Violet awoke to a knock on her bedroom door at 5:00 the next morning. She frowned while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Yeah?"

The door opened with a squeak and a pair of heavy footsteps approached her. From this, she knew it was her father. He never woke her up, especially this early. Violet pushed herself into a sitting position and looked up at him. He was already dressed and ready to leave for work.

"Did Mom tell you where she went, yesterday?" He asked.

"No," she responded with a yawn, "I didn't even see her leave."

"She's still not home."

This immediately pulled the young girl from her drowsy state and into an incredibly anxious one instead. It wasn't like her mother to just disappear. Even after a nasty argument between her and her father, she never stormed out in anger. It was especially odd that she didn't tell anyone where she was going either. Not a text, not a note, nothing at all.

"I'll call her," Violet said, reaching for her phone on her nightstand.

Her father shook his head. "She left her phone behind."

"What are we gonna do?"

"I called the police. They'll be here soon to get some information from you."

"What about you?"

"I can't miss work."

Violet's jaw nearly hit the floor. Her father could not have been serious. He was just going to leave while the police interrogated her? Furthermore, he wasn't going to speak to the police himself to help them find his wife? "Are you crazy?!" She demanded.

"Violet—"

"Dad, your wife is missing! You're not even going to stay to talk to the police? How can you—"

"Enough!" The man snapped. "I will not sit here and be scolded by my own daughter! Get dressed and be ready to answer the door when the police show up. I'll be home at 4:30."

Tears of pure rage welled up in her eyes as she watched her father stomp out of her room and make his way to the front door. How could he do this to his family? How dare he do this to his family? He was supposed to be their protection, and yet here he was, abandoning not only his daughter, but his wife as well just to go to work. Their family wasn't struggling financially at all. There was no reason for him to be acting like this other than the fact that he didn't care. He didn't care about his wife or daughter anymore and that was why he had no problem walking away from the situation at hand.

Trembling, Violet threw a long hoodie on over her pajamas and stuffed her feet into her sneakers. Fury and terror fought for dominance in her mind. So many thoughts and questions were rushing through her brain at once that she began to develop a headache.

"Please be okay, Mom," she breathed as she stared into her mirror. "Please..."

It wasn't long before a loud knocking sound came from the living room, followed by a man's stern voice calling, "Police!"

"Coming!" Violet called back, hurrying toward the front door.

Upon opening it, she was met with 2 rather tall police officers. They seemed to tower several feet over her. One of them was a dark-skinned and bald man, who was much wider than his partner, but still obscenely tall. The other officer had black hair with a matching mustache. Their expressions were hard. Judging by the rather deep grooves on their foreheads, Violet concluded that they made this intimidating expression very often.

"Is this the Sinclaire residence?" The dark-skinned officer inquired. His voice was deep and rumbly.

"Y-Yes, sir," Violet stuttered.

"We're here to ask you a few questions regarding your mother."

She stepped aside and pulled the door open wider, allowing the men to step into her living room. They approached the coffee table and positioned themselves side-by-side in front of the TV so that they faced the couch. The man with the mustache pointed at it as if to tell Violet to sit down. She obliged.

Having these two large police officers standing in front of her was terrifying, to say the least. Violet was well aware that they were equipped with guns and tasers and had physical training as well. She feared that making a sudden movement or letting something insulting slip would cost her her life.

Each of them pulled out a pen and notepad before the mustached officer spoke up. "How long has your mother been missing?"

"Well," Violet began, "she left yesterday while I was at school. My dad informed me this morning that she never came home."

"Where is your dad?"

"He went to work."

They scribbled something on their notepads, the silence causing her to anxiously begin fidgeting with her fingers.

"Did she tell anyone she was leaving?" The dark-skinned officer asked.

"No, but she normally did. She'd leave notes on the fridge if no one was home."

"Where does she tend to go when she leaves the house."

"The library, gas station, or grocery store."

"Does she work?"

"No."

"Do your parents fight a lot?" The mustached man piped in.

Violet frowned. "I'm sorry, how is that relevant?"

"When an officer asks you a question, you answer it, do you understand?"

"Y-Yes, sorry. Um, I guess they did fight a lot. But my mom never left when they did. The most she's ever done was make my dad sleep on the couch and that happened years ago."

They scribbled on their notepads again before clicking their pens and stuffing them back into their front pockets. Violet tried to eavesdrop as they muttered something to each other, but couldn't quite make out what they were saying. Finally, they turned back to her and nodded.

"I think that's everything we need," the dark-skinned man told her.

"You're not going to collect DNA samples or anything?" She questioned, following them as they headed for the front door.

"That won't be necessary."

"How are you going to find her?" The girl tried to squeeze in between the officers and the doorway, but was easily bumped away by one of their shoulders. It was odd to her that they were in such a sudden rush to leave. Neither of their walkie-talkies had gone off. Plus, it was nearly 6 AM in the very small county of Nockfell. Where else could they possibly need to be? Something was very wrong here.

"Listen kid, we'll do what we can and get back to you."

"That's not enough. You have to do something!" She begged. "Please! My mom wouldn't disappear like this. Something happened to her. Please don't dismiss her case!"

"No one's dismissing anything. We'll get back to you in 3 to 5 business days."

Violet wanted to chase them down the hallway. She wanted to grab their ankles and cry and beg them not to do this. It was all too obvious that they took no interest in helping her. She knew they'd probably toss whatever notes they took in the trash on their way out and forget they ever spoke to her.

Instead, she stood in her doorway with her arms crossed over her chest, resisting the urge to burst into tears. Was she the only person who cared? Did nobody else understand that her mother mysteriously went missing?

Suddenly, the sound of her phone ringing came from her bedroom. She shakily closed the front door and went to retrieve it, praying that it was her father calling to inform her that he found her mother. Though, she knew the chances were slim.

Sal's name appeared on her illuminated screen once she flipped the phone open.

"H-Hello?"

"Hey, we—are you alright?" Sal's worried voice came from the other line.

"My mom didn't come home, Sally," she cried, a sob escaping her lips. "M-My dad left and the police didn't e-even care. I don't know what to do."

"Larry and I will be right up, okay? Hang tight."

"O-Okay."

She completely forgot that it was a school morning. The time on her phone read 6:17. The boys usually met up with her on the doorstep of the apartment complex to walk to school at 6:20. Yet, she stood, hysterically crying in her bedroom while wearing a baggy hoodie and a pair of pajama pants. She had no intention of going to school today anyway.

Someone had to try to find her mother, even if that meant she'd be the only one.