Liz left work early the next several days to avoid a repeat of Monday’s party fiasco. Sofia understood and granted her the time off, but Liz’s pocketbook definitely was not pleased. Now that she had rent to budget for, she needed all the shifts she could take and dollars she could earn.
Still, problems aside, the week was almost over.
Soon her father and Vanessa would be back from their honeymoon, and she would be back home in the apartment she shared with Scarlett. It was funny how quickly the apartment had become home and how quickly the house she’d lived in her entire life had begun to feel like it belonged to somebody else.
Hopefully, once his newly-wedded bliss wore off, her father would find a way to spend time with Liz separate from his new family.
As for the current week from hell, it all ended after one last weekend spent playing punishment warden to Victoria and Valeria. Maybe they could actually try to do something fun together on Sunday to top the week off with a beautiful cherry of a memory.
She sincerely doubted it, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t at least try.
She would try.
That Friday afternoon, Liz arrived back at the house before either of the girls. Checking the clock over the stove, she realized they both should have been back at least fifteen minutes ago.
Okay, maybe there was weekend traffic or some kind of after-school club that they attended and Liz didn’t know about. She’d feel better, though, if she could confirm with her stepsisters via text.
On your way home? She typed, then waited for the read receipt and reply. She had never seen either Tori or Val without a phone attached to their hands, so she expected the reply to come quickly.
But no response came until the front door flung itself open about ten minutes later.
“Ick, that sucked.” Valeria scowled, dropping her backpack by the door and heading toward the stairs.
“What’s wrong? Where’s your sister?”
“What’s wrong is I had to take the bus, because my sister decided to play hooky after lunch and never came back to get me.”
Panic flooded Liz’s chest. Here she’d thought things couldn’t get worse than the party, only to find they could get far, far worse than she’d ever imagined. “What? Tori wasn’t at school this afternoon?”
“That’s what I just said.” Val rolled her eyes. “Now can I please go?”
“Not until you tell me where she went.” As rude as she was to Liz ninety-nine percent of the time, at least Val did what she was told. For that, Liz was thankful now.
Her stepsister shifted her weight from foot to foot, eager to be free of the conversation. “I don’t know. It’s not like she invited me.”
“Can you text her for me? Ask when she’ll be back?”
Valeria grunted. “Why can’t you?”
“I already did, and she’s not answering.”
“Fine.” Val’s fingers moved quickly over her phone. “There. Now may I please go to my room?”
“Okay, but let me know if you hear anything from Tori.”
Val raised her hand and made the okay sign, then disappeared into her room. A moment later, music swelled from her stereo, the missing sister apparently forgotten.
Liz checked her phone again. Still no read receipt from Victoria. Where could she have gone, and why was she still out? She had to know that Liz would tell her parents, and no matter how much Liz disliked the girls’ mother, she knew Vanessa wouldn’t let her daughters get away without a punishment.
And, more than likely, a severe one.
She called Scarlett, Lauren, and Sofia to tell them what was going on and to get their advice.
“She’ll turn up soon enough,” Sofia said dismissively.
“Want me to call around for you?” Lauren offered. “Or, if I start driving now, I could be there by six at the latest.” Bless her heart, she wanted to find a way to help despite living more than two hours away.
Scarlett answered Liz’s call with a groan. “Ugh, I would help you search, but I’m stuck at this lecture thingy. It’s my first time writing for this one blog, and… totally horrible timing. I’m so sorry! But, hey, let me know if you still haven’t found her later tonight, and I’ll come over and help with the hunt.”
An hour passed, two.
Still no sign of Tori.
Liz asked Val to text again, but the girl still hadn’t heard anything regarding her sister’s whereabouts and appeared to be a bit worried herself now.
Liz wracked her brain as to where Tori could have gone. The truth was, she knew next to nothing about either of her stepsisters. She could search the places she’d hung out during her high school years, but Victoria was very different than she had been growing up.
Liz was studious and well-behaved, whereas Tori wasn’t just the life of the party—she was the party. Val offered a few suggestions as to where Liz could check and even offered to come with her, but Liz insisted she stay at home in case Tori returned.
Should Liz call her father and Vanessa? She hated to spoil their honeymoon when they only had a few days left, but at the same time, wouldn’t they want to know?
She couldn’t decide, and she’d run out of people to call.
Except…
“What’s up?” Dorian answered on the first ring, and relief washed over her. She still didn’t trust him, but she knew he was good at figuring things out. Maybe he could figure out where Victoria had disappeared to and help bring her home safely.
At least he had been true to his word and hadn’t shown up in her life unannounced since their talk on Monday. That had to count for something, and even if it didn’t, she needed the help.
“My sister is missing. Tori, the one who threw the party. She’s not answering her phone, and I’m kind of freaking out.”
“I’ll be right there,” Dorian said before hanging up.
Liz paced the living room as she waited for him to arrive, realizing she hadn’t even needed to ask for his help.
He’d offered it all on his own.