Running on Insulin

Chapter 35

Jenna's POV

"Tyler, it's 2:15. We should get going. We promised Samantha we'd be outside waiting for her. I want to hear how her first day went."

I waited impatiently for Tyler to put down the video game he was playing with Josh. He logged out and challenged Josh when we got home.

"Can I come?" Josh asked.

"If you want," I said.

The three of us piled into the car and Tyler drove us to the school. Parents were already starting to line up to pick up their kids. We were near the back of the line. I worried Samantha wouldn't find us.

"I'm going to get out so she can see us," I said.

I heard the bell ring and waited by the car for Samantha to come out.  Kids rushed to cars and buses and down the walkway towards their homes. No Samantha. 

The deluge of kids became a trickle and eventually, I saw Samantha coming outside. There was a girl with her chatting away happily. Samantha looked up and saw me. I waved and smiled and Samantha walked over without saying anything to her friend.

"See you tomorrow, Samantha!" The girl called out.

Samantha didn't acknowledge her and climbed into the car without saying a word. I got into the front seat.

"Hey sweetie. How was the first day?" I asked, looking back at her.  She shrugged.

"That good, huh?  Did you make a friend? What's her name? The girl who walked out with you?"

Samantha shrugged again.

"Do you have any homework?"

Another shrug.

"We're going to go grocery shopping, okay?  You can get things that are good for you to have. Sound good?"

She shrugged again. What had happened in one day that she was so reluctant to speak?

"Hey, kid," Josh said. Samantha didn't look at him.

Tyler drove to the grocery store and the four of us got out of the car and headed in. Samantha stayed close to me, and I saw her scanning the aisles. But there was fear in her eyes. Not curiosity. She was looking for someone.

"Your dad won't be here," I whispered to her. She shook her head, but didn't say anything.

We started in the produce aisle and I picked up some fruits and vegetables, some stuff for salads and snacks. We picked up some more milk and coffee creamer. We went up the aisles and found sugar free chocolate milk syrup. I asked Samantha if it was good and if she wanted it. She shrugged. And sort of nodded.

We found some sugar free chocolate and in the pharmacy aisle I found glucose tabs and bought a tube and a bottle so we'd have them at home and she could carry one with her to school.

I picked up some bread and meat and thought fish for dinner might be nice. I asked the guys and Samantha. Tyler and Josh both said fish sounded good. Samantha shrugged.

"Great. Fish, rice and what? Broccoli?" I said.

"Sounds great, babe," Tyler said.

"Alright. Is there anything else we need?  Samantha? Anything else you want?"

She looked at the cart and then up the drinks aisle. And then shook her head. She wanted something. But wasn't going to ask for it. I remembered her mentioning Diet Coke. I didn't know if I should push her and make her speak or just get some for her.

"Samantha, you wanted Diet Coke, right?  I almost forgot," I said. She shrugged.

"I got it," Josh said, bounding up the aisle, clearly trying to get some sort of reaction out of Samantha. "Hey, kid, do you like root beer? Or Dr Pepper?  They have diet in both."

Samantha shrugged and turned away. I looked back at Josh and we shrugged. He picked up all three diet sodas and rejoined us.

"You didn't answer, so I'm getting you all three," Josh said to Samantha.

We paid for the groceries and headed out to the car to pack the groceries into the back.

Samantha got into the car and sat with her knees up, her arms around them and her head on her knees. How badly had the day gone?  We hadn't gotten a call from the school, so presumably things weren't too bad. I decided I'd get Samantha to help put away the groceries and maybe help with dinner, and see if I couldn't coax her out of her shell.

We pulled into the garage and started unloading the groceries. Samantha started heading into the house.

"Hey, Samantha, help with the groceries, huh?" I said, holding a bag out to her. She looked at me, shrugged, took the bag and went into the house.

"What is up with her?" Tyler asked me as he pulled out a few more bags of groceries.

"Something happened at school. I just don't know what. I'm going to try to get her to talk while getting stuff put away," I said.

I went into the kitchen with the bags of groceries and looked for Samantha. She wasn't in the kitchen. The bag of groceries was on the floor.

"Samantha? Where'd you go?" I asked. It had been a few hours since she'd had lunch and and I thought checking her sugar and getting a snack was a good idea.

I went up to her room to see if she was there. Her room was empty. I checked her bathroom and it was empty, too.

I checked our room and Josh's room. No Samantha.

I went downstairs starting to panic a little.

I went into the basement. Tyler was watching me running around like a crazy person. Samantha wasn't in the basement.

I ran back up the stairs.

"I can't find Samantha," I said. "Ty, she's gone."

"Did you look in her room? Her bathroom?"

"Don't you think that would be the first place I'd look?!  She's not upstairs, she's not in the basement."

Josh came in from the garage with the last of the groceries.

"Josh, is Samantha out there with you?"

"No. Just me, myself and I. And Dr. Pepper," he smiled, lifting up the case of pop.

"Tyler, she's gone!" I said.

"Okay, calm down. Before we go crazy, let's check around the house."

"I just did!" I exclaimed.

"I mean outside too. Josh, you go double check upstairs. Check the closets, under the beds, anywhere.

"Jenna, you stay here. If she's left and comes back, I think she'd prefer to see you. Im going to check out back up to the fence line.  If I can't find her on the property at all, we'll call the police, okay?"

I nodded. My heart was racing. I thought about calling Samantha's phone. I dialled the number and heard the ringing phone just outside the kitchen.

She'd left her back pack behind.