Teen Boy Doesn’t Come Home for Dinner, ‘We Have Your Son!’ Phone Call Leaves Dad Shaken – Story of the Day

Eden returns home after a five-month-long work trip to spend an evening with his family before embarking on his next journey. But his departure is canceled when he learns his 16-year-old son is gone.

Kyle was almost there. A mere three miles to go, and he would arrive at his destination. The nervous teen relaxed a little, his palms still clammy from anxiety, as he loosened his grip on the steering wheel and slowed down.

Kyle thought he no longer needed to worry, but suddenly, he heard the faint blaring of sirens, and his heart thumped. Kyle immediately looked into the rearview mirror. A series of police cruisers were catching up with his car…

"No, no! God, no! Not now!" Kyle's entire life flashed before his eyes as he clutched the steering wheel tightly and stepped harder on the gas pedal.

"Stop right now, or we'll be forced to open fire! This car is under surveillance!" a warning appeared over the megaphone behind him.

Kyle didn't stop. He swerved through the desolate highway, hoping to throw the cops off his trail and escape. He would not slow down until there was a loud thwack of the gunshot. Kyle froze in his seat and found himself losing control of the car.

"No, no! Watch out!" he screamed as he realized his car was speeding toward a fork in the road. Kyle gripped the steering wheel and turned it in haste, causing the car to veer off the highway a few meters before the fork.

Three days before the fateful night…

Eden was finally home. He pulled into the driveway and grabbed his travel bag from the passenger seat. Eden worked as a long-haul trucker that often required him to be away on business, so he yearned to spend time off work.

That evening, the 35-year-old father was looking forward to spending time with his family as he would leave for another three-month-long trip the following day.

"Where's Kyle?" Eden asked his wife, Rose, as they were setting the table for dinner ."I'd told him I was coming back today. Is he not joining us for dinner?"

"Probably not, honey. He is out with his friends and said he would be busy," Rose said. "He told me not to wait for him. Look, I know you wanted to see him, but I can't stop him from meeting his friends."

"Is Kyle alright?" Eden asked, taking a bite of the reheated lasagna. "He has not been his usual self lately. No calls, no spending time with family. Nothing. You know, he doesn't even respond to my texts any longer," he sighed.

"Oh, well, he's no longer a kid," Rose said, sitting down beside him. "He's 16, Eden. He wouldn't tell us everything he's up to. But there's something that's been bothering me lately. If only I could handle it, I would've. Right now, both Kyle and I need you..."

"What's wrong? Listen, just tell me if something's up with our son. He's in trouble, isn't he? Is he brawling at school? Is it something worse? Trust me, I'm prepared for the worst, honey."

Rose sighed, pushing the lasagna with her fork. "Yes," she said quietly. "Unfortunately, yes. Kyle has been hanging around with the wrong crowd—guys much older than him. He wouldn't tell me, but I know it, Eden. I saw them together.

"Nothing's been easy for me since we moved here. The new job is making me go nuts, and parenting a teenage boy is no cakewalk. This neighborhood we live in is infamous for all sorts of things you wouldn't want Kyle to come across—teenagers doing drugs, explicit graffiti on public property, and whatnot. So yes, I need your help, Eden. Please stay with us and help me with our son.

"Kyle is getting out of hand. He needs his father more than anything else. You are the only one who can get him to mend his ways. I try to be strict, but I always cave in to whatever he says. We are going to lose him this way..."

Eden let out a tired sigh.

"You know I can't stay back here," he said. "I can't even think of quitting my job when we've got to keep this roof over our heads. And Kyle is going to graduate soon, and we'll need money for his college. Give me two years, and I'll figure something out. Maybe I'll give up my truck driving and take something up here. If you want, I can talk to Kyle," Eden replied, but the ring on his phone distracted him from his conversation with Rose.

Eden thought it was a late work call as usual, but a private number flashed across his phone screen.

"Am I speaking with Mr. Kirby?" asked the voice on the other end of the line.

"Yes?" Eden said, setting his fork down. "How can I help you?"

"This is Officer Harrison, sir. Your son, Kyle, has been taken into custody, and I need you to come to the station."

Eden went pale. "What…I mean, what happened?"

Rose guessed something wasn't right from her husband's worried expression. She even asked what it was, but Eden dismissed her and said it was a friend's call.

"Yes, yes, alright," Eden answered the phone, forcing a smile on his face. "Hey, honey, can you please get me some water?" he asked at some point.

As Rose disappeared into the kitchen, Eden told the officer he'd arrive at the station soon.

"I think I'll need to head out, Rose. Please don't wait for me," Eden said as he hung up the call and hurriedly grabbed his car keys.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked, appearing from the kitchen. "What's so urgent that you're leaving dinner like this?"

"A friend needs help. Something has come up," Eden lied as he left the house and drove to the police station.

As Eden arrived, he spotted Kyle on the chair in front of an officer's desk. A strange man dressed in decent attire sat beside Kyle. Eden hadn't seen him before and wondered who he was.

"Dad!" Kyle looked up at Eden in tears.

"Kyle, what's going on? What did you do?" Eden asked, approaching him.

"Mr. Kirby, I was the one who called you," Officer Harrison said, rising to his feet and extending his hand for a shake. "Please," he gestured to Eden to take a seat.

"What's the matter, officer?" Eden asked worriedly.

"Sir," Officer Harrison said. "Your son was apprehended while he and his mates tried to rob a store, and this gentleman here is Mr. Johnson, the store's owner," the officer added, pointing to the man beside Kyle. "He was kind enough to advise us that we call you and not lock your son in the cell."

"Oh God," Eden gasped, covering his face with his palms. "Is he….I mean, will Kyle be arrested? Will he have to serve? What can we do to—"

"Well, here's the thing, Mr. Kirby. We don't want to jeopardize Kyle's future. He's young, and kids his age resort to ridiculous things to appear cool. We all know how difficult this age can be. Kyle wasn't alone when the robbery happened, but he was the only one who was apprehended by my squad. The other guys had managed to flee.

"What we want from you is Kyle's confession. He wouldn't tell us who his accomplices were, though we know he knows them well. See, it's understandable he's scared, but his confession might be the only way for him to avoid a trial. And I guessed you could help us with it, so I had to call you here."

"Kyle!" Eden said. "Name those cretins! Didn't you just hear what the officer said?"

"Dad, I…" Kyle pursed his lips and swallowed his tears. "I—I can't…."

"Do what you're told, Kyle! Please! Are you going to throw away your life like this, uh? Who were these people?" Eden asked furiously.

Eventually, Kyle blurted out all the names because he was terrified of his father's wrath.

"Good job, Kyle," Officer Harrison smiled encouragingly at the young boy. "There's something else, Mr. Kirby. I believe Kyle can be released now if he agrees to compensate Mr. Johnson for his losses. A kind man like him would forget your son was even there at the crime scene. You know, even the judge might agree restitution is a good way out of this situation."

"But how… how much will I need to pay for the damages?" Eden nervously looked at Mr. Johnson. "Sir, I sincerely apologize for what my kid has done, and I'm willing to compensate you. I am hoping you'll let Kyle go. He will never do something like this again. I take his responsibility."

Mr. Johnson was a stringent man and cared only about his business. He was least concerned if Kyle ended up in prison. He agreed to let Kyle go as long as he was reimbursed for his losses.

However, the sum that Mr. Johnson mentioned was huge. Eden didn't have so much money. He needed time and promised he would arrange the sum in a few days and get back to Mr. Johnson.

But back home, Eden was worried. He wondered how he would save his son's life from getting tainted. He would do anything, but what? Rose had only recently joined her job and couldn't help them financially.

After much thought, Eden decided to sell their family car. He had bought it after saving up for years, but nothing mattered when his son's future was on the line.

Eden decided to do minor fixes to the car that evening. Kyle was working alongside him, but the young boy didn't quite know his way around cars and accidentally twisted a cog, breaking it.

Eden lost his cool. "What the hell's wrong with you, Kyle?" he lashed out. "Aren't you done drowning me in debt? I'm taking time off from work because of you! Jesus! Who in the freakin' world taught you to handle tools like that?"

"Nobody ever cared to teach me, Dad!" Kyle snapped.

"Oh, so you'll answer me back now!?" Eden would've scolded Kyle more if their conversation wasn't interrupted by the sudden pulling up of the garage shutter. Three tattooed men barged into the garage, laughing and clutching baseball bats.

"Who the hell are you guys? How did you get in just like that?" Eden screamed, stepping forward.

"Hello there, Kyle!" A man smirked at Kyle. "We missed him a lot, didn't we, guys?"

"D–D–Dad!" Kyle stammered. "That's—that's them! The guys…I was with them when we robbed the store! That's their leader, Reggie, and that's…Ethan and Dennis."

"Stay back, Kyle," Eden said, covering his son. "You don't need to get scared when I'm here."

"Get off of my property!" Eden told the thugs. "Or I'm going to call the cops!"

"Well, well, well! Look what we have here!"

The three men walked past Kyle and Eden toward the car. They gripped their baseball bats tightly and smashed the car, cursing at Kyle.

"You little twat! You thought you could get away with it, uh?" Reggie screamed as he smashed the windshield. "You're going to pay! Both of you! Twat and his daddy! Get them, boys!"

Dennis and Ethan forcefully blindfolded Kyle and Eden, then stuffed them into a vehicle that Eden thought was a van. They protested and tried to fight the men, but it was all in vain. Meanwhile, Rose was out shopping, utterly unaware that her son and husband had been abducted.

"Where the hell are you taking us?" Eden screamed, trying to break the rope tied around his hands. "Let us go! The cops aren't going to let this slide!"

"Really? You're giving me that after your little loser son ratted out my lads to the cops? You better stop acting like an idiot if you wanna make it home alive. My boys are gonna be locked up for a minimum of two years after what your son did!

"On average, they brought me 1,000 bucks daily, so now, you owe me all that cash they would've gotten me in two years! Better be ready to make up for it."

"This is ridiculous!" Eden screamed. "I'm not going to give in to your demands!"

"Oh, you will!" Reggie scoffed. "You certainly will!"

The van stopped a few minutes later, and Kyle and Eden were dragged out of the vehicle. As their blindfolds were stripped off, their eyes struggled to focus on their surroundings.

It was Eden who first realized they were inside a murky, abandoned building. The heavy air smelled foul, and the room was mostly dark, except for the streaks of light peeping in through the broken window panes.

"Let Kyle go!" Eden said. "I'll get the money for you! OK? He has nothing to do with whatever happened. I asked him to name your boys in front of the cops!"

"I bet you'd do anything to save your twat son, Daddy!" Reggie laughed. "Five days are all you get to pay me. Can you?"

"Five days? See, I'm not running anywhere with the money, but you need to give me more time. I already need to pay someone else. I—"

"Oh, no, no, no! Hell no!" Reggie cut him off. "You gotta pay us within the deadline, and I'm gonna tell you how! But first, get rid of his son, boys!"

"What? No! Leave Kyle alone! Stop! What are you doing?" Eden cried. But all his pleas fell on deaf ears.

Ethan and Dennis threw Kyle out of the room, leaving Reggie to talk to Eden alone.

"Please do not harm my son! I beg you," Eden pleaded in tears. "Please, please!"

"Calm down, Eden, if you want to save your son. Look, all you gotta do is follow my instructions and lend me a helping hand. I've got a task for you. A job I'm sure you'll still know how to do perfectly."

Reggie tossed an envelope at Eden's feet, and the poor father picked it up with trembling hands. "What is this?" Eden asked, looking at the map inside. "All I can see here is a highlighted route."

"That's the path you're gonna take two nights from now," Reggie said. He instructed Eden to drive a stolen car to a different city.

"C'mon, you've done it before. You can do it again!"

"But that's...in the past!" Eden said. "I'm not up for this! I'm not doing anything illegal!"

"The cops aren't going to even sniff what you're up to if you just listen to me. Listen, twat son's daddy, beggars can't be choosers!"

"I'd rather sell my truck."

Reggie shrugged. "As long as you pay the debt, I don't care. FIVE DAYS! The clock is ticking!"

Eden and Kyle managed to return home without any nosebleeds or broken bones. "I really screwed up, Dad. I'm sorry," Kyle apologized to Eden. "I shouldn't have done something so stupid. Reggie and his gang will keep bothering us until we pay him back."

"We're going to sort this out, Kyle," Eden assured his son. "You can always count on me, alright? But hey, we're not telling Mom about what happened. She'll just freak out, and it isn't going to do us any good. Yeah?"

Kyle agreed to keep what had happened between them, and Eden believed that everything would be fine. He made a few calls that night and posted images of his truck on different websites, hoping to find a buyer quickly and pay Reggie's debt.

The present-day...

Before taking the truck to a friend's garage for a deal, Eden decided to check on Kyle. He was worried about how nervous and terrified Kyle had been the previous day.

As he stepped inside the young boy's room, Eden found his son's bed empty. The bedding was neatly arranged as if nobody had ever slept on it. And the room was eerily quiet.

"Kyle?" Eden called out. "Are you in there, son?"

Eden checked the bathroom, but Kyle was not there. He hadn't seen Kyle in the backyard or kitchen either.

Eden was about to leave Kyle's room when his attention was drawn to a note held on the table by a paperweight. Eden picked up the note to read it.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you and Mom, Dad!" it began. "I promise I'll make everything right, OK? Just trust me. I'll do whatever Reggie asked you. We can get back to normal, Dad. That's the only way I can solve the problems that were created due to me. It was my fault, and only I could make it right. Nothing will go wrong this time.

— Kyle."

"Jesus! No, no! Does he even know what he's getting himself into!?"

Eden dashed to the garage and hopped into his truck. He kept dialing Kyle on his way to Reggie's abandoned building, his fists tightly clutching the steering wheel. Eden would talk to Reggie and ask him to contact Kyle.

"Kyle, pick up! Goddammit! What is wrong with this boy?! He needs to learn the route properly! It was supposed to be a tricky route!"

Eden dialed Kyle again and again and again. But Kyle wouldn't answer his phone. "Where the hell is he?"

Eden clutched the steering wheel tightly as he stepped on the gas. Right then, the ringing of his phone distracted him. A private number appeared on the screen, but Eden knew it too well.

He slammed on the brakes, and the truck's tires screeched to a halt. Eden's eyes teared up as he answered his phone.

"He—Hello?" he asked, his voice shaking.

"Mr. Kirby," the caller said. "This is—"

"How can I help you, officer?" Eden asked, recognizing Officer Harrison's voice. "I told you I'm going to clear Mr. Johnson's debts very soon. I need some time, OK?"

"Sir," Eden could hear Officer Harrison sighing on the other end of the line. "It's about Kyle. I need you to come to the station."

Eden's heart skipped a beat. "What is it this time?" he asked, wiping the sweat and tears off his cheeks. "But, you know, whatever it is…well, it's great you found him. I was very worried. He just disappeared from his room this morning, and I…" Eden choked on his tears. "I just want to get him home."

"I think we should talk once you're here at the station, Mr. Kirby. Will you be able to make it right away? It's a bit urgent."

"Yes, yes, sure. I'll be right there."

Eden hung up the call and drove to the station, his tears not stopping even for a second. He didn't notice Kyle when he walked up to Officer Harrion's desk and sat down.

"Officer," Eden said. "I know I'd said I take Kyle's responsibility, and I am sorry if he messed up again. What's the matter? Where is Kyle?"

"Mr. Kirby," the officer solemnly said, pushing a file toward him. "These are Kyle's medical records. We're very sorry. The medical staff did everything they could, but they weren't successful. Kyle was trying to flee, sir. His car crashed into a lamppost. We're sorry."

What can we learn from this story?

• Spending love and care on your children is more important than spending money on them. Eden cared for his family and wanted to give them the best, so he focused on his job and making money, even after Rose told him that she and Kyle needed him. If only Eden had listened to her instead of insisting on how important it was for him to make money, he and Rose would not have lost their young son.
• Teenagers can sometimes be a handful and make awful decisions that cost them dearly in life. Kyle was a reckless teen who never thought twice before doing something. Although Eden told him he would make things right after Reggie threatened them, Kyle didn't believe his father. The youngster took matters into his own hands, which cost his parents dearly. They lost him forever.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a 16-year-old boy who brought his mother to tears by gifting her a new car.

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