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Amy sobbed, her head laying down on her arm and she sat heavily at the dining room table. She felt as though she were in the middle of some hugely impossible nightmare - again. How was it possible that her son had been kidnapped when the same thing had happened to her daughter a year and a half earlier?
Adam, in the meantime, seemed on the verge of completely destroying their beautiful house in a rage. He tore at his shoulder-length blond hair, eyes wide as he tried to keep calm. He shook his head and thought of Mandy, whom they'd sent to her room when Linda had broken the news.
They called the police immediately after. Adam had one thing and one possibility only in his head. He knew he had no choice but to vocalize it now.
"It's Matt again," he spat, gesturing with his hands. He looked over to his wife, who wept her heart out at the dining room table. "I would stake my life on it."
Amy sniffled and wiped at her nose with the back of her hand. She shook her head lightly as she faced her husband. Somehow, it just didn't add up.
"No," she began in a shaky voice. "I don't think it was him this time." She noticed the anger returning to the blond man's face and rose to approach and appease him. She grabbed hold of his arm and gave him a beseeching look with her bloodshot hazel orbs. "Adam, he had no reason to do this... None at all!"
Stubbornly, the blond Canadian shook his head. He fixed his gaze on her and raised his voice.
"How can you be so naive after everything he did?" he demanded, shaking his head. "I don't get you, Amy - I just don't get you." He eyed her as though she were foreign, alien to him.
The redhead cringed slightly at that look. She didn't like it when they argued, and especially when he was angry with her - which he very rarely ever was.
"Why are you yelling at me?" she asked, choking back a sob.
"It's just that you're being a little ridiculous, that's all," the blond man replied. "I honestly don't see how you can defend him after what he did to Mandy! It just doesn't make any sense, Amy!"
The redhead's chin quivered as she fought back more tears. She was about to say something more when their daughter's little voice penetrated the tension in the room.
"Daddy, don't yell at Mom!"
They both shot their heads in Mandy's direction, the little girl looking quite upset and in fact on the verge of tears. She looked at her father with a little frown and pout, her arms crossed over her chest.
"Mandy, sweetie-"
"Why are you mad at Mommy?" the child asked, her voice now small and uncertain. She wasn't used to her parents fighting, and it upset her.
Adam sighed as he glanced at the redhead before shifting his gaze back to their daughter. Slowly, he edged closer to Mandy and knelt down so that they were eye-level with one another.
"I'm not, kiddo... It's just that I'm unhappy about something she thinks. That's all."
Amy wiped at her eyes, her tears now stopped for the time being. She watched her husband and daughter in silence, knowing Amanda would ask more questions.
"Tommy's gone, isn't he?"
Adam felt his insides churn, and he turned his head, looking up to meet the redhead's eyes before looking back at his daughter. Swallowing hard, he reached out and stroked some of her silky blonde hair, smoothing it out of her face. He knew they would have had to tell her sooner or later, so he thought he might as well answer her truthfully right now.
"Yeah, he is, Blondie. Someone took him, but we're gonna get him back."
The little girl cocked her head, looking thoughtful for a moment. Then, she asked, "Do you think it was my old Daddy, like when he took me without permission?"
The blond man was shocked as he kept his gaze on his daughter. Damn, but she was so perceptive and extremely intelligent. Turning once again to quickly glance over his shoulder at Amy, he nodded.
"Yes, Mandy," he said softly, "I do think he was the one who did it."
"Well, maybe he'll give him back."
Adam lowered his gaze thoughtfully as he studied the girl's sock-clad feet for a moment. It was very difficult to take in the fact that his eight month-old son was missing. It overwhelmed him to think little Tommy was hungry, cold, maybe sick and not where he was supposed to be - with his family that loved him.
He raised his eyes back to meet those of his little girl, who looked so much like himself. He took hold of her small hand, rubbing the back of it with the pad of his thumb.
"I hope so, kiddo," he breathed. "I really, really hope so."