While they didn’t have time to visit very often, Sergeant Brady and Officer Daniels did make frequent passes down Blossom Street. Brady still felt a sense of custodial responsibility for the family while Daniels still didn’t buy the whole ‘look who just happened to turn up all on his own’ story.
Officer Daniels’s reservations were all the more vindicated when they were called back to Tara’s apartment not six weeks after the incident, and again a month after that. Cole was making a habit of disappearing in the middle of the night. Each time he would vanish without a trace, only to be heard coming down the stairs a few days later with a soft thump-thump.
The neighbors, who were so helpful during the first occurrence, now turned their noses to Tara as if she was something revolting that a dog had dragged in. Headlines in the paper now read ‘MOTHER LOSES CHILD IN OWN HOUSE…AGAIN!’ and ‘BLOSSOM STREET MOM TO LOSE CUSTODY AFTER THIRD OFFENSE’.
The case was reopened and a social worker was assigned to Tara’s family. Brady and Daniels were reassigned since they were too closely involved with the first incident. The state detective and social worker both seemed hell bent on taking Joshua and Cole from her.
The small apartment had been scoured by forensics teams from the town, state, and even the FBI after the third occurrence. Cole had supervised visits with a pediatric psychologist a few times a week who, try as he might, couldn’t get the boy to divulge anything regarding his little adventures. None of it made sense. The landlord installed top-notch child-proof fittings on every window and exterior door. Questioning the boy amounted to nothing, just as each thorough search of the apartment. Only one explanation remained; Tara must have something to do with it.
Tara was charged with criminal negligence and child endangerment. Her saving grace was a firm testimony given by Nana Beth, as well as Sergeant Brady pulling every string he could in the department. As a result, Tara retained custody of Cole and Joshua, but was placed on a suspended status until both boys were adults. The social worker visited twice a week thenceforth, and if Tara so much as missed a doctor’s appointment the state would take her children for good.
Nana Beth was a saint throughout the whole ordeal. When the world turned against Tara, the old matron was as resolute as ever. Reporters ceased all visits after Nana Beth heard them bringing Tara to tears with their rapid-fire loaded questions. Without warning the old woman swooped down on one reporter like some ancient bird of prey. After a black eye and losing a very expensive camera, Channel 7 decided to pursue stories that were more financially practical, leaving Tara to raise her boys in relative peace.
Chapter 2
Breaking Point
“Cole wake up. Lights. Cole, I want lights please.”
“There are no lights, Joshy. The sun’s up. There’s your light,” Cole mumbled from under his blankets. “Go back to bed, Joshy. Wait, what time-aww Joshy come on! Why do you have to wake me up five minutes before mom does? I want to sleep!”
“Sorry,” Joshua said plainly.
Huffing, Cole whipped his blankets off and jumped out of bed. He walked over to his door as if to leave the room but instead rapped the wood with his knuckles. “Mom! Mom we’re up, can you let us out now? I have to pee.”
A moment later, shuffling footsteps came from the creaky stairs, followed by the clacking of a latch being undone.
“Good morning boys. How’d we -whoa Cole, where’s the fire?” She raised an arm as Cole darted under it, sprinting for the bathroom. “At least he’s here this morning. How’d you sleep, Joshy? Did you see Cole come in last night?”
Joshua sat up and laughed, “Lights, ha ha ha!”
“The lights again huh? What color were they this time?” Tara asked, snatching up a rogue sock.
Joshua gave her a blank stare and shrugged, “I dunno.”
“Well you’re a big help aren’t you?” Tara chided with a hand on her hip. “Why don’t you come down to breakfast and we can talk to Cole about these lights. You keep bringing them up when Cole goes away.”
Cole was now ten years old and the disappearances had returned, this time far worse than when he was a toddler. His vanishings now happened as much as twice a week in the last month alone. The school principal questioned Tara on her son’s truancy and made several threats, which he had yet to follow up on. Tara ran through every excuse in the book; stomach bug, night terrors, common cold, chickenpox, just to name a few. Tara nearly called the police when it first started happening again, but after Cole reappeared in his room hours later, she knew what she was in for.
Aside from his vanishing acts, Cole had grown up to be as normal as any kid his age, though his teachers would say he was too rough at recess. Before Cole’s most recent bout of vanishings, the principal would call to scold Tara for Cole’s behavior, stating that he seemed to find his way into every scuffle in the school. The reason was always the same. Cole was very protective of his younger brother.
It wasn’t until the first grade that Cole began to realize his brother was not like the other kids, right around the age when children are first capable of cruelty. Joshua was born with low-functioning Down Syndrome. During preschool and kindergarten Joshua’s mental handicaps were not so prevalent. The other kids thought no differently of him. However, it became more and more apparent every year that Joshua was not keeping pace with his friends’ mental and social developments.
Coming home from school one day, Cole asked his mother what an orangutan was. Not thinking anything of it, Tara replied, “An orangutan is an orange monkey that lives in the jungle. Are you learning about jungle animals in school?”
Cole frowned and fidgeted with his coat’s zipper, “No. Mommy the kids in my class said Joshy looked like an orangutan. Why would they say that, Mommy? Is it because Joshy has orange hair like an orangutan?”
Tara always tried to be strong in front of her boys and would never let them see her cry, but this was too much. Wiping off the tears she crouched down and gently grasped Cole’s shoulders. “Colton, Joshy is… different. Joshy is never going to be as big or smart as you or the other kids in class. To us, Joshy is just Joshy. But to everyone else Joshy looks and acts different. There are lots of awful people out there, Colton, and they’re going to be mean to Joshy and try to hurt him. That’s just the way the world is. You need to be a good big brother and protect him. Will you protect Joshy from the mean people?”
The then seven-year-old Cole took these words to heart, and from that day onward he became Joshua’s sworn guardian in the halls and at recess. Unfortunately this meant Cole frequented the principal’s office with a bruised face and raw knuckles as Joshua’s bullies got more creative and specific with their remarks.
Downstairs, the now ten-year-old Cole was pouring himself a bowl of Fruity Pebbles. Sucking on the inside of her lip, Tara dragged a chair right over to her oldest son and sat next to him. “So Colton, do you know what day it is?”
Cole didn’t look up from the puzzle on the back of the cereal box. “Friday,” he replied in between bites.
“No Cole, it’s Monday,” Tara’s voice was low, though Cole could sense her anger rising. “You’ve missed a day of school and been gone all weekend. Any idea where you were this time?”
“No idea.” Cole looked up from his puzzle and squinted. “Had a dream about whales though. They were flying and singing to me. I got to ride one.”
Tara’s eyes shot to the ceiling, as though praying for patience. “Colton you were gone for over three days this time. You know what’s going to happen if someone finds out you were missing, right?” Cole buried his face in his cereal. “You and Joshy will be taken by the state and you’ll go off to a foster home and I’ll be put in jail. Is that what you want?”
“Mom it’s not my fault!” Cole pleaded. “I really don’t know where I go. I don’t remember anything and it’s not my fault, no matter what you say.” He sniffed, willing his tears to stay put. “I don’t want to go away. Can’t we just tell people I was sleeping at
Nana Beth’s?”
Clearly unimpressed, Tara cocked her head and looked down at her son. “After school you and I are going to have a talk. I don’t care how long it takes. You’re going to sit there and try until you remember something. No TV or video games until you remember something.” Tara crossed her arms and gave Cole a glare only mothers are capable of.
“How are you going to punish me for something that I can’t even control? I didn’t do anything wrong. I haven’t gotten into any fights in a while and I’ve been doing my chores,” Cole bargained. The video games were a low blow in his eyes.
Tara swept across the kitchen and straightened out Joshua’s outfit. “No, pull your pants up. Up I said. No not that high. C’mon Joshy you look like an old man with high-waters. There you go, now have a seat while mommy gets you some cereal.” She stomped to the cabinet and set to Joshua’s breakfast. “Relax Cole, it’s just a talk, not torture. Spyro will be there when we’re finished. You’ve been on those video games too much lately anyway.” She ignored Cole’s moans as she poured Joshua’s cereal. “This affects everyone in the house and it’s been getting worse. If we can’t figure something out we’re going back to the therapist.”
Cole knew it was an idle threat. The last trip to Doctor Garvey had been risky to say the least. He’d kept asking Tara weird questions when she brought up the ‘sleepwalking’. She had seemed to forget to mention he had been missing for forty hours at a time. When Doctor Garvey had started talking about the safety of her children, Tara had quickly changed the subject to an innocent case of nightmares.
Cole stomped out of the house, weighed down by his backpack and foul mood as he led his brother to the bus stop. Tara’s talks were dreadful at best. She wouldn’t take no for an answer and never seemed to run out of questions. His mood lightened somewhat when the bus arrived. Ashley was on this bus and she always saved him a seat.
“Hey Cole! Good morning Joshua. I saved you a seat right next to me, Cole.” Ashley shuffled her bag under her seat to make room, slapping the vinyl seat next to her.
“What’s up, Ashley? Did you do anything fun this -hey Joshy, no Joshy, you sit here next to us.” Cole put a hand on Joshua’s shoulder, stopping him.
“Sorry, ha ha ha!” Joshua’s laughter filled the bus, halting conversations and drawing amused looks.
Joshua frequently tried to sit in the back of the bus. Cole knew it was because that’s where the cool older kids sat and Joshua wanted to be one of them. Unfortunately, the cool older kids were also the mean older kids, and Cole had to protect his little brother from them.
“Where were you on Friday?” Ashley asked, scrunching her nose. “I had to sit all by myself. Were you sick again? You get sick a lot you know.”
“Yeah I had the uh… ear infection. So, did you do anything fun this weekend, Ashley?” Cole asked, ignoring the laughter coming from the back of the bus.
Ashley leaned back over her seat and fixed Joshua’s hat, which was tilted in such a way that drew even more attention to his grinning face. “There Joshua, now you look cool too. Um, yeah my parents brought me and Sarah down into Boston to the aquarium on Saturday. Cole It was so cool! There were cute little penguins that you could throw food to and there were sharks as big as a car and stingrays with pointy stingers.” Her curled fingers shot up to her lips as her eyes looked past him. “The deep sea exhibit was scary though, I didn’t like that part. All the deep sea fish look like monsters. What about you, did you do anything fun?”
Cole fidgeted with the zipper on his jacket. He didn’t know what he had done this weekend. He wanted to tell Ashley about the whales from his dreams but that didn’t seem as exciting as a day out in Boston, not to mention it would probably get him in loads of trouble. He wasn’t supposed to talk about his vanishings. “My mom was working all weekend so I had to watch Joshy. Pretty boring weekend for me.”
“Aww Cole you’re so cute the way you take care of Joshua.” Ashley smiled. “Really though, I think it’s very responsible of you. Isn’t your big brother just the best, Joshua?”
“Yah, ha ha ha!” Joshua giggled.
Cole could feel his chest swelling with pride. He liked Ashley, he knew that for a fact. She was the prettiest girl he knew, and she had a way of making him feel like he was more than the poor loser with the retarded little brother. And she said he was cute. If only he knew how to ask a girl out.
“Thanks, Ashley.” Cole grinned sheepishly. “I guess I am a good brother. It bothers me sometimes though, having to take care of Joshy all the time. I want to go out and make friends. I want to go to aquariums and stuff…with you,” said Cole, saying the last part in his head.
Ashley listened, eyes drooping with concern. Her eyes suddenly lit up as she smiled and punched Cole in the arm. “Well Cole thanks for not noticing, but you have a friend right here next to you! I can be your friend outside of the bus too. Next weekend we are going back to Boston to check out the museum of science. It’s supposed to be amazing! They have a big lightning machine that shoots lightning all over this room and you’re only protected by a metal fence. You should ask your mom if it’s ok.”
Cole could hardly believe what he was hearing. He let her words sink in for a moment before the bus hit a large bump that lifted everyone from their seats.
“Hey Joshy! Hey buddy where’d you get that hat?”
Mark Sullivan, a sixth grader with the loudest, dumbest laugh Cole had ever heard was waving to Joshua amongst his nearly equally loud and dumb friends. Joshua stood up, actually shorter than sitting, took off his hat and waved it back and forth as if it was on fire.
Mark and his friends exploded with laughter. They did this almost every day. Joshua was an eager source of entertainment for them and they also took pleasure in goading Cole, a two-for-one deal. Cole could feel his face getting hot as he clenched his fists.
“Joshy sit back down!” Cole shouted. “I said sit down Joshy, those guys are trying to make you look dumb.” Cole grabbed his brother’s arm and wrestled him back into his seat.
“C’maan Cole! That’s my friend,” Joshua protested, cramming his hat back on, crooked of course.
“They are not your friends! Those kids are making fun of you, and I’m really getting sick of it…” Cole trailed off, taking a step towards the back of the bus.
“Cole don’t, you’ll get in trouble,” Ashley pleaded, grasping at Cole’s sleeve, “And there’s like, four of them and they’re huge!”
“Hey Cole, that’s a sweet jacket, man,” Mark called out. “Where’d you and Joshy pick out your threads, the thrift shop on main street?” Mark laughed his high-pitched machine-gun laugh. “You know you’re not supposed to buy all your clothes there, that place is only for Halloween costumes. At least you’ll be all set for Halloween, right? You can go as a poor person.”
The hot anger in Cole’s cheeks curdled into shame as the sixth graders howled with laughter, waxing on not so eloquently about the state of his and Joshua’s clothes. Tears dripped from the corners of his eyes as he sat down next to Joshua and buried his face in the collar of his second-hand coat. Joshua looked confused at his big brother’s behavior.
“What’s wrong Cole? You sad? You cry?” Joshua poked his big brother with his little fingers. “I know, I help. Joshy protect you, Cole.”
Joshua wrapped his arms as far as he could around Cole, who shrugged him off. Joshua was not supposed to see him cry. Ashley was certainly not supposed to see him cry.
Cole wouldn’t speak to Ashley the rest of the way to school, despite her best efforts to console him. He was too ashamed, and those kids were right anyway. He didn’t want to be seen in his lame clothes while everyone else strutted around in nice jeans and polos from the mall. He twisted his stupid jacket in his hands, wishing he could tear all his clothes off. When the bus arrived Cole hurried off, dragging his little brother behind him before Mark and his friends could find something else to laugh at.
Even though the day started off rough for
Cole, he was back to normal by mid-morning. Unlike most ten-year-old boys, Cole enjoyed school. Maybe not the lessons and curriculum, but the atmosphere had a certain appeal Cole couldn’t find anywhere else. Here, during group projects and recess, it was like having friends. Because of Cole’s history he lived a fairly sheltered life. As he grew older he began to suspect that his mother kept him from getting too close with anyone because then they might find out about his problem. He understood, but it was no easier a pill to swallow. The other kids were always talking about the fun stuff they had done after school. Cole had no such stories to share.
The morning was a breeze for Cole. Fortunately, Mrs. Cutler put on a movie first thing, which gave him some time to dry his eyes and collect himself. By the end of the movie he had all but forgotten about stupid Mark Sullivan. During morning recess Ashley found Cole and let him know just how stupid she thought Mark Sullivan was, and she just so happened to like his jacket. As usual, Ashley had a way of making Cole think he was something more, someone bigger than himself. She then officially invited him to join her family on their trip to the museum of science this weekend.
Cole was a little less attentive the rest of the day. The prospect of an entire day with Ashley set a flock of butterflies dancing about in his belly. Was it a date? Would they be boyfriend and girlfriend after this? No, probably not, but maybe someday.
Mrs. Cutler was droning on about something to do with how the American government had borrowed money from France, and that put Cole’s thoughts on the topic of money itself. He would need some new clothes if he was to be seen in Boston, and some money for lunch, and some more for a ticket. He had never asked his mom for money since she was always complaining about how they were broke. Cole sank lower in his chair as his hopes sank somewhere down around his shoes.
Saving The Dark Side: Book 1: The Devotion Page 2
