Chapter 46: Busted

I drove Sicily to the airport. I was so sad she had to leave today. Our night in the nectary was magnifique and I think I love her. I wonder if it is possible for me to go back with her. I've never been to Simerica, maybe it is time for me to take a vacation too. I can't think of a better vacation than to spend time with Sicily. I don't know if she feels the same way as I do. I know she thinks I am attractive from the way she looks at me, but she never said 'I like you too,' the first night at the cafe. Even after the nectary, she never said 'I like you too.' Maybe I should just forget about it for now. We said our goodbyes and promised to write letters.

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When the taxi pulled up to my house, I saw a scene that was not something I wanted to come home to. There was a police car parked outside. Tennan was talking to an officer who was writing something down on a notepad. He was holding Genevieve, so she was fine. I could see Iveron sitting on the couch inside watching television, so he was fine. The only person I didn't see was Francesca.

Selfishly, my mind immediately wished I was back in France with Gustave. I regretted not telling him how I felt, but between that first night when I froze up and couldn't talk, and the nectary, oh my, the nectary, I ran out of time. We had promised to keep in touch and I fully intended to hold up my end of the bargain. I sighed, preparing myself for whatever news lay in store, and walked up to the house. The officer had gotten back into his car and was entering something into his computer.

"Hi, Tennan. What's going on?"

Despite the circumstances, Tennan's eyes lit up and a huge grin spread across his face when he saw me.

"Sicily! Welcome home. How was your trip?"

"Wonderful. Although I'll tell you about it later. What's with the police car?"

"Right! Sorry. Francesca's missing. It was Friday, and I took Genevieve and Iveron to the beach. Francesca wanted to hang out with her boyfriend, so I let her, but told her she had to be home by 10pm. She never came home."

I wasn't quite sure how to react. I just stood there, staring at him. I think I was still on a high from my vacation, so the news didn't have as big of an effect as it maybe should have.

"How long has she been missing?"

"I didn't want to seem like I was panicking so I waited one day. She's been missing for one day."

"All right, well let's go inside."

I touched Tennan's upper arm and walked past him, ready to open the front door. He touched me on the shoulder, sending sparks down my back all the way to my toes. Ugh, why does his touch have to be so amazing? I want him. If he wasn't holding Genevieve, I could push him up against the house and...wait, is that why he's holding her? So I can't maul him? What a sly, sexy, vampire.

"You're not mad at me?"

"No, why?"

"I suck at parenting."

"Aww, Tennan. You don't suck at parenting. I'm not the greatest either. Francesca's a teenager, she may have just run away."

"Thanks, Sicily."

We went inside and went to bed. I was tired from traveling and Tennan was tired from dealing with the police and Francesca. It was of course, now, when I was trying to go to sleep, that the thoughts of what had happened to Francesca came. Where would she have gone? She seemed happy and she talked to me about her writing. She had stopped bullying people.

I couldn't figure out why she would have run away. Yeah, it was possible she had lied about everything except the bullying. I know I would have gotten a call from Principal Woods if she had gotten in trouble again. She was actually writing because she had brought home her stories to me so I could read them. The only other explanation was that she had been kidnapped. Her father was a jerk, so it was possible he had done something to her.

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I felt bad for running away, but I really wanted to meet Dad. I finally persuaded him to pick me up from school one day so I could spend the weekend with him. I lied to Tennan and said I was going to my boyfriend's house after school.

I am coming back home, but I couldn't tell Mom about this. I did this while she was on vacation because then I would only have to lie to Tennan and not her as well. He seems pretty calm all the time, so I took my chances that he wouldn't freak out about it.

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I cannot stop thinking about Sicily. It has only been two days since she left. Aye, what is wrong with me? I don't know what she did to me, but I feel like a piece of me is missing. France may be the most romantic city in the world to some people, but living in France without your lover is not very romantic. I wish I could hear her voice again, but it is very expensive to call long distance.

"Bonsoir, monsieur. "Que puis-je vous aider?" (What can I get you?)

"Un martini, s'il vous plait."

I sat at the bar and drank my martini, still thinking about Sicily. Ah, the woman stole my heart and ran away with it back to Simerica.

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It was 5am when I left Dad's to go back home. We had a great weekend together. I got to know him a little and he wasn't all bad. He just happened to have a job that was less than desirable to most people. He wasn't a genie anymore, well, not a full genie anymore since he got released from it after casting the spell on Tennan. He could still do a little magic, though, so he taught me some things, like that he used an ancient vampire lust spell on Tennan.

Ha! Success! No one was awake and all the lights in the house were still turned off. I had planned my excuse well. My boyfriend's family had decided to take a weekend trip and insisted I come along, but I had left my phone at his house. They hadn't called because Mom was in France and we didn't have a home phone. I planned to be very apologetic and act like I was really sorry I left my phone all weekend. I confidently walked in the house and nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard a deep voice near me.

"Where in the world have you been, young lady?"

Even though Tennan wasn't my biological father, I always thought of him as a father since he lived here and took care of us. Now, because I thought of him that way, this also meant I was totally busted. Getting caught by Tennan freaked me out and the well planned excuse I had in my head melted away.