Idina picked up the phone. The number was unknown. For a second, her heart stopped.

"Hello," she said tentatively.

"Mrs. Menzel," a robot voice said, "by now you know that Erika Rivera is gone."

"What do you want?" she hissed into the receiver.

But it was a recorded message. It kept talking. "I have her. She is well. She will remain well as long as you follow my instructions. Do not call the police, do not alert anyone. Do not do anything that may seem out of the ordinary, or you will find a corpse. I will contact you with further instructions." Click. The line went dead.

The phone slowly slipped from Idina's hand. It landed on the hardwood floor with a thud. She blinked, the world going soft and tone ringing in her ears. It was as if someone had just hit her in the face with a pillow without context, hard enough that she could not tell if it was miscalculated mistake or an act of aggression; she was waiting with bated breath for someone to yell "pillow fight" and break the silence. No one yelled for a pillow fight.

She was alone in her apartment.

There was a knock on the door.

Idina blinked, suddenly pulled from her stupor. She inched her way towards the door. The whole world seemed anew, dangerous. 

She opened the door. No one was there. Idina looked out down the hallway. No one was in sight. Then she looked down.

At her feet, there was a small package. Idina picked dit up and brought it back inside.

She sat down at the kitchen island and opened it. 

There was nothing but an envelope inside the box. Idina turned it around and opened the letter. There was nothing on but an address in Vermont.

~~~~~

Idina had somehow made it to the address without anyone finding out. She'd considered bringing her phone but soon realized someone could track her with it and left it at the apartment. She suddenly wished she'd brought it.

It was an abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere. 

Her heart was pounding as she stepped out of the car. She had as much cash she could get a hold of without arousing suspicion. There was a promise for more. 

Idina looked around. Nothing was anywhere, just a large wooden shack in the middle of a forest. Thick colourful foliage provided the perfect cover for nefarious deeds.

Idina took a breath as she walked up to the door. She knocked, but it squeaked open. She walked inside. 

It used to be a house. It was obvious from the layout.

"Hello?" Idina called. "I have the money, but I can get more."

There was no reply. 

"I'll leave it on the counter..." There was still no reply. "Erika?"

Nothing.

She could hear nothing but her heart in her throat. This was a bad idea. She should have told the authorities. They knew how to deal with hostages. 

but would they? The message said Erika would be killed if she did. How would they prevent that when they had no idea where she was?

There was a sudden noise. Idina jumped, then started towards it. 

She stalked through the house, light on her feet, opening up doors as she came to them. So for, none of them bore any fruit.

She got to the last door in the hallway and when she opened it she gasped.

"Erika," she exclaimed, rushing over to the girl who was asleep on a palette.

"Erika," she gasped, shaking her gently. "Wake up."

"Mmhm," Erika moaned, turning around. She wiped her eyes and yawned. "Idina?" 

"Yes, yes," she said, pulling the teen in for a hug. "Are you alright, are you hurt?" She looked Erika up and down and sighed in relief. Besides being tired, she seemed fine.

Erika shook her head. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for you. Come one." Idina took her hand and stood up. "We are getting out of here."

They snuck out of the room. Idina lead, slowly, with her hand fastened like a vice around Erika's wrist. She was not letting her go this time. The money was burning a hole in her bag, but she ignored it.

They made it out to the car without and issue. Strange. 

Idina was relieved yet she could not shake the feeling that something nefarious was lurking beneath the surface. Someone wanted her to find Erika here. It was not an accident.

It did not matter. Idina had won, for now at least. She would deal with what would come when it comes. 

Erika was silent as she slipped into the passenger seat. She was still tired, but fine.

They drove in silence until Idina felt as if they were far enough away. The sun was setting.

"Are you okay?" she asked again after pulling into a gas station.

Erika nodded. "I'm fine." She seemed a bit off, but Idina couldn't place a finger on it.

Erika did not keep eye contact, staring lazily down at the dashboard. 

Her stomach growled.

"Hungry?" Idina asked.

Erika nodded. 

"When was the last time you ate?'

"A while ago."

Okay. Idina pulled into a drive-through. She was about to ask Erika what she wanted, but then noticed the look on her face as she read the menu.

Then she did so anyway.

Erika quickly said what seemed to be the cheapest thing on the menu. 

"No," Idina said. "You need a proper meal."

"I'll be fine."

Idina was starting to hate that word. "Fine." She hated it. None of this was fine. No one was fine after being kidnapped, no one was fine with the smallest thing on the menu when they haven't eaten in over a day.

She ordered Erika two chicken wraps instead.

"What type of pop do you want?"

Erika shrugged.

Idina rolled her eyes and ordered a medium soft drink, "surprise me" and a side of onion rings. 

"Thank you," Erika said softly when Idina passed her the large brown bag. Her stomach growled in agreement.

She unwrapped the wraps slowly as Idina pulled back onto the highway. Erika was trying to be as silent as possible. Somehow it made the whole ride louder.

"Um, you could just let me off here," Erika said.

"What?'

"If you're going to take me back to the home, I'm going to run away again," she said with more confidence. "So you could save us both the trouble."

"I'm not taking you back to a home," Idina explained. "I'm taking you back to my place."

"And then eventually back to a group home. Seriously, we can skip all the messy stuff."

"No," Idina said.

"You're just prolonging the inevitable."

"No," Idina reiterated. She did not know what else to say. She only knew that whatever Erika was used to was not going to happen. "I am not."

"Everyone says that."

"Well, I'm making a promise then. I promise you that won't happen."

"You're divorced," she jabs. 

Idina's blood pressure spiked and she gripped the steering wheel tighter, her eyes fixated on the road. "Maybe if you were a bit nicer people would like you more," she snapped back. And she instantly regretted it. If she could eat the air she would.

"Already tried that," Erika said, in the same defiant tone. "Turns out it just delays the inevitable. Gets emotions involved. You tell yourself 'this place will be different, I'll be good' and then you're good and it seems like it will be different. But eventually, maybe after a year, maybe after a few months, something happens and they send you back and they want you to know that it's not you and that they love you and that you're a lovely kid but they're not right. Not right for you. They can't take care of you and they were wrong and they're so sorry and this was the wrong time for them and it's all their fault. But the truth is you're too old or it's not the perfect seamless family they wanted, or maybe the money's going to go away if they adopt you. It doesn't matter, it always ends the same. 

"After a while, you learn that it's easier to expect that they will send you away. Because everyone does. And then you realize that this will end just like that last one, it's just a question of when. And then you realize that the nicer it seems, the quicker it will end. And that it's for the best."

"I'm not sending you back." Idina did not know what else to say. 

"Everyone says that."

"Well, I mean it."

"Everyone says that too."

They sat there in silence until Idina finally broke it.

"Running away isn't going to solve your problems."

"It might if you don't send a man-hunt after me," Erika retorted.

"You need an education."

"Not really. And besides, maybe I was going to take night classes, you don't know."

Idina was fixated on the road, but she could practically hear Erika's crossed arms. She was not going to win this argument. Then she pulled over.

She turned to Erika who did have crossed arms and was stubbornly staring straight in front of her. 

"I know you don't believe me, but I want to make this work," she said. She reached out to rubbed her shoulder, hoping it would seem comforting or reassuring, or both. She noticed that Erika seemed to relax a bit, but she still stubbornly stared ahead of her. "I all I ask is that you give me a chance."

Erika shook her head. "That's how I get hurt," she said. "Someone needs to be looking out for me, and since no one else is doing it, I will."

"Let me take care of you," Idina said. "It doesn't have to be you against the world anymore."

"Anymore," she echoed, "but only until you realize you've made a mistake."

"You're not a mistake."

"I'm pretty sure there's a long line of guardians who'd beg to differ, not to mention the people who gave me up." She was holding back tears with her clenched jaw and rigid figure. 

Idina sighed inwardly. This was going to be an uphill battle. But she was going to fight it tooth and nail until it crushed her. And even then, she would continue. 

"I don't think you're a mistake." You saved my son. But saying that sounded empty.

Erika still ignored her, but a tear trickled down her cheek. Idina brushed it away. Then she removed her seatbelt and crawled closer, kissing the girl on her temple. She wrapped Erika in a hug and pretended she did not notice the tears that fell onto her arms. 

Idina was going to make this work. Erika did not have to believe in her. She just had to let Idina try.