She couldn’t hide her smile. They looked like brothers. Very similar, but very different, too. Peter’s hair was a lot longer, with subtle waves, but none of the signature curls that Adam had cut off. His smile was friendly and kind, but not the infectious playful kind like Adam’s. They faced each other and spoke quietly, with respect and kinship. Adam said something, and Peter laughed and bumped his shoulder.
They clearly cared a lot about each other. Marti wondered if his whole family was on the bus. Was his older brother, Garrett, there? From the little she heard about him, she feared he wouldn’t be very nice. She didn’t really want to face his whole family even though they were giving her the most important ride of her life.
Adam brought Peter over. “Marti, this is my brother, Peter.”
“Hi,” she said.
“I’m really sorry to hear about your grandmother.” His eyes were warm and sincere.
“Thank you.” She nodded.
A girl with long blonde hair and a friendly smile appeared at Peter’s side.
“And this is my girlfriend, Libby.
“Nice to meet you,” Libby said. “I’m so sorry about your grandmother, and I’m glad we can help out.”
Marti relaxed a little. “Hi.” Adam put his arm around her. “If you don’t mind, Peter and I should talk to people for a little bit before we go. Everyone’s been so supportive, and they deserve a few minutes.”
“Of course, no problem.” She really wanted to leave that instant but didn’t want to be selfish, so she hugged Adam and whispered in his ear. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Want to come onboard? I’ll show you around,” Libby offered.
“I’d like that.” She followed Libby into the spacious tour bus and received the grand tour while the guys took their time and talked with each camper and allowed lots of pictures. Her heart warmed at Adam’s generous spirit. All during camp he wanted to pretend he was nobody, but now that he was leaving, he wanted to give back to their friends, and even the people who never suspected who he was.
Haley looked like she was in seventh heaven standing between the two rockers and having her picture taken. All Marti’s friends had turned into little groupies. She wished she had the strength to go say goodbye one more time, but she didn’t. She hoped they’d understand.
After a few minutes, one of the counselors arrived with Adam’s packed bags. The guys waved their final farewells and came aboard.
“Ready to hit the road?” Peter asked.
She smiled. “You bet, but where’s the driver?”
“You’re looking at him.” Peter grinned and looked more like Adam for a second.
Marti looked at Adam. “Is that legal?”
“Yes, he’s licensed, and he’s a good driver. I can drive the bus too, but I’m too young to try for my motor coach license yet.”
“Okay,” she said with doubt, as Peter sat in the driver’s seat and buckled up.
Adam slid the giant coach window open so they could wave goodbye.
Peter put the bus in gear and slowly pulled away. She waved at her amazing friends. Brooke’s model-perfect face looked as if she were ready to cry. Then came Kayla with tears running down her cheeks and finally Haley, who openly cried.
Adam wrapped his arm around her as they slowly passed.
Marti had shared the special secret of Adam with these friends. They knew her troubled background with her parents and a lot about her family. They knew her so well, and while she’d talk to them online, she’d probably never see them again. She swallowed down a sob and leaned out the window to wave a final goodbye. The tour bus turned around the bend and her friends disappeared from sight.
Chapter 13
Adam waited as Marti inserted her key into her grandma’s front door. He knew this must be difficult for her, not having Grandma there to greet her, or even her cat, Kahlua. Marti had told him the neighbor was watching the cat. This time only silence would greet her. Marti let out a breath. A wave of dread washed over him. He couldn’t imagine coming back to an empty home after a family member died. He wished he could shield her from this harsh reality.
He gently squeezed Marti’s shoulder in support. She tried to convince him to say goodbye outside, but he refused. He understood she might want privacy, but he couldn’t bear for her to enter alone.
She turned the key and nudged the door open. Inside, the kitchen light burned bright, illuminating cream-colored walls and a dining room table covered with a floral tablecloth. Did her grandma forget to turn off the light before her trip to the hospital? Or maybe her friend Ruth left a light on for Marti.
She stepped into the apartment first. He followed, carrying in her luggage. He didn’t know what to expect, but this sure wasn’t it. An acrid smell of stale cigarette smoke assaulted his senses. The place looked a mess. Drawers to the desk were partially open, with papers scattered on the floor. A pile of ripped open mail littered the kitchen. An open closet revealed boxes, and empty tubs lying on their sides, their contents dumped in heaps.
Marti glanced at him, her face showing her confusion. So, apparently this wasn’t a normal. Had Marti and her Grandmother been robbed?
A glance into the kitchen revealed dirty dishes and empty take out containers. Empty diet soda cans cluttered the counter.
Adam wanted to grab her hand and stop Marti when she moved to the entry of the small living room. Her body tensed, and she stopped. Adam followed and discovered a woman draped limp across the sofa. At first, he feared it was her grandmother, but then realized it couldn’t be.
He glanced at the coffee table and saw more empty soda cans, a lighter, a hypodermic needle, a teaspoon and a small square of paper containing a dusty, white substance. What the hell was going on here?
Marti closed her eyes. Was she afraid? Did she know this person? She clenched her jaw and approached the rail thin woman.
“Mom! Wake up,” she said in a biting tone to the slack-jawed woman with dark circles under her eyes.
Adam tried to hide his shock. This nearly comatose woman was Marti’s mother!
“Mom! Tami!” She hollered this time, but her mother didn’t budge.
Adam inched a little closer and touched her arm. “Marti, she doesn’t look so good. Maybe we should call 911.” He wanted to help, but this was far beyond anything he’d ever dealt with.
“She’s fine. I’ve seen her like this too many times to keep count. This is her preferred state of being.” This was a new side to Marti. She stood rigid, her eyes piercing and her mouth in a pinched line. She returned to the passed out woman. “Mom!” This time Marti reached down and slapped her mother’s cheek, quick and firm. “Wake up!”
The skeletal frame stirred and moaned. Adam fought the urge to stand between the two and protect Marti.
As her mother blinked and tried to focus, Marti went through the contents on the coffee table, nudging the drug paraphernalia with her finger. Her mother’s purse spilled open with cigarettes, a couple pill bottles, scratched sunglasses and a checkbook.
“You stole Grandma’s checkbook?” She turned on the scary form of her mother.
“Hey baby.” The woman smiled, and her head lolled to the side.
Marti snatched the checkbook and paged through. Her jaw dropped. “You emptied it! What is wrong with you?” Marti threw the checkbook on the table. She rifled through the purse and found a bank envelope. She splayed three twenty-dollar bills in her hand.
“This is it? This is all that’s left?” Marti looked Adam’s way, and he hoped he didn’t look as stunned as he felt. He didn’t mean to intrude on such a private confrontation.
“I’m so sorry you had to see this. You should go,” Marti said softly.
He looked deep into her eyes. “Oh god, Marti. I can’t leave you here.” He gestured toward her mother, and hoped Marti could see how dangerous this woman might be.
“Yes, you can. You don’t want to be a part of this. Trust me.” She wore the stubborn
expression he’d come to know and love.
“Let me call my mom. She’ll help figure this out.” No way should Marti have to deal with this on her own.
“No, Adam. Your mom has better things to do than try to fix my problems. I can handle this. I’ve done it before when I was a whole lot younger. When the drugs and money are gone, Mom will disappear. I just need to get her through the funeral. Grandma’s friend Ruth will help me.”
Her stoic expression broke his heart. No doubt she could get through it, but he wanted to protect her from these evils and heartaches.
Marti took Adam’s arm and led him to the hallway, and pulled the door closed to block out the horror that lay on the couch.
“Everything about this is wrong,” Adam said. He couldn’t go without her. “Come get on the bus with me. You can’t stay here tonight.”
She reached over and caressed his face. Hell, she was comforting him!
“This is my home. Granted, it’s royally screwed up, but it’ll be fine. This is just a blip. Tomorrow is Grandma’s funeral. I need to see her one more time… and say goodbye.” Her voice cracked.
Adam felt like ten times an asshole. He wanted to steal her away to safety, and here all she wanted was to say goodbye to the woman who raised her.
He couldn’t believe how somber and grown up she’d become in one short day. Instead of the playful, feisty girl he’d grown to love, she’d evolved into a calm, take-charge person.
He sighed. “You shouldn’t have to do this by yourself. Your mom should be handling this.”
“My mom never acted like a mother. That’s why I lived with my dad all those years. She’s incapable.”
He placed a hand on the wall just over her shoulder. He leaned in to capture her attention. “I know you won’t like this idea, but maybe you should call him, for help.”
Marti offered a weak smile. “That would be a nightmare. His world is barely any better.”
“How about…”
She stopped his words with a finger to his lips. “Adam, no. Peter and Libby are waiting, and I don’t really want them to come in and see the screwed-up mess in there.”
“You’re killing me,” he whispered and pulled her into an embrace. Her body was so small compared to the troubles she faced. “I feel so damn useless.” He kissed the top of her head and fought back tears.
“Trust me. I can handle anything.” She stepped back and held his face in her hands, as if not expecting to see him again for a long time. If ever. “I need you to say goodbye and go.”
“I can’t leave you. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.” He toyed with her silky hair, missing how perfect their lives had been two short days ago.
“We still would have had to say goodbye in a couple days. It’s just a little sooner than we thought.”
“Marti!” her mother mumbled from somewhere in the apartment.
Dread shadowed Marti’s face. She pleaded with her eyes.
“I know. I’ll go, but come here a second.” He wrapped his arms around her beautiful, stubborn figure and inhaled her intoxicating scent. He tilted her head up and captured her mouth in a final desperate kiss. He tried to forge a snapshot of this moment in his mind.
“Marti?” The apartment door opened, and her mother appeared, eyes half-open. She stumbled against the doorframe. A loopy smile appeared on her parched lips. “Oops, looks like I’m interrupting.”
Adam wanted to steal Marti away that moment, but he didn’t.
“Please go,” Marti begged him. The pain in her voice convinced him.
“Okay, but I’ll be back. I don’t know when, but I will.” He pecked her quick on the mouth and stepped away. He took one final look and left her alone to fend for herself.
Once outside in the fresh air, Adam stared up at the twinkling night sky and cursed the heavens for doing this to Marti.
* * *
Marti reflected over how uncomfortable the funeral had been as her best friend, Kristi, drove her home. She balanced a foil-covered, tater-tot casserole on her lap, a gift from a lady in Grandma’s book club. Cookies would have been nicer.
She had somehow managed to get her mother to the funeral this morning, but despite Marti’s best efforts, she couldn’t keep the strung out woman from delivering an embarrassing eulogy.
Tami sobbed and blithered as she confessed her pain and regret for being such a disappointment. When it came to Marti’s mother, Marti’s heart held vast emptiness. The woman had never shown an ounce of interest or love toward her. Thankfully her mother disappeared immediately after the funeral, but that left Marti on her own to face the throngs of Grandma’s friends and coworkers who attended the luncheon in the church basement.
“Such a tragedy, such a loss, you poor dear,” they all said. All eyes looked upon her with pity and everyone had questions about what Marti would do next. Even Kristi wasn’t immune. At least Kristi had the guts to come right out and ask.
“What are you going to do?” She glanced at Marti as she drove, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the radio.
“Nothing has to change. I’ll keep living at Grandma’s.”
“But how will you pay for things?” Kristi’s forehead creased in concern.
“I know Grandma had life insurance, so that should cover the rent for a while. I’ll get a job to cover the other stuff.” She didn’t understand how it worked, but it couldn’t be that hard to figure out.
Marti thought about how her drug addled mother emptied out Grandma’s checking account to fund her addiction. A wave of anger washed over her. She fought the urge to call the police, but knew it wouldn’t do much other than to get her mom arrested. Marti would never see that money again; it had been injected into her mother’s veins.
“Will they let you do that?” Kristi’s expression resembled the women’s faces at the church luncheon.
“I don’t know why not. As long as the bills get paid, it shouldn’t matter.” The tinfoil crinkled as Marti shifted in her seat.
“But you’re underage. There’s probably some law against you living by yourself. I mean, if there wasn’t, more kids would move away from home.”
“I’m not living with my mother! I don’t even know if she has a place. Last I heard, she lived in some crappy motel.”
“I wish you could move in with me.” Kristi chewed at her lip. “I could ask again.”
“No. Your dad’s been out of work for almost a year. I understand. Don’t worry. I’ve got it figured out.” And despite the nagging voice of doubt somewhere in the back of her mind, she’d keep believing it.
Kristi pulled into the apartment parking lot. Marti spotted Grandma’s car with the trunk popped open.
“Oh shit. No!” Marti slid the casserole onto the seat and jumped out before Kristi could fully stop the car. She rushed over and found Grandma’s flat screen TV, along with her DVD player and old stereo receiver in the trunk. Looking at the stolen items made Marti furious. Her shoulders tensed. What more had her mother taken?
Marti looked in the car window and spotted her laptop and two cameras on the backseat. Hot rage boiled through her. She clenched her jaw.
“What’s going on?” Kristi joined her. “Isn’t that your stuff?”
“I’m going to kill my mother.” Marti yanked open the door and grabbed her cameras, pulling the straps safely around her neck. This time her mother had gone too far. Her hands shook as she lifted out her laptop. She had spent nearly a year saving up for it, and it held practically every picture she’d ever taken.
Their toaster oven lay next to a clock radio. Then she spotted her grandmother’s jewelry box spilling onto the floor. Marti felt a stab to her heart. She used to open it as a kid and listen to the beautiful melody while playing with Grandma’s jewelry. Her mother was going farther than just stealing valuables; she was trying to steal Marti’s memories.
“Here, take this quick and lock it in your car.” She scooped the jewelry back in the box and handed it off to Krist
i. Kristi’s eyes turned wide as Frisbees. “Now. Hurry!”
Kristi rushed off to hide the keepsakes. Marti knew the box mainly consisted of cheap costume jewelry, but some pieces were gifts to her grandmother from her grandfather. Plus, Grandma kept her wedding broach in that box and had told Marti she could wear it at her wedding some day too.
Marti carried her belongings back into the apartment, each step a painful reminder of the woman she lost, and the woman she despised. She opened the door. Her mother knelt in the hall closet, rifling through it’s contents. A strange man with bloodshot eyes exited Marti’s bedroom carrying her small TV. Her pink tote bag hung from his shoulder, her special camera lens and iPod inside. How dare they steal her stuff!
“What the hell are you doing?” she exploded.
The tall man with dark scraggly hair stopped in his tracks. Her mother jumped like a thief caught in the act, which she was!
“That’s my stuff! Put it back or I’m calling the police!” Marti confronted them, crossing her arms in front of her. Inside, she was shaken to her core, but if she didn’t stop them, no one would.
“Oh hi. I was looking for my dad’s old coin collection.” Her mother’s wild eyes turned back to the box and dumped it on the floor. Clearly she was high on something.
“Stop it! Don’t you have a shred of decency? Show some respect! Grandma’s only been gone a few days.” Marti dropped her laptop on the couch.
Her mother stood and brushed frizzy, neglected hair off her hollow face. “Oh Marti, relax. She’s gone and could care less what happens to her stuff. And it’s all mine now anyway.”
Marti narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean it’s all yours?”
“Mom had a will, and as her only child, I’m her sole beneficiary.” She curled her lip in spiteful disdain.
Marti fought the shock from her mother’s words. She always thought Grandma would take care of her. Why didn’t Grandma leave her belongings to Marti? It didn’t make sense. “That can’t be true. You’re lying.”
Snapshot (The Jamieson Collection) Page 16