A Light in the Dark

by Becky Doughty

  I crossed the street to Ani’s house where I was greeted exuberantly by Mary. After exchanging all the news we each had gotten from Ani over a cup of passion peach iced tea, Mary happily handed over Juno’s leash to me. “It’s a beautiful day. Juno would be thrilled to walk down to the dog park with you.”

  Maybe, just maybe, I’d get to the park and find Sebastian and Foster sitting on the hillside under the oak and sweetgum trees, sharing greasy burgers while Pete played with the dogs in the arena. Tuesday was their regular burger day, wasn’t it?

  Juno knew exactly where we were going, and when we rounded the last bend and started across the parking lot, I had to hustle to keep up with her, so great was her enthusiasm. I kept my head down, though, almost afraid to see the hillside, whether it was empty… or occupied by the one guy I wanted to see more than anyone else in the world at that moment. But what if Sebastian actually was there with Foster? What would I say to him? Would he even speak to me?

  I waited until we were inside the gate and had released Juno into the fray before lifting my eyes. I pulled up short. Foster. It had to be. Propped—that was the only word for it—against the trunk of the California oak under which I’d seen him a hundred times before, Pete stretched out on the ground beside him.

  What were they doing there? Out in plain sight? Where was Sebastian?

  I hesitated only a moment, then texted Sebastian.

  JollyRockerTBird: I’m at the dog park. Foster and Pete are here. Where are you? I shoved the phone back into the pocket of my jeans, knowing intuitively that he wouldn’t answer.

  By the time I made it up the slope to Foster’s side, Juno had joined me. Before I could stop her, she’d pounced on Pete, but other than a wagging tail and a few exchanged face licks, Pete didn’t seem interested in Juno.

  “Foster?” He looked asleep, his breathing labored and shallow. He looked terrible, a little blue around the mouth. He smelled worse. I knelt down beside him and placed a hand on his knee. “Foster?”

  The poor man jerked awake and raised his frighteningly scrawny arms to cover his head in a protective gesture. The movement must have caused him excruciating pain, because he let out a groan that made Pete whimper, and I had to grab Foster’s shoulders to keep him from toppling over.

  It took the man several minutes to steady his breathing, his red-rimmed eyes spilling over from the pain. He wheezed terribly. “You need a doctor, Foster. Please let me call for help.”

  “Seen Jeffries?” It took several breaths for him to get the two words out.

  “Not since Sunday night,” I said, wrestling with the fear gripping me. “Have you?” I, too, wished Sebastian was here. He would know what to do.

  “He came… last night. Late. His old man… followed him. Kid… told me to come here. Wait for him here.” He covered his mouth with his sleeve and coughed, a horrible ratcheting sound. When he pulled his arm away, there was a splattering of blood on his sleeve. He leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes.

  “Oh, Foster. You’re coughing up blood. You need to go to the hospital.” I pulled my phone out and stood. “I have to call for help. I can’t leave you like this.”

  “You… take… Pete?” Foster didn’t argue with me, which scared me even more.

  “Of course. Yes.” I dialed the only person I could think of to call at that moment.

  “Find Jeffries.” Foster added, laying a hand on Pete’s head, his skeletal, blue-tipped fingers gently massaging the dog’s floppy ears. “He’s… in trouble. It was his old man. His old man… did this.” He laid his free hand over his ribs.

  I nodded, not at all surprised by the news, and spoke into the phone. “Daddy? I—I need you. I need your help.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  Dad arrived even before the paramedics. I watched his car swerve into the parking lot and when three doors swung open, I couldn’t hold back the tears any longer, my relief was so great. Dad, Jordan, and Tom exploded from the vehicle, raced through the dog arena, and up the hill to where I sat beneath the California oak, holding Foster’s cold hand.

  “My dad is here, Foster,” I whispered, unable to speak. “He’ll take care of all of this.”

  Dad came to me first but I pointed at Foster. The sick man needed his attention before I did. Jordan dropped to his knees on the other side of Foster, and I scooted out of the way to make room. Besides, I had Tom. He scooped me up off the ground in a bear hug, holding me tightly to his chest, his palm on the back of my head as we stood by and watched my dad and brother assess the situation.

  Sirens sounded in the distance and people in the dog arena who weren’t already staring curiously, paused in their conversations and turned toward the sound. The ambulance pulled into the lot and uniformed men unloaded their gear.

  Jordan stepped over to Tom and me and took his turn hugging me. “You going to be okay, sis?” I didn’t even bother nodding. Until I knew where Sebastian was and that he was safe, I was going to be a basket case. Jordan released me, and then picked up Juno and took the leash I’d already attached to Pete’s collar from me.

  “Found Jeffries’ address in the files in the studio so we were able to give it to the police. They’re sending someone over there now,” Tom assured me as we watched Dad speak quietly to the medics, passing on all the information I’d already given him. He had a memory like a tape recorder and I knew he wouldn’t leave anything out.

  Dad skirted the busy group and crossed to the three of us—five, including the two dogs who both were unnaturally serious and calm—and I got another strong hug. Then he took me by the shoulders and held me away from him, his eyes boring into mine. I read a thousand thoughts in that look, but I waded through them all—the fear for my safety, the disappointment because I had kept this from him, the sympathy for my suffering, and so much more—until I found the one I needed most right now. His unconditional love for me. His willingness to drop everything and come to my rescue. And I cried again.

  “I’m so worried about Sebastian, Daddy.” I had tried to convince Foster not to talk, for fear he might collapse altogether on me, but he insisted on telling me everything he could while we waited for help to arrive. It wasn’t much; the poor man couldn’t put more than three words together without gasping for breath.

  Sebastian had showed up much later than he’d promised and told Foster he knew who was after him and was going to turn the guy in. Sebastian’s father had followed him, overheard him say as much, and attacked Sebastian from behind with the same billy club he’d used on the man in the parking structure, and then on Foster. “Couldn’t get… the warning out… fast enough,” Foster moaned. But Sebastian was far bigger than his father and had been able to wrestle the club away from him, but not before he’d been hurt pretty badly. “His old man… took off. Kid brought me here… last night. Said he was going… home to… get belongings. Told me to wait… for him. Never came back.”

  I’d relayed it all to Dad who called the police.

  “Can we drive over there?” I asked the question, certain my father would tell me no, that it was too dangerous. “Just to see if they found him?”

  After a moment’s consideration, to my surprise, he asked, “Titia, do you think you being there will help or hinder the situation?”

  I thought for several moments, and before I could answer, Tom spoke up. “T-Bird,” he said, using Ani’s pet name for me. “Sebastian’s a little in love with you. I have a feeling if you show up at his apartment and something ugly has gone down, you’ll be last person he’ll want to see. Let me and Jordan go. Your dad, too, if you’re all right to stay home without him.”

  I shook my head. “No! I need to be there!” But even as I resisted, I knew what he said was true. And I also knew what it must have cost him to say those words, to be willing to go to Sebastian for me.

  “We have the dogs, sis,” Jordan reasoned. “Pete needs you to stay with him. He doesn’t know anyone else with Ani gone.”

  “I’m here!”
It was Mary, hustling up the hill in her long skirt and beaded top, the bracelets on her arm jingling prettily. “I came as quickly as I could,” she declared, wrapping her slender arms around me for a quick hug before cupping my face to look me in the eye. “Your poor little face,” she murmured, then kissed my bruised cheekbone. I assumed Ani had told her about my own accident. “Your mom is at a botanical trade show in Los Angeles today, and she’s on her way home now, but won’t be back for at least another hour in this traffic, so I’m taking you home with me, okay? You and the dogs.” Juno pranced around her legs like a toy suddenly come to life. Pete still sat at attention beside Jordan, attentively watching the medics giving Foster oxygen while they loaded him up on a gurney.

  Mary assured Dad, “Georgie is parking the car. He can go to the hospital with Foster.”

  I watched the people in my life come together like a cocoon being woven around me, around this man they didn’t even know. Around Sebastian, too. Love in action. Family and friends doing what family and friends should do for one another. My heart ached at the thought of Sebastian never knowing this kind of love in his life. His own father….

  “Honey,” Dad spoke again, his voice gentle, soothing. “Tom’s right about this. I know how important Sebastian is to you, and I saw how much he cares for you. We’re not going to abandon him. We’ll go to the address we have and see what they’ve found.”

  “Call me as soon as you know anything. Anything.” I looked from Dad to Jordan to Tom and back again. “I mean it. Even if—even if it’s bad news. Not knowing is a thousand times worse, Daddy.”

  “Honey, I can stay with you and send the boys,” my dad offered, noticing the tears welling in my eyes again.

  “No, Daddy, you go, okay? Sebastian needs to know we believe in him, that we care what happens to him. He doesn’t think he’s good enough for us.” I started pushing them away toward the hill. “Go. Hurry. Please!”

  The three of them hurried off to the parking lot after making certain the medics didn’t need anything more from them. Mary, the dogs, and I followed the emergency team as they transported Foster down the little slope and to the waiting ambulance where we met up with George, who gave me a kind, but awkward side hug. He was demonstrative with his wife and daughter, but I couldn’t remember the last time he’d hugged me. Maybe my high school graduation? I supposed that was a good thing in the grand scheme of things.

  I was able to introduce Foster to George and Mary, but even with the oxygen and fluids and whatever else they were doing for him, Foster was practically unresponsive. I brought Pete close enough to lick Foster’s hand before they loaded him into the back of the ambulance, but I couldn’t help wondering if this might be the last time I saw the man. I silently promised to ask God to name a star for him, just in case, and then turned to George and Mary.

  “I’m ready.”

  George dropped us off at home and headed to Midtown Community Hospital where they were taking Foster, promising to keep us posted.

  ***

  It was the longest hour in the history of mankind, waiting to hear from my father, from George, from Sebastian, anyone who might have news. Mary and I took Pete and Juno out back and gave the dogs a good bath—Pete smelled even worse than poor Foster—and then fed them both a bowl of wet dog food, a treat Pete had likely never had in his whole life. He lapped up every drop, but instead of heading back outside to play with Juno, Pete stayed close beside me, lying at my feet, his ears perked, his eyes constantly roaming the room.

  “Poor little guy,” Mary murmured, studying the dog as she lowered herself to the floor beside us. “Here, Tish. It’s Ani. She’s wondering how you’re doing.”

  I was keeping my phone free for an incoming call from Dad, Tom, or Jordan, so Ani had called on Mary’s phone instead. I promised her I was doing the best I could under the circumstances, and that Mary or I would call her as soon as we heard something. She wasn’t the kind of person to keep me on the phone and try to cheer me up with mundane chatter, for which I was grateful, but she made a point to tell me she loved me and wished she was here with me.

  “Paulo wants me to tell you we’re all praying for you, Sebastian, and Foster. His mom says to be on the lookout for answered prayer, because when his grandmother prays, miracles happen.” The thought of the silk threads of my cocoon reaching all the way to Portland, Oregon made me weepy all over again.

  When my phone finally rang, I just about jumped out of my skin. I’d forgotten to change my ringtone from that stupid recording the guys had made, and since I usually kept in on vibrate, it hadn’t been a problem. I let out a slightly hysterical giggle that was almost as inappropriate as the ringtone under the circumstances, but Mary just smiled sweetly at me, taking it all in stride. She was so much like Ani.

  It was Dad. “Honey, Sebastian is going to be okay. He’s pretty banged up, but he’s going to be okay. I don’t have a whole lot of information beyond that right now, but I was able to talk to him and told him you were praying for him and waiting to hear from him. We’re going to the hospital now to meet up with him—he’s agreed to let me stay with him until we know more.”

  I gulped in air, not realizing I’d stopped breathing, my relief flooding through me. “Oh, Daddy, thank you. Can I come see him?”

  “Tish, I need you to think with your head right now, not with your heart.” Dad often said that when important decisions were on the line. I waited, already knowing I wasn’t going to like what I heard. “Like I said, he’s pretty beaten up. I know they’re thinking he might have a fractured collar bone.” I flinched at the thought of it, knowing that would put him out of commission on his guitar for a while, and I hurt for him. “He’s got some bad bumps and bruises on his face and head, and we’ll know more after they do a thorough exam in the emergency room. But like I said, the medics were very positive and encouraging. That aside, he’s not doing so well on the inside, Titia.” He softened his tone a little more. “He doesn’t want visitors. Not even Tom or Jordan. For whatever reason, he’s agreed to have me there, but has made it very clear that for now, he wants to be left alone.”

  I leaned back against the sofa behind me and pulled Pete close so his head lay in my lap. “Not even me?” My voice sounded like a child’s.

  “He named you particularly.”

  A sob bubbled up out of me and Mary moved closer, putting her arm around me.

  “Titia, honey, he’s hurting in ways he doesn’t think you can understand. I’m not sure I can even understand, because he’s not really talking much, but the fact that he’s allowing me to stay with him is a good sign. It tells me he wants to stay connected to you, but he doesn’t know how. This is the best he can do right now, okay? I’m asking you to step outside yourself and give this boy a little time to figure things out. He’s got a long road ahead of him, and I know without a doubt you’ll be walking some of this with him. Just not yet.”

  I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to argue, to rail at my dad for accepting Sebastian’s request. I wanted to charge down to the hospital and demand to see the man who had my heart. I wanted to hunt down Sebastian’s father and shake him until he crumbled into a million pieces at my feet. I wanted to know if things would ever, ever be okay again. If Sebastian would ever be okay again. If Foster would ever be okay again. If poor Pete, who lay on my lap in a state of melancholy, would ever be okay again.

  As though he’d read my mind, my dad spoke again. “Titia, it’s going to be okay. We wait and we pray.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  We had an impromptu band meeting that night. Tom would continue playing until he had to leave or until Sebastian returned, whichever came first. Although we talked business briefly, the real reason we’d gathered together was because one of our own had fallen. It didn’t matter that he was the new guy; he was one of us. But more than that, they knew he was special to me. Even Tom, my beloved friend—Tom, without a hint of a sad smile—hugged me and said Sebastian was a lucky man who just had to get ov
er himself and accept the gift I was offering him.

  Of course, I cried again.

  Dad called shortly after dinner to update us on Sebastian’s condition and what little information he could get about what had happened over the last twenty-four hours in the Jeffries’ apartment. “Lots of bumps and bruises. A broken nose, another black eye, and a couple of loose teeth. Lucky guy didn’t lose any though. His collar bone isn’t broken, but he took a really bad hit on that shoulder. There’s a nasty lump on the back of Sebastian’s head and a couple of bruises over his shoulder blades from when his dad snuck up behind him. Didn’t hit him hard enough to knock him out, so Sebastian was able to wrestle the club away from him, but he is suffering from a concussion. Really bad headaches, nausea, the works. I still don’t have any news on what happened at the apartment, but there’s an officer coming in to talk to him in about an hour. Hopefully, I’ll know more then.” I could hear the weariness in Dad’s voice as he talked over the speaker phone so we all could hear. “They’re keeping him here overnight at least to monitor him, but it’s possible they’ll release him as early as tomorrow.”

  Release him to where? Where would he go? Would he be willing to come home with Dad? To stay here with us? Or would he maintain his ‘no visitors’ notion and go hole up in the apartment he shared with his abusive father?

  It was all more than I could stomach, and I had to step outside for a few minutes. Unsure of whether I was going to hurl or pass out, I headed all the way out past the patio onto the lawn, just in case. I dropped to my backside in the grass and put my head on my knees, my eyes closed. Behind my eyelids, I painted a picture of Sebastian the way he’d looked on Friday night, his guitar slung low, his hair flipping forward as he bobbed his head in time to the music, his eyes on me. The smile I’d grown to love; the one that started slow on the right side, widening as it lit up his face, as though it were on a dimmer switch. I mentally turned the dimmer up, up, up, until all I could see in my mind was his joy-filled face looking at me.