Chapter 11: Chapter 11

Beth couldn’t see anything from this angle except a dark street through the branches of her mother’s prized redbud tree.

Ryan stealthily stood and crept to his front window, flipping off the lamp by the side of his bed as he did so, leaving his room in near darkness, except for the glow from his aquarium in the back corner. His room was only half the size of Beth’s but still ample sized for a teenage boy.

She heard more giggling, though it seemed to be fading away. Beth reminded herself that she was no longer afraid of the dark or what might lurk there and waited patiently for Ryan to drop the shades and return. He turned his light back on and took a seat, taking his time to reveal what he’d discovered, from Beth’s perspective. “It’s Olive and Johnny.”

“What?” Beth craned her neck back out the window, unable to believe what she was hearing from either direction now. “How is that possible?” She glanced at the glowing red numbers on her nightstand. It was 10:45. “They should’ve been locked in hours ago.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure what’s going on over there. Phoebe must’ve had a change of heart or policy or something because I heard Craig’s bike out the other night pretty late, too.”

Beth remembered hearing him as well, actually seeing him down the street. She swallowed hard. “I know they’re not dangerous… but, I don’t like it.” She thought of her little sisters downstairs tucked warm in their beds and wondered what might happen if one of Phoebe’s wards got confused and thought this was their home. Her mother was meticulous about locking the doors since that had happened once before, when they lived in their old house, but that was during the day, and that older gentleman had been particularly… lost.

“Beth? I’m sure it’s fine. Maybe something’s going on over there. You know how hard it is for her to find good help.”

She nodded, knowing that was absolutely true. She had no idea what would make anyone want to work at Phoebe’s. Taking care of the mentally challenged and disabled had to be a job only a very few special people were capable of performing. Beth knew she definitely wasn’t one of them. The stories she’d heard….

“Listen, I’ve got an early morning tomorrow, so I should probably get to sleep. If my mom detects even a hint of dark circles beneath my eyes, this little operation is going to get shut down quicker than you can say, ‘Sammy Burk is an ass hat.’”

Shaking her head at his choice of comparisons, she decided to focus on the first part of his sentence. “What do you mean you have an early morning tomorrow? Are you actually going somewhere?”

“I know, it’s hard to believe, isn’t it?” he snickered. She might’ve thought he was offended if she didn’t know him better. “Yeah, my dad thinks it’s been long enough on these new meds. He says he sees improvement, so he’s taking me back to the doc. My mom thinks we should wait another few weeks because she just doesn’t see it, but after a lengthy argument which you missed because you were at some baseball function, my dad actually won, so he’s taking me back to the doctor tomorrow.”

It was hard to believe his dad had won an argument. The only thing that would’ve been harder to believe would be if someone told her that her own father had won an argument. “I see. Well, be careful. I wish I could go with you. Hopefully, they’ll have good news, and your mom will let you out of the house soon. Maybe the next time my parents drag me out to see some stupid movie, you could come, too.”

“Cliffhanger?” he asked with a smirk.

Beth nodded and then stuck her finger into her open mouth like she was gagging herself. Once he was done laughing she added, “But I do try to appreciate things like that a little more since I know you can’t do them.”

“Thanks.” She wasn’t sure if he meant that or not. “What about Lilac? Is your mom going to make her sit through that? I can’t see Dani liking it either, but surely Lilac….”

“Lavender, silly. Her name is Lavender.” She was aware that Ryan knew her sister’s name. On the rare occasion he’d been allowed to come over and “play” as his mother put it, he’d had a great time with both of her younger siblings. “Mom used to drag me to that kind of junk, back when dad was working weekends. She’d take Shane and I to all kinds of crappy movies. Whatever is playing at the drive in is pretty much what we’d watch.”

“Why can’t she just drive to Joplin or Pittsburg to watch a chick flick or children’s film like most mothers?”

“Because Evelyn Monroe is not like most mothers,” Beth said quickly.

“You’re telling me.” It was nice that someone knew firsthand what she was talking about. “But then, neither is Karen Wilson.”

“True. It’s a wonder our parents aren’t better friends since our mothers are both domineering weirdos who can’t be reasoned with, and our fathers are both punching bags with no…”

“Balls?”

Beth’s face scrunched up of its own accord. “That is not the word I was going to use.”

“But it’s true.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

He snickered. “I think that’s why they aren’t better friends, our dads that is. I think they see the weakness in each other and it makes them sick, thinking that they are exactly the same. Our moms couldn’t be friends because who would win an argument? They’d kill each other.”

“Yeah, our moms disagreeing would be like trying to tell someone to stand in the corner of a circular room. It would just go on forever….” Sounds of a bicycle on the street had Beth’s heart skipping a beat. Craig? Again?

“It’s all right. He’s harmless.”

She nodded at Ryan, but she wasn’t completely sure. Of all of the people who stayed at Phoebe Day’s facility, Craig was the one that scared her the most. The rumors about him were different than the others. Beth wanted her window closed and locked now. “I guess I’ll let you get some sleep. I hope everything goes well tomorrow. Are you coming back tomorrow night?”

“I’m not sure. My dad really wants to get tickets to see the Royals while we’re there, but he thought the game might be sold out. He said he’d have to call.”

Beth’s eyebrows crinkled together. “Why didn’t he call today?”

The look on Ryan’s face said enough, but after a deep sigh, he replied, “Monthly credit card payment hasn’t gone through yet. Maybe tomorrow.”

“Oh, right.” She managed a reassuring smile. It was no secret Ryan’s medical treatment was expensive, and he blamed himself for some of the things his parents went without, including the state of their home. “Well, I’ll cross my fingers for you. I’ll see you when you get back.” The creaking of the bike had her hurrying to get the window closed, and she hardly heard Ryan tell her to have a good night.

Once the window was locked, Beth pulled the blinds down and let out her breath. She felt very lucky to have such a good friend right across the way from her own bedroom, but sometimes it also made her feel like she was never truly alone. Sometimes she needed to shut the world out, make it go away.

Craig’s bicycle faded off in the distance, and Beth fought the temptation to go to the window. She flipped the light switch off and fell on top of her blankets, not changing clothes just yet. Craig wheeled away, and Beth tucked an arm behind her head. Had Sammy actually asked her out tonight—as a joke? Who was this Halley girl, and would she end up stealing Sammy away from both herself and Carly? Beth groaned and pulled herself up so she could pull on an oversized T-shirt and climb back into bed. The night outside was silent save a passing car a few blocks down, and she began to give in to the heaviness of her eyelids. Her last thought before she slipped into oblivion had nothing to do with Sammy or Halley, though. It was Ryan, and they were in the science lab in seventh grade. “Why do you think you’re better than everyone else, Monroe? Just because you’re a genius, that doesn’t make you better….”