Something Happened

by Brandy Isaacs

  “Whaaa!?” the other woman jerked away into a sitting position. “What’s going on?” she croaked.

  “You’re on my arm,” Rion groaned and sat up next to her. She glanced around the apartment and realized the sun was setting, throwing the tiny apartment into deep shadows. Where’s Shep? Her throat tightened with fear. “Shep?” she said softly.

  The bathroom door swung open, spilling light into the rest of the room. “I’m here,” Shep assured them. The light behind him turned him into a black shape but Rion could tell he was drying his hair.

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “Sorry,” he began flipping on light switches. “Beckett was quiet, so I took a quick shower. Is everything OK?”

  “Yeah, I think so,” Rion swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood. Her legs and back popped and she hissed as blood returned to her arm causing her wound to scream.

  “What the hell happened?” Kerry stumbled out after Rion and followed her to the counter.

  “I made coffee,” Shep told them.

  Rion’s relief was palpable and she nearly cheered. “Do you want some?” she asked the others.

  “No, I’ve had enough,” Shep tossed his towel back into the bathroom and Rion tried not to scowl at his non-use of towel racks.

  “I need a bucket of it,” Kerry slid onto a stool. “OK, what’s going on? Was I dreaming about a pissed off cat?”

  Shep and Rion glanced at each other. “Well, kinda,” Shep finally answered.

  “But you have some explaining to do too,” Rion told her. She knew she was just putting off telling the story of Beckett’s breakdown.

  Kerry groaned. “I don’t really want to talk about it.”

  Shep narrowed his eyes at her. “We found you unconscious on the stairs. With the shit beat out of you.”

  “It wasn’t that bad,” Kerry at least looked embarrassed and sheepish.

  “What the fuck, Kerry?” Rion asked, her voice dry and calm.

  Finally, the wisp of a girl sighed. “I met this dude at the bar last night. He seemed nice. He said he was looking to party. When I get drunk, that kind of stuff seems like a good idea.”

  “Stuff?” Shep asked.

  Kerry gave him a pointed look. “She means cocaine,” Rion explained. She had heard her mom talk about partying enough she knew what it meant.

  “Jesus,” Shep shook his head, but slid onto a stool next to Kerry.

  Rion sighed “Who was this guy?”

  “I dunno!” Kerry moaned, morosely. “Just some rando. He name was Ben or something.”

  Rion shook her head. “Well, then what happened?”

  Kerry sighed again and sipped at her coffee. “He got rough. I told him to take it easy. He didn’t.”

  “Did he…?” Rion’s voice was barely above a whisper.

  “No. He tried. But…he couldn’t. Too much partying—if you know what I mean.”

  “So, he took it out on you?” Rion settled onto the stool in front of Kerry.

  “Yeah.”

  Rion could see Shep’s hand tighten on the edge of the counter. “How did you get away,” he asked, his voice tight and angry.

  “Fuck if I know,” Kerry admitted. “He hits me, then boom! I’m out. Next thing I remember, I’m waking up here.”

  “For heaven's sake, Kerry,” Shep ran a hand over his face.

  Rion didn’t bother lecturing the girl. She knew how lucky she was. “Do you need to go to the hospital?” she asked.

  “Hell no.”

  “OK.”

  “We need to call the police,” Shep was staring at them both like they were crazy.

  “The hell with that,” Kerry was adamant. “Tell me what is going on here.”

  Shep and Rion glanced at each other again. “I don’t even know where to start,” Rion finally said. After taking a deep breath, started with the last time they had all gathered.

  “So, Beckett killed a bird, and then flipped out?” Kerry summed everything up in an overly simple statement.

  “Eh,” Shep winched. “It’s more than…flipping out”

  “Yeah,” Rion agreed.

  “Then what is it?”

  “I…” Rion tried again. “It’s like…like she’s someone, or something else.”

  “Like multiple personalities?”

  Rion hesitated. She hadn’t thought of that possibility. Before she fully considered it, Shep spoke again.

  “That’s not really a thing. We learned about it in my psychology class.”

  “It’s not?” Kerry tilted her head.

  “No, not really. They call it dissociative identify disorder now—and lot of experts think it’s not real.”

  “But, it could be?” Rion asked.

  “I don’t think so…”

  “Should you really count anything out right now?” Kerry asked. “Especially if it is as bad as you say it is?”

  Shep didn’t bother trying to argue. He shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know.”

  Rion was getting tired of everyone saying that. I don’t know. It was time someone did know. She couldn’t wait to get Beckett to the therapist on Monday. That thought reminded her she had no idea how she was going to make that happen. Put her in a sack and carry her? Rion snorted to herself.

  “What?” Kerry asked.

  “Nothing. I just don’t know how the hell I’m going to get Beckett to the therapist on Monday.”

  “You said she seems to be better, right?”

  Rion felt like kicking something. She was frustrated and her anger was coming out at Kerry. “For now,” grumbled. “Which means, she hasn’t actively tried to kill me today—so far.”

  “Can I see her?” Kerry asked.

  “That’s probably not a good idea…” Rion began. “She’s been quiet. She might finally be sleeping.”

  “She hasn’t been every time I’ve checked on her today,” Shep offered.

  “What was she doing?” Rion was again surprised by how long she slept. The whole damn day.

  “Just sitting on the bed.”

  “Just sitting there?” Rion raised a brow.

  “Yeah.”

  Rion sighed. “I don’t know, Kerry. She could try to attack you.”

  “I won’t go in. I’ll just peek.”

  “She and Beckett got along really well before,” Shep shrugged.

  He has a point, Rion realized. She remembered Kerry reading Beckett to sleep and again felt guilty that she hadn’t tried harder to bond with her sister. “OK, I guess. Just be careful. Don’t go in. Just look in—stay in the door way.”

  “I will,” Kerry slid from the stool.

  Rion watched her limp stiffly towards the bedroom. She hadn’t noticed the limp before. Back injury, she diagnosed. She recognized the stiff-straight way Kerry was holding her shoulders. She shook her head and ran hand over her mouth. Kerry hesitated in the doorway and took a deep breath.

  “Becks?” she called. “I’m going to open the door. K, hon?” She didn’t get a response, but she turned the knob anyway.

  Rion and Shep watched, holding their breaths. Shep slid from the stool, ready to help Kerry if she needed it. Kerry opened the door far enough to stick her face in the crack. In the seconds it took for her eyes to adjust to the dark, she stiffened even more. Rion could tell by the stillness of her stick-thin body, Kerry was holding her breath too. After a long minute, Kerry slowly shut the bedroom door, backed three steps away, turned on her heel and made her way back to the counter. Her eyes were wide and shimmered with tears. “That’s not Beckett,” she announced in a cracked voice. She slid back onto the stool and pushed her coffee away. “I need something stronger than this.”

  “What did you see?” Rion asked, fighting the urge to rush into the bedroom to check on Beckett.

  Kerry pushed her cup closer and waited pointedly. Shep circled the counter and opened Rion’s freezer. When he pulled a bottle of brown liquid free, Rion scowled. “Where did that come from?”

 
; “I brought it over earlier.” He got three glasses from the cupboard and poured rum into each of them. By the time he splashed in soda and dropped ice in, Kerry looked more composed. “What the hell did you see?” he asked her.

  “Beckett…she was like…crouched on the foot of the bed.”

  “And?” Shep asked.

  “She was…she had her head tilted back…and her eyes…” Rion thought she knew what was coming. “Her eyes, they were rolled back in her head. I could barely see any color.”

  Rion shivered. “She wasn’t doing anything else?”

  “No.”

  “Could it be a seizure?” she asked, starting to get up. “Why did you say it wasn’t Beckett?”

  “Don’t you feel it?” Kerry implored. “It’s not a seizure.”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Yeah you do.”

  Rion didn’t want to admit it, but she did know. There was some wrong with Beckett and the whole situation. It was like being in a crowded room and filling tension fill the space. Knowing that soon a fight would break out. Only, with Beckett, Rion had no idea what could be coming.

  It was after midnight when Shep passed out on the futon. Rion and Kerry sat at the counter, sipping at their rum and cokes. “I shouldn’t be getting drunk like this,” Rion muttered

  “I think this is the best time to get drunk,” Kerry countered.

  “But, what if something happens? And the cops—or Chambers—shows up. Me being drunk will only make things worse.”

  “True. But, it’s a little late for that now.”

  Rion watched Kerry tip her glass up to fish out the ice. As she crunched, the purple and red bruises stood out grotesquely. “What really happened?” she asked after a while.

  “You mean with this?” Kerry motioned towards her face.

  “Yeah.”

  “What I told you—a guy got rough. Beat the shit out of me.”

  Kerry tried to keep her voice flippant and unconcerned. But, Rion heard the bitterness behind her voice. It was regret, guilt, and shame. Kerry didn’t meet Rion’s eye, but she wanted to reach out and take the woman’s hand. She slid her fingers an inch across the counter but stopped. “He really didn’t…”

  “No.” Kerry’s answer was final. Whether she had been raped or not, she didn’t want to talk about it.

  “You want to go find him and put him in a room with Beckett for a while?” Rion asked. She and Kerry stared at each other for a moment. Both a little shocked at what she had asked. After a moment, Kerry’s lips twitched. That was all it took to set Rion off too. They both laughed so hard no sound came out. Rion rested her swimming head on her arms and her shoulders jerked with laugher. She hadn’t realized how drunk she was. “God, that was a terrible joke. I’m sorry,” she wheezed wiping tears from her eyes.

  “No, don’t apologize. I needed that,” Kerry breathed out a long breath and fanned her face. “We both needed that.” Once they were both in control again, they sat in silence for a while.

  Rion stared at the bedroom door wondering how long it had been since she laughed. The thought caused her laughter to die like a deflated balloon. Kerry peered into her empty glass. “Did something happen to you too?” Kerry asked her finally.

  “What do you mean?” Rion eyed her warily.

  “You seem to know what it’s like. Getting the shit kicked out of you.”

  “Oh, that…yeah. Something like that. On more than one occasion.”

  “Who did it?”

  “My mom. Foster parents. Foster brothers,” Rion recognized the bitter yet light tone her voice took on. It matched Kerry’s.

  “Fuck people, man.”

  “Cheers!” Rion raised her glass and Kerry clinked her empty one into it. Seeing Kerry beaten and broken had done something to Rion. As sick as it was, she felt even closer to the woman. Rion had lived in the darkness of her childhood for a long time and Kerry knew what darkness was too.

  “What are we going to do about Beckett?” Kerry asked softly.

  We. That word sent warm light through her chest. “You don’t have to do anything, you know.”

  “Shut up. What are we going to do?”

  “I want to get her the therapist on Monday—” she glanced at the clock. “I mean, tomorrow. And see what Jennifer says. I’m just…banking on her having answers.”

  “What if it’s not something she can answer?”

  Rion looked at her friend for a while. Her eyes were watery—from their laughing fit or from sadness, Rion didn’t know. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean…” Rion waited while Kerry found the right words. “What if it’s not a mental illness thing?”

  “What would it be?” Rion held her breath. Say it.

  “What if it’s supernatural?”

  Hearing it out loud was even more ridiculous than thinking it. But she didn’t say anything at first. Kerry watched her nervously—afraid Rion was going to laugh at her. “I-I mean, it sounds insane. But I don’t know…Maybe?” Kerry relaxed a little. “Like what though?”

  “Possession?”

  Rion couldn’t stop the snort that bubbled out. But she didn’t disagree either. “Possession by what? Demons? The Devil?”

  “I don’t know. I think it’s possible though. On some level.”

  “Eh…” Rion croaked. “I don’t even know if I believe in God.”

  “I don’t,” Kerry said matter of fact.

  “Uh, then how do you account for demons or whatever?”

  Kerry shrugged. “I think there are things that we don’t understand. Older things. I think it would be very egotistical to assume that what we can see is the only thing that exists. There is plenty that humans don’t know—or haven’t discovered.”

  “But, do you really think that is the most reasonable answer? Beckett has been through a lot. Way more than most kids have. And definitely more than any kid should ever have to live through.” Rion was glad her sense of reason was kicking in. “It just seems so much more logical that she is mentally ill—severely so.”

  Kerry shrugged. “I get it. You are probably right.” They were both silent for a while. “But, what if you aren’t”

  “I don’t know. What if I’m not? What then?”

  “Maybe we should talk to someone.”

  “Such as?”

  “A priest?”

  “Do you know a priest?” Rion looked at her wryly.

  “No…”

  “But?”

  “Shep might.”

  “True…And?”

  “Someone else might be able to help…”

  “Who?” Rion had a feeling she wasn’t going to much like the answer.

  “…a psychic…”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Rion shook her head.

  “Hear me out!” Kerry begged.

  “This is getting ridiculous.”

  “I know. But what about the whole situation isn’t”

  “Fair enough,” Rion grumbled. “But, I…I just can’t. Not right now. I can’t deal with that on top of everything else.”

  “I get it,” Kerry nodded. “Think about it though, OK?”

  “Ugh,” Rion groaned. “Let me see what happens at the therapist. Then we’ll see.”

  “Deal.”

  Thirteen

  Throughout the night Kerry and Rion took turns dozing off at the counter, then on the floor while they played video games. Rion didn’t expect to fall asleep, but sounds from the kitchen caused Rion to sit straight up in alarm, sure she would see Beckett trying to set the apartment on fire again. Instead, Shep was rummaging around the cabinets. She found Kerry curled up on the futon and wondered if she had joined Shep at some point. Rion ignored the flicker in her chest. Kerry can sleep with Shep if she wants to.

  “What are you doing?” she croaked.

  “Good morning,” Shep smiled at her, but the look disappeared when he glanced at Kerry. “She got in bed when I woke up.”

  Rion didn’t look at Shep
but shrugged. “What are you doing,” she repeated, trying to climb to her feet. Sleeping the floor had stiffened her back and any movement made the wound on her arm burn and scream. The wound throbbed and she feared it was becoming infected.

  Shep must have noticed her favoring her arm. “How is it?”

  “I don’t know. It hurts pretty bad. Even the muscle.”

  “We should clean it again today.”

  “OK.” Rion slid onto a stool at the counter. “Have you checked on Beckett this morning?”

  “Yeah.” His voice was low and hesitant.

  “What?”

  “She’s still awake. Still sitting, or crouching at the foot of the bed.”

  “I wonder if she’s slept at all.”

  “I don’t think so. Kerry checked on her a few times too. Basically, the same each time.”

  Rion’s head pounded. Both from the rum and from the stress. “What are you doing?” she asked for the third time.

  “Making breakfast.” Shep motioned to the counter behind him.

  Rion could see bread, eggs, and cheese. A sour taste filled her mouth and her stomach swam. “I don’t think I can eat.”

  Shep chuckled. “Here.” He handed her a glass full of water. “Drink this. By the time I’m done, you’ll be ready.” Rion doubted it, but she gulped the water anyway. “Kerry told me about her idea.”

  “Which one?”

  “The psychic one.”

  Rion wondered how much Kerry and Shep had chatted during the night. Her head pounded harder. “Yeah? What do you think?”

  “I’m not going to pretend to know what the hell is going on. I’m inclined to think this is just a mental illness…but I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “Me either.”

  “I believe there are things in the world we can’t understand…but I don’t know if that’s what’s going on here. I just…I find it hard to believe that God would do this to a little kid. You know, let her be…be possessed or whatever.”

  Rion sipped at her water again. Her stomach wasn’t sure what to do with the liquid and she was regretting chugging it before. “So, you believe then?”