It was her first time leaving her child with a sitter and Sara was anxiously checking her phone every few minutes. Before she left the house she had told Kristin to message her with updates as often as possible.
When the screen lit up with a text message notification, it was every mother’s worse nightmare. A message said, "I'm baby. Call 911". Sara screamed and grabbed her purse. She knew it was a race against time to save her daughter.
A Childhood Dream
When Sara was a little girl she had dreamed of starting her own family. She thought when she met her boyfriend, Kevin that they both had the same goals. While Sara was busy picturing their future family, Kevin was focusing on work.
It would be too late for the couple to meet in the middle and compromise. Sara had followed her dreams and couldn’t believe how much she had risked. After losing everything else, she couldn’t imagine her life without her daughter.
Frantically Driving Against Traffic
Everything about having a child was difficult. Sara threw her purse in the car and peeled out of her work parking lot. She kept re-reading the text message for clues and then tried calling Kristin’s cell again.
It was going straight to voicemail and Sara’s pulse was out of control. If anything happened to her daughter she would never forgive herself. She focused on the road and pushed harder on the gas.
Everything Was An Argument
Sara had fought against everyone to be a mother. She remembered breaking the news to her boyfriend when she was pregnant and watching his face dissolve into surprise and then anger. Sara was 28 and wanted to start a family, but he wasn’t ready.
The couple argued constantly for weeks but Sara wouldn’t budge. Eventually, he walked out the door and Sara knew she would continue to put her child before herself. Now her worse fears were coming true.
It Was Her First Time Hiring A Babysitter
Sara tried to be with her child constantly but she needed to run important errands and had been recommended to use Kristin. She was a teen in the neighborhood, and Sara tried to keep an open mind.
She knew watching a young baby was challenging but tried to remember that nothing bad could happen in such a short period of time. As she tried to drive home even faster, a million situations played out in her head on repeat.
Today Was A Trial Run
Sara was a single mother and her family lived in a different state. She needed to get back to work and was trying to find a babysitter to trust long-term. Kristin seemed perfect on paper, but Sara couldn’t shake the negative feelings.
She knew a part of her was stressed leaving her baby with a stranger but she told Kristin to check in every hour. When the first hour passed with no message, Sara felt her stomach drop. She desperately needed Kristin to answer the phone but it was already too late.
The Previous Experience
Even though Kristin had glowing recommendations, they were all with older kids. Sara’s daughter was still under a year old. It was a massive commitment. Kristin could tell the first-time mom was nervous and had promised to keep in touch.
What was keeping Kristin from answering her phone, and why had she sent such a cryptic text message to Sara? Every time she hit a red light driving home, Sara just wanted to scream in frustration.
She Had Done Everything Right
Before leaving Kristin alone with her daughter, Sara had asked her to come over so she could watch her interact with a baby. At the time everything felt smooth, and her daughter didn’t cry when Kristin picked her up.
She told Kristin she would need her to babysit the next day and the young teen seemed very excited. Sara couldn’t match her excitement and was now wondering what would have happened if she had listened to her intuition?
She Had Only Been Gone Two Hours
When the message arrived from Kristin, it had only been a couple of hours. Sara was panicking with Kristin’s lack of messaging. When she received the text that said “I’m baby”, she knew all her worse fears were coming true.
Another text came through that said “Call 911” and without a moment's hesitation, Sara left and drove home. As she tried to dial 911, she didn’t even know what to say. The young mother began screaming into the phone “Somebody help my baby!”
She Was Getting Closer To Home
When she spoke with the dispatch team they said they would send an ambulance right away. It wasn’t fast enough and Sara knew she would get there first. The scenarios kept playing in her head, and her palms were so sweaty she could barely grip the wheel.
Sara knew if Kristin had harmed her daughter, the ambulance would need to assist everyone on site. She wouldn’t rest until she had her revenge, but what exactly had happened?
An Eerie Setting
When Sara’s car turned the corner onto her street, she was startled by what she saw. It was strangely quiet. There were no cars on the road or children playing in the street. She drove slowly through the neighborhood, looking for any clues.
As she pulled into her driveway she has stumped again. The house looked fine, and there was no one screaming or crying through the front door or windows. She slowly walked towards the front door, but nothing could prepare her for what was on the other side.
Watching TV With A Headset
As she opened her front door, she saw Kristin sitting on the couch. She was wearing a headset so the tv and didn’t hear Sara come in. This was beginning to feel even creepier by the second and Sara put her hand on Kristin’s shoulder.
The teen girl practically jumped out of her skin, but after the shock, she was mainly confused. What was Sara doing home so early? Kristin's eyes went wide when she realized her massive error.
The Puzzle Pieces
Sara wanted to scream she was so confused! Why had Kristin sent her the confusing text message and where was her daughter? Kristin was equally as confused because she had put the baby down for a nap and not messaged Sara at all.
If Kristin hadn’t messaged Sara then what did that mean? Why would her phone send her such a distressing memo? Without a second to lose, Sara walked to her daughter’s room and entered the worst-case scenario.
Undeniable Proof
Sara didn’t hear her daughter crying or see anything that looked like an emergency, so why had Kristin sent her the text? She took her phone out of her pocket and quickly showed it to the confused teen.
All the color left Kristin’s and she reached into her pocket for her phone but then realized with a shock it wasn’t there. She began to pat down her jeans but her phone was nowhere to be found. If she didn’t have it, then who was using it to text?
Retracing Their Steps
The last time Kristin had sent Sara a text was when she was in the baby’s room. The two women rushed towards the nursery, but it was still silent on the outside. Sara could hear an ambulance siren in the distance and realized she was going to have a lot of explaining to do.
They turned on the light in the nursery but neither woman noticed anything out of the ordinary. It wasn’t until Sara’s daughter began to cry that they realized the truth had been in front of them the entire time.
A Nap Interrupted
The baby began to cry because it had been woken up mid-nap. Sara rushed to the crib and picked up her baby, carefully examining every inch but only finding perfection. The baby was completely unharmed.
Kristin joined Sara next to the crib and then pulled back the baby’s blanket. In the middle of the crib was the missing cell phone! Now both women were even more confused, but then there was a knock on the door!
Responding To An Emergency
Sara had called the ambulance on her way home based on the text that said “Call 911”! Now that the ambulance was at her front door she had no idea what to tell them. Refusing to put her daughter down she went to the front door, with Kristin trailing behind her.
She opened the door and began to apologize to the emergency responders when Kristin suddenly let out a scream. She finally understood what had happened, but it would impact more people than just Sara and her baby…
A Nap-Time Negligence
The dots were slowly starting to connect for Kristin and she sheepishly began to explain to everyone. Sara clutched her baby still not convinced that nothing bad had happened. As she listened to Kristin's words the tension slowly melted from her body.
While it was a small mistake, it had almost cost Sara her job and her sanity. Would there be any repercussions for this simple mistake?
It Could Have Happened To Anyone
Kristin had put the baby down for a nap and didn’t realize she had tucked her phone into the baby blanket. While Sara’s daughter was lying on top of the phone she had activated the emergency messaging.
Kristin began to connect the dots as she realized the same message had been sent to several of her contacts. Was this a simple error or was Kristin only figuring out how to cover her tracks?
Everyone Breathed A Sigh Of Relief
At the end of the day, Sara’s main priority was her daughter. She could feel the baby in her arms and there were no visible injuries. The young babysitter hung her head in shame, but the emergency responders told her it was more common than people knew.
While it's a great feature, the phone had caused a wave of concern for the entire neighborhood! Sara knew before she let Kristin babysit again, they would be reviewing best phone practices!