by Kai Juniper
I no longer want that life. I want a life with Dean, and friends like Eve. My school isn't great but it's not bad. My AP classes are getting more challenging and I like most of my teachers. I have no desire to go back to Haverhill but telling my dad that won't be easy. As a lawyer, he treats everything like a case and he doesn't like to lose. If I want to change his mind I'll have to be my own lawyer and fight for what I want. I'll have to prepare, lay out my case, and then present it in a way he'll accept. That'll take time and it's not going to be easy.
"Hi, honey," my mom says as she walks in the door. "I thought you'd still be at the hospital."
"They wouldn't let me see him." I walk up to her as she sets her purse down. "They figured out I'm not his sister."
"Well, I'm sure he'll be moved to a regular room soon where he can have visitors." She walks to the kitchen. "Did you have dinner?"
"Yeah, I had a frozen meal."
"I think I'll have one too." She opens the freezer and takes one out.
"Mom, I need to talk to you."
"Just a minute." She puts the dinner in the microwave, then turns to face me. "What is it?"
"Dad just called."
"Oh." She forces out a smile but her face is covered in guilt. "Honey, I don't want to talk about this right now. I'm exhausted from work and have a horrible headache. I need an aspirin." She walks past me to the hall bathroom.
I wait for her to come out, watching as she goes to the kitchen sink to get a glass of water.
"Mom, I know you're tired but we have to talk about this. Why didn't you tell me Dad had enrolled me at Haverhill?"
Her brows draw together. "He already enrolled you? Without telling me?"
"He said you knew. He said he called last Sunday and told you."
"He said he was considering it. He didn't say he was going to enroll you. I told him we needed to talk it over before making a decision."
"You mean you and Dad?"
"No. You and me." She comes around the counter to me. "We have a life here. I'm not saying it's great but it's ours."
"I don't understand. I thought you hated it here. You're always saying how you miss the old house and your friends and the country club."
"And all of that is true. It's just..." She pauses. "It's been kind of nice having a life that isn't your fathers. Being able to make decisions without him."
"Are you saying you don't want to go back?"
"Part of me does, but part of me isn't sure. I never in a million years thought I'd end up here, at my age, living in an apartment and working an entry level job. But it's been kind of empowering knowing I could do this. Knowing I could get a job and support us without your father. I still miss what we used to have, which makes it tempting to go back, but I'm not sure it's the right decision."
"Why didn't you tell him that? If you don't want him doing this, just tell him."
"I wanted to talk to you first. And I was going to but then everything happened with Dean and I didn't want to bring it up."
"Dad acts like the decision is made. He said he's even looking at places for us to live."
"Yes, and unfortunately I have no say in that. If he's paying, he gets to decide. It's just like when we were married. It's infuriating but I want what's best for you. And if going back to Haverhill is what's best, I'm willing to put up with your father and his demands."
"Mom, I don't want to do this. I don't want to go back there."
She nods. "I thought you'd say that, which is why I was going to try to talk you into it. I even considered forcing you to go, knowing that Haverhill is a much better school. But then I saw you at the hospital with Eve and Danny and those boys from the team." She smiles. "The way they interacted with you? And you with them? You looked like you belonged there. Like you fit there, more than you did at Haverhill. Honestly, I was shocked seeing it. That wasn't the daughter I knew. The way you let them see you like that, crying and upset. The old Brook would've smiled and said she was fine."
"That's not me, Mom. I'm not that girl. I'm the girl you saw at the hospital last night. I could never be myself at Haverhill. I always felt like I had to be on, always pretending to be happy. Always smiling and doing what people told me. And I hated it. It was exhausting." I look in her eyes. "Please don't make me go to Haverhill." I glance at the living room. "I hate this crappy apartment and I really hate that it smells like cat litter but I like my life here. I don't want to go back."
She rubs my arm. "I don't want to make a decision right now. Let's give it some more thought and talk again later. There's no rush."
"But Dad already enrolled me. He said I have to start in a few weeks."
"We have some time." She walks to the microwave to get her dinner. "If he loses money on the enrollment, he'll be fine. He has plenty of money."
"Madison will go crazy if that happens."
"Then your father will have to deal with her. It's not our problem." She sits down at the counter. "As for the cat litter smell, I agree. We need to fix that. I'll go buy some air freshener or maybe some candles."
"You'll need about a thousand to get rid of the smell."
She laughs. "Whatever it takes.
I sit down with her while she eats and tell her the latest about Dean and Jake. There isn't really much to tell. Dean was asleep when I saw him during lunch and his nurse wouldn't tell me anything. I don't know anything new about Jake either. Since the cop won't answer my calls I'm left having to find stuff out on the news or online. The news said the cops are still looking for the truck but that Dean's dad might've ditched the truck, knowing people are searching for it. If that's true, how will they ever find Jake and his dad?
I'm really worried about Jake. I don't think his dad would hurt him but why did he take him? It'd be a lot easier to go on the run alone than having your kid with you.
What am I going to tell Dean? The next time I see him I know he's going to ask about Jake and I still don't know what to tell him.
Chapter Nine
Dean
"I need to see her," I say to the nurse, referring to Brook. "I don't care if she's not a relative. She's my girlfriend and I want to see her. And where the hell is my brother? He should be here with Brook."
"The doctor will be in shortly," the nurse says, ignoring everything I just said.
"What day is it?" I ask, catching her before she leaves.
"Thursday," she says before walking away.
It's Thursday and I got here on Monday. I've only been here a few days but it seems like a few years. The pain's been getting worse but it's only because I'm feeling it more now. They keep lowering my pain meds because I keep telling them my pain's at a five, when it's really more like a twelve. I don't give a shit about the pain. At least now my brain isn't foggy and I can actually think.
"Dean." The doctor walks in, coming up beside my bed and staring down at me, his arms crossed. "How are you feeling today?"
"Good. Am I getting out of here?"
"If your blood work comes out okay, then yes, we'll move you to a regular room sometime this afternoon. How's the pain?"
"About a five, maybe a four."
He gives me a skeptical look. "I've never seen anyone with your level of injuries be on such a small dose of pain meds."
"I have a high tolerance for pain. I get hurt on the football field all the time. This is nothing."
"You're not just saying that, are you? Because there's nothing wrong with accepting pain meds. It doesn't make you weak."
"I'm fine. Is there any way I could get out of here now instead of later? I really need to see my girlfriend and the nurses refuse to let her back here."
"I'll see if I can move it up. When will your girlfriend be here?"
"She's usually here around noon."
He nods. "I'll see what I can do."
"What about my brother? He can come in here, right? He's 15. Is that too young?"
He lets out a long sigh. "That's actually the other reason I came to talk to you."
"What do you mean?"
"There are some men here who would like to speak with you. We haven't let them talk to you before now because we weren't sure anything you told them would be factual given your head injury and the effects of the drugs. Now that you're more coherent, they’d like to speak with you."
"About what?"
"Your brother."
"What about him?" I ask, my heart pounding.
The doctor looks down, then back up at me. "Your brother's been missing since Monday."
"He WHAT?" I shove myself up in the bed, pain shooting down my neck, radiating across my ribs.
"I need you to calm down," the doctor says, putting his hand on my shoulder. "Getting upset will only make your condition worse."
"Jake is MISSING? Did someone—" I stop, already knowing the answer to the question I was about to ask. "He took him." My jaw tightens, straining the bandage on my neck. "The bastard took him."
"The police believe your father picked your brother up at school on Monday. They've been searching for the vehicle but so far, they haven't been able to locate it."
"Fuck!" I slam my fist against the rail on the side of the bed.
"Dean, you need to calm down. I know you're upset but you'll only injure yourself more if you hit things or abruptly sit up like you just did."
"Like I give a fuck?" I say, looking him in the eye. "My little brother is missing. I'd die for that fucking kid. You really think I give a shit about giving myself more bruises? I'm going to be in a lot worse shape after I deal with my dad. That fucker is not taking Jake!"
The doctor walks over to the curtain at the end of my bed, whispering to someone standing behind it.
"Who is it?" I ask. "Who's there?"
The doctor comes back, along with a police officer.
"Dean, I'm Officer Davis," the cop says. "I've been working on your brother's case. I'd like to ask you some questions if you're feeling up to it."
"Where is he?" I demand. "Is he still in Chicago?"
"We don't think so," the officer says, stepping up beside me. "There's a good chance your father left the state, most likely with your brother. It'd be risky for him to remain in the area unless he had a place to hide out. That's one of the reasons I'd like to talk to you."
"Are you okay with this?" the doctor asks me. "If not, we can ask him to leave."
"I'm good," I tell him. "You can go."
The doctor leaves and I look at the cop. "What happened? Tell me everything."
He details the story, including how I got here. Apparently I'm alive thanks to the old guy who lives next door. He hates Jake and me, saying we play our music too loud, even though his TV is ten times louder. In the summer when he opens the windows I can hear his TV like it was in my own house. Last Monday, he heard my dad yelling and throwing things around and called the cops, complaining about the noise. The cops came and found me passed out on the floor. If I'd been there all day, I would've bled to death from the knife in my neck.
The cop goes on to tell me how Jake had an early out at school that day. The bus driver saw my dad go up to Jake and give him a hug. He said my dad said something to Jake and then they both got in a black truck and took off. That was the last time Jake was seen.
"Do you know why he would take the boy?" the cop asks.
"He thinks Jake will make him money. My brother's a math genius. Computer coding. All that shit. He sucks at English but anything with numbers or codes comes easy to him. Always has."
"Your brother's only 15. How would he make your father money?"
"Who the fuck knows? My dad's probably got some kind of scheme going he thinks Jake can help him with."
"Like gambling?"
"Maybe. I don't know. But I can't see Jake going along with it. He's a good kid. He gets in trouble sometimes but nothing big. He doesn't steal. Doesn't get into fights."
"You don't think he'd do something in the hopes of getting approval from his father?"
I pause to think. "Shit. You're right. He probably would. My dad knows how to manipulate people, especially someone innocent like Jake. And Jake wants a relationship with his dad. He doesn't know all the shit he's done."
"Do you think your father would ever hurt the boy?"
"Not if he thinks he needs him. If he thinks he can't use him, then yeah."
"So if Jake didn't do as your father asked, your brother could be harmed?"
"Yes," I say, fisting my hands as I imagine my dad with Jake. If he even lays a hand on him, I'll kill him. "You have to find him. The longer he's gone, the more of a chance Jake will be hurt. Or worse." I squeeze my eyes shut. "Fuck! I should've taken him down. None of this would've happened if I'd just—" I almost say 'killed him' but stop myself, remembering there's a cop standing next to me.
"This isn't your fault. Your father should've never been allowed to leave his job at the plant. We're still interviewing them to see what went wrong. There were many mistakes made along the way but we can't go back and change them. All we can do now is try to find your brother. Do you know where your father might've gone?"
"I really have no idea. He was born and raised here so everyone he knows is here, but I don't see him sticking around. Like you said, it's too risky."
"Was there any cash he could've taken from your house? Or anything of value?"
"I didn't have money and there's nothing in that house that's worth anything."
"What about the truck he was driving? Any idea where he got it?"
"I'm guessing he stole it. I'm sure he's ditched it by now and found another one. So what the hell's your plan? Just sit around and wait for someone to find him? Because that's not fucking okay. I need my brother back."
"Trust me, we're working on it."
I huff. "Trust you? Like the way I trusted you to keep my mom safe? She tried to get the cops to lock up my dad for years but they wouldn't do it until he almost killed her. So yeah, I'm not big on trusting the cops."
"Where is your mother now? Would she be able to assist us in finding Jacob?"
"Hell, no. She didn't even want him. She took off as soon as I was old enough to take him. I have no fucking idea where she is, and I really don't fucking care."
"But if she could help with the case..."
"She's not going to fucking help. Even if you found her, what could she do?"
“She could tell us more about your father. Something that could help us locate him."
"I can tell you about him. What do you want to know?"
"What does he like to do? Where did he hang out before going to prison?"
"He likes to drink. Fight. Beat people up. Throw shit. As for where he hangs out? Bars and casinos."
The cop nods. "Casinos have cameras everywhere. You think he'd risk going there?"
"He needs money, so yeah. He'd just put on a hat and try to hide from the cameras. If you really want to know about my dad, go to his old bar. All his friends are there, the ones who aren't locked up. There's an old guy there. His name is Larry. He sits at the end of the bar by the pool table. Not sure he'll tell you anything but he knows my dad better than I do. Larry used to go to the prison to see him."
The cop gets his notepad out. "The name of the bar?"
I give it to him, along with Larry's name and the names of some other friends of my dad's that I know hang out there.
"This has been helpful," the cop says. "You mind if I come back if I have more questions?"
I agree to it but I don't know what else I could tell him. My dad could be anywhere. The cops should be out searching every fucking street and highway for him instead of here talking to me.
The officer leaves and I glance around at all the shit I'm hooked up to. I need to get it off me and get out of here. Fuck the cops. I'll hunt down the bastard myself.
The nurse appears. "The doctor has given the approval to move you to a regular room. They'll be coming to get you within the hour."
"Yeah, okay," I say, wanting her to leave. I need to be alone to thi
nk.
Where would my dad go? He had to have left the state but where would he end up? Would he hide out in the woods or go to a big city? A big city gives him places to rob but there's a chance he could be seen. The cop said they have alerts out in all the surrounding states, and that my dad's photo and Jake's have been plastered all over the news. I feel a little better knowing the story's getting this much attention but that'll go away the more time goes on.
They have to find him. Or I do. I really need to get out of here.
An hour later I'm taken up a floor to my new room. A nurse shows up and rattles off how things work up here, like visiting hours, and whatever else. I'm not really listening. My head is on Jake and how I find him.
"If you need anything," the nurse says, "just press the button."
"Yeah, got it."
There's a knock on the door. She goes over and opens it.
"I'm here to see Dean."
It kind of sounds like Brook.
"Brook?" I say as loud as I can. It's not very loud. My voice still isn't back.
"Dean!" She races into the room. "Finally! They wouldn't let me see you."
"Come here." I reach out to her.
"I can hug you?" she asks, tears in her eyes.
"Get over here." I motion her towards me.
She leans down, her arms going around me but without any pressure. "I'm afraid I'll hurt you."
"I'm already hurt." I pull her closer. "God, I missed you."
"I missed you too," she says, sniffling. "I was so worried. I didn't know how to help you and then they wouldn't let me see you."
"I know. And I know what's been going on."
She pulls back. "What do you mean?"
"With Jake."
Her hand covers her mouth. "They told you?"
"The doctor did. And then a cop came in and told me the whole story."
"Dean, I'm so sorry. I wanted to be the one to tell you but you were so out of it and then I didn't know if—"
"Brook, it's okay. I understand why you didn't tell me."
