*****
Her dad went with the police after a verbal protest. They put handcuffs on him in the house and read him his rights. “You are charged with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.” When they asked him if he had any drugs on his person, he acted offended and denied any drug use. They searched him and found nothing. More cops came and searched the house. They eventually found the fresh ounce of pure meth her dad bought from an undercover narcotics officer that morning. Within minutes, the street was filled with black and whites. Neighbors stood in their driveways. Katelyn saw a few take pictures with their cell phones as the cops led her dad to a marked car and ducked him in the backseat handcuffed.
The next day at the arraignment, the judge denied her dad bail. Her dad was a “high flight risk” based on his history.
Jenny had appeared before they left for the arraignment. She took Kayla and Jacob with her. Her subsidized apartment came through and she needed the kids to complete her role of single mother. Katelyn’s mom didn’t put up an argument.
Katelyn missed her shift on Saturday in order to go court with her mom. “Don’t bother coming back to work,” the assistant manager snidely informed her before she hung up.
So, the house was quiet for what turned out to be days. Her mom mostly sat at the table and smoked. Katelyn avoided her by staying in her room. Sometimes she could hear her mom mumbling into the phone, probably to her grandma or her aunt in Minneapolis. There were going to be some money issues to work out. It looked like her dad would be locked up for a long time, and a lawyer was going to be expensive.
Uncle Russ stopped over and there were hushed words after Katelyn was asked to leave the room. When Katelyn came back out, her mom and Russ were both silent, heads down in thought at the table.
“Uncle Russ, would you look at my car? I need to get it fixed.”
“Sure, kid.” He looked over at her mom and they shared a look that said its own sad apology without a word spoken. Russ wasn’t in any shape to help out her family. The pale hurt of honesty was one Katelyn recognized now.
Brianna seemed to disappear. She came home after the police had left and quickly found a friend’s house to stay the night. Monday morning she came back to get some more clothes. Her mom didn’t try to keep her home. It was spring break.
Katelyn tried to fill the silence with her music. All her new CDs were from Tim. Listening to them, she realized they only triggered more thoughts and memories of her Tim, the one she loved, not the jerk she saw last week. She didn’t want to think of him, not if she couldn’t have him anymore. Angel was right. Each day without Tim made him more of a memory. But, each day seemed just as sad as the last.
Tuesday night, Tim’s text lit up her phone.
“I want to see u. Things got all messed up. Let me explain. T.”
She waited until her mom left for work Wednesday morning. She spent half an hour on the right words for her reply, and finally sent what felt right: “I’m coming to get my stuff. Explain if you can. I’ll be there in an hour.”
Katelyn threw on a jacket, locked the door to the empty house, walked past tools still in the yard, and headed to Tim’s house with steps both heavy and light with mixed possibility.
Chapter 22: Full Circle
A beeping alarm woke Katelyn from a deep sleep. If she were in her own bed, she would have drifted back to sleep, but the hospital room instantly took shape as she opened her eyes. The beeping came from outside of her room, down a hall. Footsteps made their way past her door and the beeping stopped. A low hum from the dim light behind her hospital bed filled the silence.
Katelyn turned her head to look at the other side of the room and was met with pain. Her neck was stiff and her head throbbed. Tim, she remembered. Tim did this to me.
A hospital version of a lazy boy chair sat next to the bed. Her mom reclined in its blue fake leather upholstery. A white hospital blanket wrinkled over her frame. She was asleep.
She stayed with me, Katelyn thought and turned her head back into her pillow and drifted into sleep again.
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