Chapter
27
“Where are THEY Leslie? WHERE are they?” Jane was
looking through every room on the first floor, then rapidly heading towards the
stairs. Leslie tried to grab her arms but Jane slapped her hands
away. She knew she was getting closer. She heard loud footsteps and
looked up to see 4 dark shapes glaring down at her. Kevin, Howie, AJ, and
Brian. They stood like a chain-link fence, blocking the stairway.
Kevin was in the center with his arms folded over his chest, “I don’t
recall inviting you into my home Jane,” he spoke coldly.
“I don’t recall giving my children
permission to be in your house Kevin... ANY of them. Where are Nick and
BJ?”
“What makes you think that we know?”
AJ challenged her.
Jane rolled her eyes, “Enough of these
games. I could have you all charged with kidnapping. Leslie is barely 14
years old... Move aside, if you won’t tell me where they are then I’ll find
them myself.”
They stood strong, blocking the
stairway, “You’ve hurt them enough Jane, can’t you leave them be for a few more
days?”
“Hurt them?” Jane choked out
incredulously, “How can I hurt my own children? Let me through.”
Kevin and Howie moved closer together
to block her escape.
“I’m warning you I will call the
police,” Jane growled.
“And what will that look like in the
media Jane, isn’t that what you care about the most?” Brian sneered.
Jane paled, then slapped him.
Brian held his head high, his expression remaining the same. “You
horrible people. I cannot believe I ever allowed my son to travel with you.
All the problems he has... I bet he gets them from you! You...”
“SHUT THE HELL UP MOTHER!”
Five heads turned to face Nick who
stood in the doorways of Nick’s designated room. Nick clutched the
doorframe weakly and soon BJ appeared beside him taking his arm and coaxing him
back inside the room.
“What did you say to me?”
“ I said shut up.... You don’t
give a DAMN about me. If you did... if you did you would have helped me a
long time ago when I was practically screaming for it! You never saw me
Mother...”
Jane felt her demeanor wilting, “I saw
you Nicky. I saw you and I did help you. I got you a counselor...”
“WHO DID SHIT FOR ME!” Nick yelled
hitting the wall, “All he did was give me an easy out instead of dealing with
my problems. Did you know that mother, or was it ok with you because
ramming all those drugs down my throat shut me up?!”
Jane stared blankly at him, “Get
your things. Bobbie Jean you get your things too. Leslie!” Jane turned to see
if she could search out the form of her youngest daughter, “We’re going home.”
“No,” BJ said softly but firmly, “I’m
staying here, and so is Nick.”
Jane whipped her head back towards
them, “I said get your things. She tried to push her way through the
chain-link fence of bodies but was held back, “Nickolas, tell them to step
away.”
Nick stood silent in the doorway, his
body visibly trembling. BJ wrapped her arms around him trying to transfer some
of her body heat into him.
“Nicky?” Jane’s voice trembled, she
stared at her two oldest children who stared back at her. A single tear ran
down her face before she cleared her throat and literally shook herself,
“Leslie, we’re leaving.” She turned and began to travel down the stairs, she turned
back once to look all 4 boys over, “You haven’t won yet.”
Then she continued on down the stairs
still yelling for Leslie to gather her things.
“What are you doing?” Aaron asked his
father as he barged into Aaron’s hotel room and began tossing Aaron’s things
into a bag.
“We’re going to Florida,” Bob said
simply.
“Why?” Aaron said never making eye
contact with his father, he instead stared at the television set ahead of him.
“Your mother went to Florida... left
right after I called her. I think that’s where Nick and the girls are.”
Aaron perked up immediately, “Are we
leaving soon?”
“As soon as we get to the airport,”
Bob said tossing aside one bag and hurriedly filling another. Aaron sat staring
at him, “Dad?”
“Yes?”
“Why do care so much all of a sudden?
Is there something really wrong?”
Bob threw a glance back at
Aaron, “Yeah, there’s something really wrong, and it’s me. I have to make
things right... and I wanna do it now, before Jane has a chance to poison his
mind against me...”
“His mind really doesn’t need much
help from her,” Aaron muttered helping his father pack his bags.
Bob glared at him sharply, “Meet me in
10 minutes outside, a taxi should be waiting for us.”
Aaron smiled sweetly at him, not
bothering to disguise the sarcasm in it. As soon as Bob had left the room
he dove for the phone. He dialed BJ’s cell phone number that he knew by
heart and listened to it ring, BJ please pick up. I have to warn you
about company coming.
“Some one give me a hand here,” BJ was
grunting under Nick’s weight.. It may not have been much but she was still
staggering under it. Brian and Kevin were there in an instant, Kevin
picking Nick up, and Brian hurrying to the bed to move away the TV table and
soup. Kevin set Nick down on the bed where Nick curled up in a small ball
and whimpered like a wounded puppy.
“Oh Nick,” BJ lie down beside him and
began to run her hands through his hair. She grabbed the blankets which
were tangled at the foot of the bed and struggled to pull them over Nick.
Brian took the task from her and
spread the blanket over the both of them, “Why don’t you both get some sleep?”
he suggested, “You need it. You haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a while
BJ.”
BJ nodded slightly. She moved closer
to Nick... She remembered back when they were little... Back when she had been
afraid of the boogie man. She remembered slipping from her room into her
big brothers. She remembered climbing into his bed. He’d be reading a comic
book by flashlight with devilish pleasure... Mom or Dad had undoubtedly
told him to go to sleep hours ago, but he just had to finish his comic.
He would open his blankets and BJ would climb in. She always felt
safe with him.... He would always protect her. But tonight, tonight she would
be protecting him. She smoothed his hair away from his lurid face and
murmured something comforting in his ear. She could feel his trembles lessen at
her words and she smiled. Then she closed her eyes and fell asleep....
Leslie jumped as BJ’s cell phone rang,
she snatched it open and pressed the “send” button. She had no belongings with
her and simply sat on the couch waiting for her mother’s angry facade to end.
“Hello?”
“Hello? BJ?”
“No...”
“Leslie?”
“Aaron?”
“It’s dad. Dad knows where you are and
he’s coming. Now. I gotta go,” the line disconnected.
“Aaron? Aaron hello?” Leslie was
saying into the phone. She felt her mother’s nails on her hand. Jane took
the phone, “Aaron?” She closed the phone at hearing the dead air, “What did he
say?”
Leslie was quiet as Aaron’s
words sunk in... Great more fuel to the fire...
“Leslie?!”
“Dad’s on his way...”
“Dammit”
***
