So I sent a text:
“Hi Tessa! It’s my birthday coming up, and I’d love for you to come over if you’re free. Also, thanks again for letting Jordan stay tonight, I really appreciate it💛.”
Ten minutes later, my phone rang.
“I didn’t know how to tell you this.”
Tessa: “Hey… I don’t want to scare you, but Jordan hasn’t been over in weeks.”
My hands went cold.
I stared at the screen.
Then I pressed call.
He answered immediately.
“Hi,” he said, already sounding guilty. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know how to tell you.”
“Thanks for telling me.”
“Tessa,” I said, “Jordan just left the house. With a bag. He told me he’s with Alyssa. Tonight.”
Silence.
“He’s not here,” Tessa finally said. “It hasn’t been overnight in… I don’t know, three, four weeks? They stopped texting, so I thought you knew. I just didn’t think they hung out that much.”
My heart began pounding in my ears.
“Okay,” I said, trying not to shout. “Okay. Thanks for telling me.”
“Where are you?”
“Do you want me to ask Alyssa…?”
“No,” I said. “I’ll take care of it.”
I hung up and called Jordan right away.
He answered on the second ring.
“Hi,” he said, too casually. He heard traffic.
“Where are you?” I asked.
There was a moment of silence.
“Alyssa’s house,” he said immediately. “Why?”
I swallowed hard.
“We have an emergency. I need you home. Now.”
“An emergency?” he repeated. “What happened?”
“I’ll explain when you get there. I’ll get the keys and go to Alyssa’s house to pick you up.”
There was a moment of silence.
“Don’t come here,” he blurted. “It’s so… pointless. I’ll go home if it’s that serious.”
“You have an hour.”
My stomach churned.
“Jordan, where are you? And if you say ‘Alyssa’ again, I swear…”
“I’m on my way home,” he interrupted. “Please don’t go to Alyssa’s house. I’ll be home in a little while.”
“How long is a little while?”
“I don’t know. Forty minutes? I’ll be there, okay?”
“You have an hour,” I said. “If you’re not here in an hour, I’ll call every parent I know. Do you understand?”
“Sit down.”
“Yes,” he murmured. “Please don’t panic.”
Too late.
I spent that hour pacing the room and mentally mapping the crime scene. Bad parties. Older kids. Drugs. Creepy adults. Everything.
At the 58th minute, the front door opened.
Jordan walked in, clutching his backpack like a shield.
Immediately, tears filled his eyes.
“Sit down,” I said, pointing to the couch.
She sat down.
I sat down across from her. My hands were shaking.
“You’re grounded,” I told her. “Until further notice.”
Her eyes instantly filled with tears. “Not even…”
“Higher up.”
