These Lines Were Never Established

Hayley sat up, awake before anyone else. She wandered the house by herself for a while before trying to wake Travis. He only grunted and rolled over. With a sigh she took Tito and headed back down stairs. No one was awake, and no one was home.

She played in the living room with a few of her toys before she stopped. The sound of a howling wind caught her attention. Nervously she clung to Tito and moved towards it, the front door was cracked slight letting the light wind funnel threw making it sound worse than it was.

Pulling the front door open she smiled at the snow outside. Glancing down at Tito she rushed to the back door and began struggling into her snow cloths.

“This is a bad idea.” Tito sighed as he pulled on his red scarf.

“How?” Hayley asked eyeing the tiger as she lay on her back, struggling with her snow pants. She couldn’t get them on, she hadn’t unfastened the buttons, she didn’t know how to.

“What’ll you’re dad say?” Tito asked simply, watching her.

“He won’ get up!” she gasped finally getting her pants on. Tito nodded at the idea. “Besides, don’t you wanna play in the snow?” Pulling on her beanie she smiled at the cautious Tiger.

“Yeah…I just don’t wanna get in trouble.” Tito stated following her across the house quickly and out the front door.

“We won’!” She smiled jumping to the snow, Tito laughed and followed suit.

Groaning Travis sat up, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Turning on the light he looked around the room, finding Hayley missing. Grunting he climbed out of bed and put on his slippers. It wasn’t unusual for the little two-year-old to get up and wander the house once she was up and he wasn’t.

Travis stopped looking around the house at the silence. No one was up, and there was no giggle, or sounds. Hayley could be heard from every inch of the house when it was dead silent.

The silence made him nervous.

Heading down the stairs, he stopped, at the front door open to his left.

“Hayley.” He gasped. The chilling idea of her missing, or being kidnapped leaked into his veins. He couldn’t believe it.

Running out the front door he stopped, sliding into the railing at the sight before him. Jolene’s little environment friendly car had half, what looked like, a dead snowman on it as if it’d been hit and separated from its bottom half in front of the car and one under it, three stood off to the side with horror struck looks on their faces.

“What the…” He whispered. Heading down the steps he hugged his bare arms to his chest, still eyeing the snowmen. “There’s no way…” He stated, pointing at the normal sized snowmen. “She couldn’t have… could she?” Stopping he looked around. All the trucks and cars looked as if they’d run through a crowd of snowmen, half of them dead, one struggling for freedom to get out from under his truck tire, several trying to help it, and others looking terrified and scared out of their frozen minds.

He froze completely at the movement in the back of Tommy’s little Isuzu truck. Bright yellow and red movement.

“Hayley?” He called.

Hayley stood up, snow in her hands. Travis stood there glaring at her.

“I told you we’d get in trouble.” Tito stated from behind her. She grimaced, and decided not to respond to the smart mouth tiger.

“What are you doing?” Travis gasped moving over to her.

“Payin’” Hayley whispered nervously.

“Who’s out here with you?” Travis asked sternly. He watched her shift nervously.

“Tito.”

“Tito? That’s it? No one else?” She nodded weakly. “Hayley, you can’t be outside by yourself!” Travis hollered, flailing his arms. “I was worried sick! I thought something happened to you!” His arms dropped as she whimpered, tears in her eyes. He’d never actually yelled at her before. “You’re not in trouble.” Hayley looked up at him nervously. “Not this time.” He pointed at her. “Because you didn’t know. Next time though, not only are you going to go to time out, but I’m going to beat your butt. Got it?” She nodded weakly, dropping the snow in her arms defeated. “You had me worried sick.” He breathed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I sowiee.” She sniffled.

Travis scooped her up.

“It’s okay. You didn’t know any better. But you’re not allowed outside with out an adult and Tito doesn’t count okay?” She nodded at him. “Good.” Kissing the top of his head he sighed into her hair. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.” She muttered another sorry at him. “I know. I know.” Standing up right he looked into the back of Tommy’s truck, the snowman didn’t look scared, or hurt, it looked angry. “Did you do all this?”

“’Ee an’ Tito.” She sniffled, rubbing at her eyes, tears still falling.

“You did all of this? How long have you been out here?” she simply shrugged, she honestly couldn’t say. Quickly looking down at his watch, his eyes went wide. He’d slept for six hour, four hours longer than nap-time usually lasted and Hayley had woken up an hour early. “Crud…” He breathed. “Let’s go inside.” Grabbing Tito from the truck he headed back into the house and got her out of her snow suit.

Peering out the window once or twice he sighed heavily as Hayley began eating dinner.

“I have one messed up two-year-old…” He sighed to himself.