Without Faith by Leslie J. Sherrod Read Free Book Online

Yvette?”
    â€œSienna, why haven’t you been answering your phone?” she yelled in my ear.
    â€œUm, hello, how are you, um, is that too much to ask?” I rolled my eyes. My sister was always in the middle of some drama.
    â€œI don’t have time for your sarcasm any more than you seem to have time to pick up your phone.”
    â€œYou just called me. I just answered.” I looked up at Leon to offer him a smile, but he was busy flipping through the menu.
    â€œYour home phone? You haven’t been answering that.”
    â€œObviously I’m not home, Yvette. Did it ever cross your mind that I might actually be out somewhere and can’t talk to you?”
    â€œWell, I gave them your cell phone number and you obviously didn’t answer it either or you wouldn’t be talking to me.”
    â€œThem? Yvette, really, I don’t have time for this. What are you talking about? What is going on? Who is ‘them’?”
    â€œReverend Howard and Tridell’s mother.”
    My heart skipped a beat. “What? What happened?”
    â€œThey gone!”
    Her words didn’t make sense. “What? What happened?” I asked again.
    â€œYour son, my son, and that prissy Tridell Jenkins—along with Reverend Howard’s rental car, might I add—are all gone from that desert campground you talked me into sending my child to!”

Chapter 7
    â€œGone!” I hollered into the phone. An elderly couple at the table next to us gave me a look of displeasure. Leon’s eyes were wide as he leaned closer to me.
    â€œYou heard me!” Yvette hollered back in my ear. “You got my son out there missing halfway across the country.”
    â€œYvette, you know good and well I did not do anything to your son. He makes his own choices, just like you chose to send him on the trip on your own accord—even before I signed the permission forms for Roman.” This direction in conversation was not what I needed. I needed answers, not Yvette’s perpetual blame-game drama and her act that Skee-Gee was the perfect child, the innocent one. For anything, a year Roman’s senior in age, and a decade his senior in street knowledge, I knew one thing for certain: wherever they were, it was Skee-Gee’s doing—or that darn Tridell Jenkins. “I’m not doing this with you right now, Yvette. I need to know what is going on. Where is my son?”
    Leon was at full attention on the other side of the table. “What’s wrong, Sienna?”
    I held up a finger, shaking my head at him. “I can’t . . . I don’t know what’s going on. Yvette, where is my son?”
    â€œThat’s what I’m trying to tell you. They gone, Sienna. Roman, Tridell, and Sylvester took off in Minister Howard’s rental car, and don’t nobody know where they are right now.”
    â€œOkay,” I said, hanging up the phone. There was no point in trying to continue a conversation with her. I dialed Roman’s number and his voice mail came on immediately, letting me know his cell phone was turned off.
    â€œRoman,” I shouted as if he could somehow still hear me, “you need to call me as soon as you get this message. I’m not playing with you. Call me!” I hung up and put my head down.
    â€œSienna, let’s . . . let’s just go.” Leon’s voice was gentle, soothing in my ear. I realized right then that he was rubbing my shoulder. His touch had been so natural, I hadn’t even noticed it was there. Awareness of this subtlety made me stiffen up my shoulder under his fingers. He felt the tension and backed away, but his tone stayed soft.
    â€œI know from your words that something is going on with Roman. Let’s get you home and we’ll figure out what to do.” He left a fifty on the table though we had not yet eaten. As we headed toward the parking lot, I recalled that we had driven in separate cars. I