Raina sat up and looked at the camera. “Hey, Shadow.” Her voice broke. “I love you so much and miss you like crazy. I hope you’re getting better and that whoever is treating you is able to make you well. I’m looking for you because life is empty without my shadow. And I won’t stop until . . .”
The sentence faded as Raina choked up.
Ella reached over and squeezed Raina’s arm. “Well, the whole country is cheering you on, big sis. And we at the station add our voices to the many calling for your parents to come out of hiding and have Abby checked out by doctors who can make sure she’s okay. We’re going to stay on top of this story and do whatever we can to help Raina save her shadow. We’ll be right back.”
The taping and trip to California was over as quickly as it had begun. Looking back on it felt like a dream. The trip was successful. They hadn’t caught the fish they were looking for, but with Ella’s daily audience of almost three million, they’d cast a net that had already expanded even wider still.
Chapter 25
In Chippewa, life after Ella was even more chaotic than before being on the show. In a small town everybody already knew almost everyone else, but now on top of being recognized, she often got stopped by locals wanting to voice their opinion or otherwise show support. There’d also been a deluge of hate mail sent from the Illuminated to the Bureau’s office, calling Raina an unsanctioned and worse. Go figure. To put a sense of normalcy back into her life, Raina went back to school. The administration did what they could to keep interruptions to a minimum. Focusing was difficult, but she studied hard and kept finals at the forefront of her mind. Any downtime was spent at the McFaddens’, often with Bryce by her side when he was in town. She began to think of graduation and college, moving to Kansas City and starting life on her own. A frightening prospect, but Raina knew she could do it. She’d created a whole new family who would lend their support. The only person missing was Abby, but Raina was determined that unless Abby said otherwise, somehow her sister would be a part of this new life, too.
“Hey, girl.”
Raina looked over as Jackie joined her walk down the hall. “Hey!”
“Okay, that cheerful greeting tells me your ass aced the test.”
“Of course! I told you how hard I studied. How’d you do?”
“Let’s just say I didn’t study.”
“Jackie!”
“Yes?” Jackie phrased the word in a way that suggested she hoped the topic had changed.
Raina pressed the issue. “What’d you get?”
“A grade C, okay?”
“That’s not so bad. It’s . . .”
“Average,” Monica chimed in, having heard part of the conversation on her way to join them.
“Who asked you?” Jackie asked.
“No one,” Monica quipped. “No one asked me to add that it was a C-minus, either. I’m doing that on my own.”
“Heifah.”
“If she’s going to be a cow,” Raina said, “at least be a truthful one.”
The three girls descended the stairs in a fit of laughter and burst through the school doors to the outside. They were met with flashing cameras and a bevy of reporters. Raina looked beyond them to see several news trucks lining the street. The trio was quickly surrounded, but they continued to move, pushing people aside, blocking their faces from the cell phones and cameras pointed at them.
“Raina!”
“Have you seen the interview, Raina?”
“Raina, over here! Is what your parents said true?”
“Did you abuse your sister?”
The last question froze her, stopped her dead in her tracks. “What?”
“Trent Bowman, Fox News.”
“Fox?” Jackie stepped in between the reporter and Raina. “Ah, hell, no!”
The reporter continued, undaunted, sidestepping Jackie and continuing to speak. “Your parents have come out strongly denying the accusations you made against them. They say you’re lying.”
“Just keep walking,” Jackie mumbled, grabbing Raina’s arm.
Raina jerked away and wheeled on the reporter. “That’s not true!”
The rest of the reporters ran over. The three were surrounded again.
“Come on!” Jackie insisted.
“I have never abused my sister,” Raina said, the insinuation sending her anger to the moon. “If anyone is being abusive it’s my parents, for not letting her see a doctor. For not letting her be properly diagnosed and treated through modern medicine, like the rest of us.”
“That’s following the protocol of their religion,” another reporter yelled out. “Correct?”
“Aren’t you also a member of the Illumination?” a third one asked.
“Let’s go,” Jackie hissed through clenched teeth.
Just then the familiar sound of a souped-up engine and a hip-hop beat penetrated the mayhem.
“Yo, Rainbow!”
Jackie, still holding Raina’s arm, steered them toward the sound of Bryce’s voice. “Come on, girl. We need to get out of here.”
Raina didn’t fight being pulled away but wasn’t finished with the media. “You can’t believe everything you read,” she threw over her shoulder.
“Then can we believe you?” the Fox reporter asked her. “Can we believe that you were being raised by unfit parents?”
“I never said that!” Raina screamed, once again jerking her arm from Jackie’s clutches. “You need to get your story straight,” she continued, a manicured finger pointing in the reporter’s face. “This isn’t about me. It’s not about my parents. It’s about my sister. She’s the only one who matters right now.”
By now Bryce had managed to stop the car, push through the crowd and next to Raina. He reached for one arm, Jackie grabbed the other, and together they headed toward the car.
The taunting from the opposing reporter increased, aided by Illuminated students. Raina’s escape efforts doubled. But Jackie and Bryce’s combined body weight of over three hundred pounds proved too much for a buck and a quarter’s worth of I-ain’t-theone. With a solid grip around her waist, Bryce managed to get Raina to the car and into the back seat, wedged in between Jackie and Larry, who’d waited inside. Bryce jumped in and took off, revving the engine and honking his horn so that the looky-loos risking their lives by standing in front of a moving vehicle would move.
“Good looking out, bro,” Jackie said to Bryce. “I don’t know where you came from but it was right on time.”
“I was going to surprise Raina, give her a ride home.”
“Ha! And the surprise was on you.”
Raina sat with her arms crossed, boiling. “I hate you both.”
“Whatever,” Jackie said out loud. “Mama told you that the media would come for you, to not say anything without her or the publicist present.”
“I only told the truth,” Raina said.
“So did your parents, according to them. It’s not what you say, it’s how they twist it. And putting your hand all up in that reporter’s face like you did? Probably gave that fool just what he wanted.”
Jackie’s words proved prophetic. When the next issue of the county paper came out, Raina was once again above the fold. Only this time it wasn’t a flattering picture of her and Abby. It was one of her looking crazed, with a finger that looked as though it was about to gouge out an eye and the caption: Savior or psycho? The article focused on Raina’s kidnapping charge and painted her as a misguided teenager defying her parents and viewed her “lewd” participation in a “profanity-laden gangster video filled with debauchery” as further proof of her downslide since leaving the faith. Accompanying the article was a supposedly recent picture of Abby. In it she looked radiant, wearing a bright yellow dress accented with flowers and a bright smile. It wasn’t a picture that Raina remembered. Could the article be telling the truth about her, that she was fine and Raina was the one who needed to seek help? She tried contacting the reporter, but he was with the Nation. No way would he t
alk to her. Studying the picture again, Raina was struck by something she didn’t notice the first time, something that made her believe she was on the right track. Her sister’s dress was just the right amount of cute, and for those who didn’t know her the grin was convincing. For Raina, however, there was a problem. Her shadow’s smile did not reach her eyes.
Chapter 26
After eight weeks, countless interviews, hundreds of false sightings, and still no sign of Abby, Bruce had a suggestion. He voiced it on an overly warm day in late April, while sitting at an outdoor café with Valarie, Drew, and Raina.
“What if we turn up the heat by filing criminal charges?”
“It’s a thought,” Drew replied. “Aiding and abetting. Obstruction of justice.”
“All options are on the table,” Valarie replied. “I want to find Abby as soon as possible, but I also try and keep Raina’s feelings in mind. Whatever they’ve done or not done, those are still her parents and she loves them. I just hope they come to their senses and are giving that child the help she needs.”
“Looks that way if that recent picture is proof. Pretty little girl.”
“Unless it’s somehow altered, which is super easy to do.”
“There’s another option.” Bruce looked at Raina before picking up a barbecued rib slathered with sauce and taking a healthy bite. “Go for custody.”
“Of my sister?” Raina queried. “I can do that?”
“Interesting idea,” Valarie mused. “Tricky one, though.”
“No doubt.”
“What made you think of it?”
“A call from a friend I hadn’t seen in a while. When he was a kid, his family belonged to a religion similar to the Illumination. Very secretive, kept to themselves. Lots of rules that didn’t make sense.”
Bruce reached for a napkin and began methodically cleaning his fingers. “He gave me the idea based on what one of the members did to take over raising her sister’s child. Getting custody isn’t easy, involves court filings and orders, even more so when it’s a sibling requesting as opposed to a parent.”
He reached for his phone and after scrolling down a bit read from the screen “Factors on whether granting custody is in the best interest of the child include the child’s wishes, mental and physical health of the parent, whether there is evidence of domestic violence, drug or alcohol abuse, or excessive discipline.”
“They don’t say anything about medical treatment?”
“Not on this site, Raina, but I’m sure it is a factor that applies.”
Valarie digested Bruce’s comment as she chomped on a fry. “What do you think of that, Raina?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, I’d love to take care of my sister, but how? I’m planning to go to school in the fall. I can’t bring Abby on campus. Where would we live? Who would take care of her while I work and take classes?”
“All valid questions,” Drew said. “A lot to work out, maybe more than Raina can handle given the transition she’s about to make.”
“You’re right, Drew,” Valarie said, “From a practical standpoint. But for a long-term solution, I like it.”
“I do, too,” Raina said.
Valarie eyed Raina keenly. “Do you really?” Raina nodded. “Then we’ll start researching possibilities around that option. If it indeed turns out to be something we want to tackle, I think we should get started right away.”
“I agree,” Bruce said. “Not only will it potentially smoke the Reeds out of hiding, but putting it out there that this is something we’re thinking about will keep the spotlight on Abby’s story and Raina saving her shadow.”
“Sounds like a plan. Are we done here?” Valarie stood and placed the strap of her purse over her shoulder “I say we head back to work and get started.”
* * *
Two weeks later, Raina was once again in the news. “Sister Seeks Custody” the newspaper headline read, from a story Kris Hall had written. Valarie and Bruce handled the legal work. Felicity managed the media. The details of Abby’s care should Raina indeed get to raise her were still being hashed out, but Miss Christine had promised to do what she could, even if that meant moving to Kansas City while Raina was in school. Along with a high GPA, Raina tried to manage her sanity and not get overwhelmed. “We’ve got you,” Jackie had assured her. Raina chose to believe. Working toward getting custody of Abby was keeping hope alive.
The response was fast and furious. Sean Browder and his law firm came out swinging on the Reeds’ behalf. They claimed everything contained in the court filings was false and threatened to sue the Justice Bureau for falsifying documents and defamation of character. The fight got nasty as anonymous assassinations of Raina’s character began showing up online. There wasn’t much dirt to find on someone who’d been an Illuminated Vessel during most of her teen years. They milked the KCK association for all it was worth, putting her picture next to controversial ones of him, Sniper, and even Shanghai. It was daunting, overwhelming, sometimes almost too much. Valarie encouraged her to focus on her high school finals and forget everything else. That’s what she did, which is why on a sultry evening in late May, Team Shadow put a pin in the legal proceedings, put on their Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes, and gathered at Chippewa High’s auditorium to cheer on Raina, Jackie, and the rest of the seniors at their high school graduation.
* * *
“Can you believe it?” Jackie gushed, positioning her cap just right over thin, fresh braids. “We’re about to get out of here!”
“I can’t.” Raina’s demeanor was more subdued. Her emotions were jumbled and all over the place. When she arrived in Chippewa almost ten years ago, she never could have imagined a night like this. One where a major milestone was happening without her mom present to see it. She’d mostly tried to ignore the fact that in all the time the Reeds had been MIA, Jennifer hadn’t reached out once to contact her. Not a call, a card, or letter from her, Ken, or anyone from the church. Raina had been aware of this, was technically familiar with how being obscured worked. But the definition on paper and its real-life reality were two different things and hard to reconcile. She hadn’t been able to believe that Jennifer could ever totally abandon her. But tonight, as she prepared to walk across the stage, accept her diploma, and be recognized as the recipient of multiple scholarships, she had to accept the truth. The family she’d been raised with wasn’t here. But there was a throng that had stepped in to replace them. As she stood at the edge of the auditorium, prepared to march in to the sounds of Pomp and Circumstance, Raina squinted her eyes, found her tribe, and decided that instead of lamenting what had been lost, she’d embrace the family she had.
Chapter 27
That café conversation got the ball rolling. The Justice Bureau filed for custody of Abby on Raina’s behalf. The Reeds had been located, and while there was still no sign of Abby, a date had been set for their hearing in Topeka, the state capitol. Raina’s days of studying for the finals had been exchanged for mock hearings with Bruce, Valarie, and Drew coaching her on how to answer the judge’s questions and countering arguments that Sean Browder would undoubtedly wage against her character, maturity, and ability to properly care for a minor. Bryce had moved to Kansas City and taken a job at KCK’s newly built production studio, but through phone calls, repeatedly encouraged Raina to relax and be confident.
“No matter what they throw at you,” he assured her, “You’re stronger.”
Because of all the media attention, a case that might have taken months to reach the judge’s chambers was delivered in a matter of weeks. Shortly after the nation had celebrated its independence, Raina found herself seated between Monica and Jackie on the way to court in Topeka. It would be a closed session in the judge’s chambers, but her friends had insisted on coming along for the ninety-minute ride to lend their support. Bryce couldn’t be there in person but remained supportive. In between his texts of encouragement were flirty notes about their getting back on track and taking what they s
tarted to another level. Now that they’d both be in Kansas City, he’d decided, it was “time to get serious about this thing.”
Details of the hearing had not been made public, but reporters had access to court dockets and had monitored them closely. The date had been leaked, a minor inconvenience, or so the Justice Center attorneys had thought before arriving at the courthouse. But a crowd that Raina guesstimated at a couple hundred was milling around the courthouse steps. Police were already on the scene, keeping the streets in the area clear. Raina’s eyes widened as she looked at those gathered, some wearing T-shirts bearing Abby’s likeness. She saw the back of one shirt, with the #Save-Shadow hash tag made popular by the Storytime video. The bold black letters stood out against the bright yellow fabric. Could the person carrying the placard have any idea that yellow was her sister’s favorite color? Raina saw glances pass between Bruce, Valarie, and Felicity, and the PR whiz kid hurriedly typed notes into her phone.
“Did you guys see that T-shirt?”
“Duly noted,” Valarie replied, shooting off a text to Marjorie. “We’ll have an online store up before nightfall.”
“Mugs would be a good idea,” Bruce added. “Maybe those rubber bracelets, too.”
“Do I get a say in this?” Raina asked. “I don’t want to merchandise Abby just to make a buck or two.”
“It’s called promotion,” Felicity said.
Valarie nodded. “Awareness.”
“And there’s nothing wrong with money,” Bruce said. “If the judge decides in your favor, trust me, you’ll need it.”
Raina observed that all who’d gathered were not her supporters. A group from the Nation was there as well. With their conservative clothing, the men in suits despite the hot weather, they were easily recognizable. Other Reed sympathizers were sprinkled among them. The messages carried, screamed or worn on t-shirts set one apart from the other. Some of them also carried signs, touting verses from the Book of Light and slogans like, “Parents First” and “Reeds Rule.” Not to be outdone, there was even a hashtag: #ReedRights. Raina thought to herself, We’ll see.
Saving Her Shadow Page 21
