“Are you always this sneaky, Ms. Jones?”
“I am when I’m on a mission. Now get moving before they spot us.”
He gave a mock salute and kept to the shadows as he rounded the side of the house and around the back. He turned the knob quietly and slid into the dark interior. The house was nearly complete, all that remained to be done was carpet, some painting, and finishing work.
He heard Karen open the front door.
Instead of doing this in the dark, Zach flipped the switch next to the door and illuminated the kitchen. The door to the garage was in his line of sight, and there weren’t any kids running away.
“Becky?” Karen’s voice sang in the empty house, echoing off the bare walls. “Honey, I know you’re here.”
Zach went ahead and opened the door leading to the garage and saw Nolan’s car. “Nolan?” he called out.
“It’s OK you two. We just want to help.” Karen’s voice sounded closer.
Zach walked from the kitchen and noticed her standing at the foot of the stairs.
Above him, the floor squeaked.
“Nolan, buddy, you’re not in trouble here. We just want to talk to you two.” When silence met them, he said. “I saw your car.”
Karen kept her eyes on the stairs and waited. Finally, footsteps sounded above them until Nolan stood holding Becky’s hand at the top of the landing. “She’s not going back to her parents.”
Zach noticed the dark bruise alongside Becky’s face at the same moment Karen gasped.
Karen ran up the stairs and hesitated when Becky flinched at her approach. “Oh, baby. Who did this to you?”
Becky looked at Nolan then back to Karen.
Zach waited at the foot of the stairs and listened.
“You should tell them,” Nolan said. “Maybe they can help.”
Becky nudged closer to Nolan, whose arm slid around her shoulders. When the girl started to cry Zach noticed Karen’s body tense.
“Let’s sit down,” Karen suggested.
Nolan nodded. “We have a couple of chairs up here.”
Zach walked toward them and followed them into the master bedroom where Nolan had blown up an air mattress and had two folding chairs sitting beside a suitcase. There were food wrappers and a few bottles of water sitting off to the side.
“I clear everything out before anyone shows up,” Nolan explained. “I’m sorry, Mr. Gardner. I didn’t know where else to go. I’ve saved up some money, but not enough.”
Zach waved a hand in the air. “Don’t say another word.” The bruise on Becky’s face and the marks on her arms proved Nolan had more to protect than just the knowledge that his girlfriend was pregnant. If in fact she was. “I meant it when I said you’re not in trouble. We just want to help.”
Nolan and Becky sat on the mattress beside each other, holding hands and looking as scared as mice in a kitchen full of cats.
After Karen took a chair, Zach grabbed the remaining one, turned it around, and straddled it.
When it appeared that the kids weren’t going to talk, Karen let out a heavy sigh.
Chapter Twenty
Karen’s hands shook as she waited for the couple sitting in front of her to talk. The bruise on Becky’s face made her want to hit someone…preferably whoever had struck the teen. The determined but slightly scared expression on Nolan’s face made her want to whisk them both away without any questions at all.
If this was going to be her life’s work, helping kids, runaways…then it started right here, with painful silence and patience.
Zach zipped his lips shut and waited right along with her.
She felt his eyes on her and she offered a smile. He lifted an eyebrow toward Nolan and she shook her head as if asking him just to wait.
“She can’t go back,” Nolan said for the second time.
Becky sat with her head tucked into Nolan’s shoulder, the bruise was still visible for Karen to see and question.
“Is that where the bruises came from? Your parents?” Karen asked softly.
Becky’s reply was a tiny nod.
“Have they hit you before?” Zach asked.
Again, Becky nodded, but said nothing.
“How long have you known about this, Nolan?” Zach’s direct question caught Karen off guard.
Nolan snapped his gaze to Zach. “I didn’t know.” Nolan’s defenses came up like a shield in battle. “Becky told me she fell.”
“No one is blaming you,” Karen told him and glared at Zach.
“I didn’t tell anyone,” Becky mumbled. “It didn’t happen all the time. Just…” Her voice trailed off.
“So you ran away.”
“I had to.” Becky looked at Karen now, her eyes swollen and red.
Karen nodded. “I would, too. Much easier to run away than allow yourself to be hit.”
“I wanted to go to the police,” Nolan told them.
Becky shook her head. “No. Please…”
Karen held back her own thoughts on the subject of the police for now. “How old are you, Becky?”
“Seventeen.”
“Nolan?”
“I’ll be nineteen in three months.”
Karen glanced at Zach. Concern marred his brow.
“So what’s your plan?” Best to figure out what the kids thought they knew and help them come to the right conclusions instead of telling them they weren’t thinking at all.
Nolan sat up straighter. “Becky and I are getting married.”
Karen nodded, as if contemplating that route.
“That way she’ll be emancipated from her parents. Then they can’t make her do anything.”
She scratched her head. “Well. It’s true that a married minor is emancipated from their parents, but in order for a minor to get married they need a parent’s permission.”
Nolan scowled. “But Becky’s pregnant—”
“Nolan!” Becky turned on him quickly and Nolan snapped his mouth closed.
“It’s OK. Zach and I already figured that out,” Karen assured the teenagers.
Their wide eyes watched both of them.
“How?”
“I work with a lot of teens back in California. I know the signs.” She waited for the knowledge that everyone in the room understood the situation to sink in before she popped Nolan’s bubble. “Unfortunately, Becky’s pregnancy doesn’t give her the right to get married without her parents’ consent.”
“But—”
“It’s the law. Meant to keep kids from making lifelong mistakes.”
“But we love each other. And now with the baby…”
Becky went back to staring at anything but her or Zach.
“You want to do the right thing, Nolan…we understand that,” Zach said. “Marriage is a big step.”
“So is having a baby.”
“Yep. Huge,” Karen added. “The baby will come whether you’re ready or not. Marriage on the other hand doesn’t have to happen today.”
“But—”
“If you did manage to lie and get a license, Becky’s parents could void the license because of her age. Worse, they could try and bring charges against you because you’re considered an adult.”
Nolan’s blank expression made Karen pause.
“Nolan hasn’t done anything wrong,” Becky muttered.
“I didn’t say he did. I’m just pointing out possibilities. Here’s another one. There isn’t a court out there that would make Becky live with her dad if he’s hitting her.”
Becky shook her head and a tear ran down her face. “It’s not my dad.”
“Oh?” Karen wasn’t expecting that.
“It’s my mom. My dad hits her if she doesn’t punish me.”
The blood rushed from Karen’s face. If she wasn’t sitting she probably would have fallen with Becky’s admission. How many ways can a parent fuck up someone’s life?
“They can’t stay here,” Zach told her ten minutes later when they broke away from the teens to talk ab
out the situation.
“No. Becky needs a real bed and some much-needed rest. I’ll bet she hasn’t even seen a doctor yet.”
“I can take them back to my house—”
“Too risky. And until we can convince Becky that she’s the sole victim in this situation, she’ll avoid the authorities. You harboring a runaway wouldn’t be the smartest idea.”
“You harboring a runaway isn’t any better.”
“I don’t live here.”
“What does that matter?” Zach asked.
“It doesn’t,” she said with a chuckle. “But I can’t ask you to do more than you have.”
“You’re not asking. I’m volunteering.”
She smiled. “I appreciate that. But this is what I do. I have a few ideas and need time to think about this situation. Taking Becky closer to her parents is going to cause her a lot of anxiety, which can’t be healthy for the baby…or for her.”
Zach gazed at the floor. “Yeah. You’re right. I can’t believe her parents. Mothers are supposed to protect their kids.” Zach’s voice had a bite to it.
“Not all mothers are the same. You’re lucky to have Janice.”
He brought his arm up and glanced at his watch. “Oh, damn…I’ll bet they’re worried that I didn’t get back up the mountain.”
“You should call them.”
“I will.”
Karen heard Becky and Nolan whispering in the room and turned her head their way.
Zach placed his hand on her shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. “They’re going to be OK.”
“I know. I’m just sick for them.”
“You and me both.”
“There’s something we haven’t considered.”
“I’m listening,” Zach said.
“If Becky’s parents realize that they could be brought up on charges, they might just let her go.”
“You mean let her run away, or give their permission for them to get married?”
“Either…both. Although I’d love to convince them to hold off on marriage right away. It’s their decision, but they’re both so young.”
Zach was rubbing her arm now and leaning close enough for her to absorb his heat, his strength.
“Let’s get them out of here.”
They packed all their stuff into the back of Zach’s truck and drove to Bell. There, Karen rented a room with two beds, hiding Nolan and Becky in Zach’s truck until they pulled around the back of the motel.
Karen tossed her suitcase on one of the two beds. Zach stood by the door and once again, Becky took the space beside Nolan.
“So here is what I think we should do,” she began, looking at Nolan. “Tomorrow Zach can come back here and pick you up, take you to work…unless you want to go home with Zach tonight.”
“I want to stay with Becky.” Nolan’s voice was firm.
“Fine. But if you don’t show up at work and someone’s watching, they’re going to know you two are together. We need a couple of days to figure out how to get you both what you want. And unless I’m wrong, I don’t think you’ve seen a doctor yet…right, Becky?”
The girl shifted her eyes to the floor. “No.”
“So tomorrow I’ll rent a car, and I’ll drive Becky over to St. George. We’ll find a doctor and get you and the baby checked out. St. George should be far enough away to avoid anyone recognizing you, don’t you think?”
Becky glanced between Nolan and Karen. “Yeah, I guess.”
Karen glanced at Zach. “I’ll call you from St. George. I have a few contacts back home who might be able to advise me on what to do next.” Karen knew it would be easier to blend into a bigger city than the town they were in now, but she didn’t want to worry Becky or Nolan about the possibility of staying in St. George until the legalities could be worked out.
“Karen?” Becky asked with a timid voice.
“Yes, honey?”
“Why are you doing this? You don’t even know me.”
All eyes in the room were on her.
“I’m incapable of walking away from good kids in shitty situations.”
Becky diverted her eyes. “I’m not a good kid. I ended up pregnant—”
“Whoa!” Karen made a cutting motion to her neck. “Enough of that. Yeah, maybe you two could have done something to prevent a pregnancy, but that doesn’t make you a bad kid. You have hormones just like everyone else. They’re really powerful when you care for someone and damn hard to resist. A bad kid would have their baby in a bathroom and toss the infant in the trash…you plan on doing that?”
“No!” The horror on Becky’s face was exactly what Karen was aiming for.
“Good to know. Now enough of the bad kid talk.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“So we’re all in agreement about tomorrow?”
Nolan and Becky offered slow nods and Zach asked to talk to Karen outside before he left for the night.
“Are you sure you want me to leave you here?” Zach asked as they walked across the parking lot and out of hearing range.
“Do you have a better idea?”
Zach chuckled. “Not a one.”
Karen leaned up against his truck and rubbed the back of her neck. This was not how she thought this day was going to end. “I’m afraid if we left them here alone they’d run off. If Becky’s parents pressed charges, Nolan would end up in jail.”
“I thought about that. What a shitty world. The kid doing the right thing is screwed while the messed-up parents get away with everything.” Zach leaned against the truck. “Are you going to tell me why you’re really doing this?”
“I really can’t walk away from a sad story.” She tried not to look in his eyes and feel him looking deeper.
“There’s more to it than that.”
It had taken her over a year to tell Michael about her parents, but Zach was different.
“My parents are still alive, Zach. My father didn’t use his fist to abuse his power over his child.” She remembered her father walking into her room, and the wave of discomfort that swam over her in the moments leading up to…“I was barely a teenager, just in a training bra, and he started looking at me different.” The entire memory was clouded…as if she could make it different just by looking the other way.
Zach’s body tensed, and the playful smile fell from his lips, his fist clenched at his side.
“He came to me one night, kissed, and touched me.” Destroyed her trust…made her feel dirty just by existing. “It was awful.”
The familiar hurt sat in her chest and threatened tears.
Zach pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her as if he could protect her from her memories.
“Good God, Karen.”
She was in the kitchen, helping her mother clean the dishes. A rare moment since her mother wasn’t much for household chores.
Karen took the moment alone with her mom to open up.
“Mom?”
“Yeah?” Her mom slapped another dish into the drainage rack for Karen to dry.
She stared to shake…more nervous than ever about the words that threatened to escape her lips. Her mom worked at a local bar, lived on the tips she’d earned. She left her alone with her dad a lot. Something that started to bother Karen more and more as the years moved on. Now she understood why.
The plate in her hand fell to the floor with a resounding crash.
April, her mother, turned off the water and scolded her. “Dammit. That’s the third dish you broke this month.”
“Sorry.”
“You should be more careful.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”
April squatted to the floor and started to clean up the mess.
Karen stood there and watched her mother.
“Well, aren’t you going to help me?” April yelled.
Karen removed the trash from under the sink, picked up the big pieces, and tossed them inside. The last bit caught her finger and gashed the end. She sat there on the floor wat
ching her finger bleed. So much pain for such a small cut.
“What’s wrong with you? Get that in the water. Stupid girl.”
Karen stood and turned on the faucet and let the water run over her finger for several minutes.
“What is your problem?”
Tears started to fall before Karen opened her mouth. “Mom…”
“What?”
“Dad…he…”
April stood perfectly still. Waiting. As if she knew what was coming. “What?” Her voice was gruff, making it even harder for Karen to force the words from her lips.
“He…” Tears were flowing now. Each syllable harder than the last to produce. “He…”
“Spit it out.”
Part of Karen told her to shut her mouth. Keep it inside. The other part, the one that told her it was wrong that her own father had touched her in the ways that her sexual education class in fifth grade had taught her, kept her lips moving. “He touched me.”
April waited. The water ran in the sink and neither of them gave it any attention.
“On my privates.”
April shut the water off, nearly taking the faucet with her. “You’re a liar. Always embellishing the truth. Last Saturday you said I came home at three…I was home by two thirty.”
Karen’s lip trembled. It was three. And her mom was drunk.
“I’m not lying.”
Karen’s head spun with the slap her mother delivered. Her mom hadn’t struck her since she was a toddler.
“Go to bed. Think about what you’re saying.”
Karen turned, left her mom…and never saw her again.
She wrapped her arms around Zach and pushed back her rising emotions. “I told my mom but she called me a liar. Then they both just left.”
He cradled her head in his hands and pulled away enough to look into her eyes.
“What do you mean they left?”
This story didn’t get any easier. “They packed their bags and left. I sat in the house for a week before I realized they weren’t coming back. I was scared, alone. Worried about how I was going to live, eat. My aunt lived on the other side of the country and there wasn’t any other family. Eventually my school notified the authorities and my aunt stepped in.”
“How old were you?” he asked with a hoarse whisper.
The Weekday Brides 04 - Single by Saturday Page 19
