“Where is she?” I cry, and I’m side by side with Jansen by the time we hit the barn.
“She’s in the tack room behind the couch,” Maggie responds.
I run to the tack room and step in, heading to the back of the room where the couch is.
“Maggie go back to the house and call 911,” Jansen says from behind me.
God, I didn’t even think to call for an ambulance. Thank God Jansen is more together than I am.
“Jan…”
“She’ll be okay, Lovey,” he says, his hand at my back as we round the couch and go behind it.
“Maggie, she’s not here. Maybe she…”
“Hi, Mommy.”
My head jerks up when I hear Petal’s voice. I straighten up and stand beside Jansen confused.
“Petal, baby. Are you okay?”
“Yep! I’m fine. Don’t be mad, Mommy.”
“Don’t be mad? Petal let’s get you to the doctor.”
I start walking toward her and she steps back and shuts the door.
“What in the hell?” Jansen growls.
We walk faster toward the door. I don’t know what the kids are up to, but something is definitely going on. I make it to the door and I try to open it, but the door is locked.
“It’s locked.”
“It sticks sometimes,” Jansen says and I move back so he can open it.
“It’s locked,” he says when he can’t open it either.
“Isn’t that what I just said?” I mutter.
“Mom?”
“White? Open the door. Petal accidentally locked it. Tell Maggie to cancel the ambulance and—”
“Mom, don’t be mad,” White repeats Petal’s words.
“Mad? What in the hell is going on here?” I ask, the worry over Petal starting to leave and the realization that my kids are definitely up to something, taking its place.
“You and Jansen needed to talk things out,” Maggie says from the other side of the door.
“We’ve already talked about things,” I argue.
“But you didn’t work things out, because Jansen is leaving,” Gray adds.
“Jesus,” Jansen mutters under his breath.
“We don’t want Jansen to leave, Mom.”
This time it’s Cyan talking.
“We want him to stay,” Black joins in, giving his two-cents.
“You love him, Mom and he loves you.”
I hold my head down as I hear Green.
“I told you kids, sometimes love is not enough,” I remind them.
“We’re not letting Jansen leave,” Petal yells.
“Yeah, we’re keeping him,” Cyan chimes in.
“Boys, that’s not the way this works,” I tell them with a tired sigh.
“You need to talk it out, Mom. Just because life gets hard, it doesn’t mean you give up. You taught us that, remember?”
I hate it when Maggie uses my words against me. She’s been doing it more and more lately.
“Jansen?”
“Yeah, Blue?”
“We all want you to stay.”
“Son…”
“We’re keeping you Jansen,” Petal sing-songs.
“We’ll be back later,” White says and I hear them moving around outside.
“You kids open this door right now, or so help me when I get out of here I’ll make your rear-ends so red that people will think Rudolph is bending over and smelling Santa’s ass!” I yell.
“That doesn’t make sense, Mom.”
“It doesn’t have to make sense, White. Open this damn door!”
“We’ll come let you out in the morning. There’s sandwiches and cola in the fridge,” he says instead.
“White, damn it!” I yell banging on the door.
Silence.
“I’m warning you kids, you better open this door right now!”
“I don’t think they’re out there, Ida Sue.”
“I’m going to kill them,” I mutter.
“No, you won’t,” he says.
“What are we going to do?”
“Wait until your kids come and let us out.”
“We can’t stay in here all night, Jansen.”
“I don’t think we have a choice.”
I look around the room, frowning.
“We can’t stay here,” I mutter again, trying to find something to knock the door down.
“You said that already. What’s wrong, Lovey? Scared?”
My head jerks up to look at him. I try to swallow my panic down, but it doesn’t really work. He’s wrong I’m not merely scared.
I’m petrified….