Holly heard the footsteps coming down the stairs and paused her writing. She had no idea how Victoria would react to the news of her leaving, or to the fact that she had told the children before her. She suspected not well. Especially after she heard Alexia’s outburst twenty minutes ago.
Victoria appeared in the doorway. Holly offered her a tight smile.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Victoria said. She fidgeted with her hands as she tried to clasp them in front of herself.
“You’re not interrupting,” Holly told her. “I’m the one who should be apologising. I didn’t mean to upset Alexia. I didn’t want to tell her until after I had spoken with you, but she kind of cornered me and then wheedled it out of me.”
“She has a talent for wheedling information,” Victoria noted.
Victoria’s eyes drifted to the newly purchased second-hand suitcase that sat on the bench at the end of the bed. She opened her mouth to speak and then snapped it closed again.
“May I speak with her?” Victoria asked.
Holly frowned. “With?”
“My daughter,” Victoria pressed. “She’s not upstairs, so I assume she’s here… somewhere?”
“She’s not here, I haven’t seen her since I told her I was leaving.”
Victoria’s body tensed, and she took a step back out into the hallway. She looked towards the kitchenette.
“Are you sure?”
Holly closed her journal and stood up. Something didn’t feel right about this.
“Definitely,” she replied, “she must be upstairs.”
Victoria was already returning up the stairs, this time with Holly right behind her. On the next floor, Victoria started to search the rooms. Holly went up another flight and searched the living room and the games room.
Hugo’s bedroom door was wide open, and she leaned her head in to see if Alexia was there. She could hear the music blasting through his headphones. He looked at her inquisitively, and she shook her head, not wanting to worry him yet.
In the hallway she met a panicked Victoria.
“Anything?”
Holly shook her head. Together they scrambled up the final flight of stairs, Holly taking them two at a time. She went straight to Alexia’s room and looked inside, checking under the bed and behind the curtain just to be sure.
She heard Victoria checking the other rooms. Her voice was calling out for her daughter, increasing in volume each time.
Holly checked Alexia’s desk and noticed her phone and the small handbag she used were both gone.
Victoria burst into the room.
“Have you seen her?” she demanded. She breezed past Holly and started to check the bed and the curtains in the same way Holly had done moments before.
“No, and her phone is gone.” Holly had already pulled her own phone out of her jeans pocket and was starting to dial Alexia’s number.
Victoria let out a gasp. She dropped onto the edge of Alexia’s bed. She picked up one of the fluffy pink pillows and held it tightly on her lap. The colour started to drain from her face. Her eyes stared into nothingness.
The phone went straight through to voicemail.
“It’s Holly, you’re not in trouble, but you have to call us back immediately. We’re very worried, okay? Just, please, call us back.”
Holly fired off a quick text to Hugo and asked him to come upstairs. She could see that Victoria was rapidly starting to fall apart. She knelt in front of her.
“She’s going to be fine, we’ll find her,” Holly promised.
Victoria looked towards her, but her eyes were vacant. Holly couldn’t imagine the terror she was experiencing. Knowing that her eight-year-old daughter was roaming the streets of New York alone.
Hugo walked in. “What’s happening?” He looked at his mother in concern.
“Do you know where your sister is?” Holly asked as Victoria remained silent.
“No, I didn’t see her again after she shouted at Mom…” Hugo looked around the room. The penny dropped, and he realised why his mother was in pieces. “I’ll check the house again.”
He turned and left the room.
“Check everything,” Holly shouted after him. “Twice.”
“Got it!” he shouted back.
Holly went to Alexia’s desk and lifted the lid on her MacBook.
“Victoria, what’s the password?”
She turned around to see Victoria was still staring blankly into nothingness.
“Victoria!” she snapped. “Password.”
Victoria blinked a few times. “Oh, yes, um. I…” She looked shocked, the information not coming to her in the heat of the moment.
Holly walked over and kneeled in front of her again. She took her hands.
“She’ll be fine, she’s probably gone to a friend’s house or something. Her computer might have a clue. Just take a deep breath with me, okay? Let’s breathe in.” She took a deep breath and gestured for Victoria to do the same.
Remarkably, she did.
“And out.”
Victoria repeated the motion.
“It’s Izzy789,” Victoria said.
Holly went back to the computer and unlocked it. There were no windows open. She accessed the browser history, but Alexia hadn’t been on the computer all evening. Victoria stood behind her, looking at the screen and sighing at its lack of information.
“Has she ever done this before?” Holly asked.
“No, never.”
“Would she contact her dad?”
Victoria laughed bitterly. “No, she can’t stand him.”
“How much cash does she have here? Does she have access to any bank cards?”
Victoria stepped away and started to pace the room.
“She has a card for her bank account, but it’s kept in my safe in the study, she can’t open it. As for cash, she gets pocket money. And she has some emergency money. But I don’t know how much that is.” She paused and shook her head. “I have no idea how much cash she might have.”
Holly stood up and took Victoria’s hands in her own. “This isn’t your fault, if anything… it’s mine.”
“The blame game again, really, Holly?” Victoria snapped. She pulled away and sat on the edge of Alexia’s bed.
Holly ran her hands through her hair. She knew Victoria was referring to her accident, obviously she still felt that she shouldered the blame for that. It was infuriating that Victoria felt she was to blame when Holly knew it was her own fault. She had walked away. Did Victoria really feel that she had that much control over her?
Back at her sides, her fists tightened, fingernails digging into her palms. Then she remembered the serious situation and took a cleansing breath.
Hugo ran into the room, out of breath and with his shoes in his hand.
“She’s not here, her jacket is gone, and so are her favourite shoes. I’m going to go look for her.”
Victoria jumped to her feet. “No, you’re not leaving,” she said firmly, though her voice quivered. She started to rub her upper arms.
“Yes, I am,” Hugo argued. “The longer we leave it, the more chance—”
“I’ll go with him,” Holly interrupted whatever he was about to say. She agreed with him that searching for Alexia was the right thing to do, but she also understood Victoria’s reticence to let him out of her sight.
“But—” Victoria started.
“We’ll be fine, it’s for the best,” Holly said. “You stay here in case she comes home.”
“Should we call the police?” Hugo asked. He leaned against the doorframe and slipped on his shoes.
“She hasn’t been missing long enough,” Holly pointed out.
“They’ll make an exception for Mom,” he said.
“I’ll call,” Victoria agreed, her voice so soft that Holly struggled to hear despite standing beside her.
“Okay, let’s go,” Hugo said.
He turned to leave, but Victoria snapped out of her trance and grabbed his arm before he did. She enveloped him in a hug, grasping at his shoulders to hold him as tightly as possible.
“Be careful,” she told him.
Holly looked on awkwardly. She wanted to comfort Victoria and tell her that everything was going to be okay, but she knew that Victoria wasn’t likely to believe her nor appreciate the gesture.
Hugo pulled away and gave his mother a serious look before turning and leaving the room.
“We’ll be in touch,” Holly promised.
Victoria nodded but remained silent.
Holly raced down the stairs in pursuit of Hugo. She was already thinking of all the places Alexia might go, trying to think like her and predict her movements. She just hoped, shooting a quick look to the heavens, that nothing had happened.