had me locked up."

"What? No that can't be possible, honey," Tanya said, all colour draining from her face.

But where was Michael?

"I know, Mum, I couldn't believe it either, but it's true. You need to call the police, now. He's hurt. He needs an ambulance."

Tanya didn't want to believe it, but her daughter did believe it, and that was all she needed to know. So she called the police before leading her daughters to the lounge-room where she sat with them on either side of her.

She held her arms tightly around them, as all three of them soaked themselves and each other's shoulders with tears, listening to Kaylah retelling the story of how she had been taken; how she'd been rescued by an anonymous duo who brought her home and left, without even telling her their names.

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Just one small chapter left to wrap it all up.  Going up directly!