One Among Us

by Paige Dearth

  “First things first. Let’s go to the kitchen and get you a sandwich. Then you need to take a bath, ’cause I can’t stand bein’ in the same room with ya,” Rock told him.

  When Rock put the sandwich in front of Seth, he groaned. His limbs were quivering as he reached for the food he had longed for. When he was done eating, he sucked every finger. He wished he could have another, but knew better than to ask. Rock walked over to the sink and filled a glass with water. Seth drank the water without taking a breath.

  “Ya never learnt no table manners, did ya?”

  Seth shook his head. He didn’t know what table manners were. The kids at school teased him that he ate like a pig, and he figured that Rock must be saying the same thing but in grown-up talk.

  “Well, never mind that. Let’s go upstairs and get you a bath. I need you to be really quiet. Thelma is sleeping off a four-day binge, and she might kill you if you wake her up,” Rock warned.

  In the bathroom, Seth stared at Rock. “Who the hell are you lookin’ at, boy? Run the water and get your ass in the tub. I’ll be back as soon as I can find something for ya to wear. Wash every inch, and be sure to scrub that dirt out from under your fingernails. Looks like you’ve been diggin’ in your ass for gold,” he criticized.

  Seth blushed with embarrassment. He couldn’t wait to get into the water and wash himself from head to toe. It had been almost two weeks since the last time he washed, and even then, Thelma only let him “sponge bathe” in the sink.

  Rock came back into the bathroom about twenty minutes later. Seth was sitting in the tub surrounded by black water. “Ew, see now? That’s just plain ol’ nasty, boy. Get yourself outta there. Here, use this towel,” he told him, grossed out by the filth Seth left in the tub.

  “Come on,” Rock said, leading him into a small bedroom across the hall.

  On the bed was a semi clean pair of jeans and the T-shirt that Seth had been wearing when Rock took him and Maggie away from the house where Max and Cali had died.

  “Get dressed and come downstairs.” Rock turned back to him from the doorway. “Hurry up and be quiet,” Rock instructed.

  Seth finished dressing. He was trembling at the thought of Rock putting him outside again on the dog chain. The sunburn had been painful, and his skin was still raw. As he descended the steps, he thought, Aggie, please help me. I don’t want to be here alone anymore.

  Chapter Fifty-Nine

  Seth crept into the kitchen, moving very slowly, fearful that something bad was going to happen. Rock was sitting at the table counting his bags of white powder and placing twenty small bags into a sandwich bag. He looked up from his mountain of snow. “At least you look half human now. You and me are gonna go out for a while. We’re gonna drive around and drop off these bags to people I know. You’re gonna help,” he told Seth.

  At the thought of leaving the house, Seth almost let out a yelp of excitement. Instead, a big grin washed over his face. “I like to help,” Seth said, trying to get Rock to like him. “I used to help Aggie wash our clothes in the sink when we lived at the house with John William.”

  “Oh yeah, whoever the hell John William is. Well, that’s good. All you have to do is follow my instructions,” Rock said in a dismissive manner. “If you don’t do exactly what I tell ya, then you’ll stay here the rest of the summer. Ya got it?”

  Seth nodded his head but didn’t utter a word.

  It was ten o’clock in the evening when Rock and Seth got into the car. They drove to different places, and Seth would shove the sandwich bag into his pocket and run to the person waiting. The person would give Seth a roll of money, and he would run back to the car and give it to Rock.

  By twelve thirty, Seth was sound asleep in the front seat of Rock’s car. Rock stopped at the house where Maggie lived on his way home to check in with his boys, leaving Seth in the car. As usual, there was an argument in full swing when he entered. Two of the hookers had gotten into a fistfight. One was accusing the other of stealing her cigarettes when she’d put them down on the curb earlier in the evening.

  “What the fuck is this about?” Rock demanded.

  “Bitches are fighting over a pack of cigarettes. Got into a damn fistfight, and the cops picked them up. Had to bail their rank asses out of jail,” explained Diesel, the one who looked out for them.

  Rock strode over to the two girls, who were sitting on a mattress, still arguing. He snatched up a handful of hair from each of them and banged their heads together. “Where ya whores think you are? Disney World? You stupid bitches cost me money tonight. What do ya think? I pull bail money outta my ass? Get your fuckin’ asses up and get back out on that street. Don’t come back until you made enough money to pay me back for your mother fuckin’ bail,” he yelled.

  The girls quickly forgot about the cigarettes and hurried out the door. Rock turned to Diesel. “Looks to me like you can’t handle your shit. These sluts don’t run you; you run them. If you can’t handle this job, I’ll give your girls to one of the other men who can,” he threatened.

  “I’m handlin’ my shit, Rock. I can’t help it they fightin’ over a pack of smokes,” Diesel said.

  Rock punched Diesel in the face, and he flew backward into the wall. By then, the other men were all watching. “That’s right. You can’t stop them from fightin’ over a pack of smokes. But when you get their dirty asses out of jail, you put them back on the streets to work off the bail money, after you beat them. You don’t let them sit on their lard asses in this house and continue to argue. You got me?”

  Diesel nodded, rubbing his jaw where Rock’s fist had landed. “Yeah, I got ya.”

  Rock sat down with his men and explained what he was doing with Seth. “The kid is gonna run drops for me to my pushers. That way, they ain’t spendin’ all that time coming to my house to get more dope. They can use that time selling,” he told them.

  It had been Juju’s idea. While she recognized that it was a bad thing for Seth to be doing, she also knew it would get Seth out of the house and away from Thelma. She feared that the child would die in her care if something didn’t change. The bright side was that Seth and Maggie would be in contact with each other on the streets.

  The next morning, Maggie arrived at Juju’s apartment at nine o’clock, the same time she arrived every day. She sat at the kitchen table while Juju made them instant coffee. “So, I heard some shit on the street last night,” Juju announced.

  “What now? Someone out killing prostitutes? That would be my luck,” Maggie responded sarcastically.

  “Nope. I heard there’s a little blond-haired boy riding around with Rock to deliver dope to his pushers,” Juju stated victoriously.

  Maggie jumped out of her chair. “Seth is out on the streets? Oh my God! That’s awesome,” she blurted.

  Then, in the next moment, Maggie paused. “He’s helping to sell drugs?” she asked, scared for Seth.

  “Yep. But he’s selling to the sellers, Maggie. People like me. Besides, Rock’s driving him to each spot. It’s not like he’s walking Kensington Avenue,” she said. “It was my idea. Thelma left him outside for three days. He got bad sunburn. Rock said his skin was blistered and peeling off his body. Rock put him in the basement with a bottle of lotion for a couple days. Said he wouldn’t stop crying, and he thought Thelma was going to hurt him more. So, I came up with this idea. I know it ain’t what you want him to be doing, but it’s better than being left outside or starved to death. Sometimes we gotta do shit that ain’t what we want to do. You know that better than anyone,” Juju rationalized.

  Maggie understood, and she knew that Juju had good intentions. She gave her friend a hug. “You’re right. I don’t want him involved with selling drugs, but it is better than dying at the hands of that beast. Man, I hate that bitch. I hope Thelma burns in hell. There’s a whole bunch of people I hope will burn in hell someday,” Maggie stated vehemently.

  Then Maggie realized that she would more than likely see Seth on the streets. She got exc
ited at the very thought of holding him even for a brief moment. She had mothered Seth for almost half of his life. Unbeknownst to Maggie, Seth would turn eight in another month.

  As if Juju could read her mind, she asked, “When will Seth be eight?”

  Maggie shoved her hands into the pockets of her skintight jeans. “I don’t know. He was too young when they took him. He didn’t remember anything.”

  “Well, then we have to make up a birthday for him,” Juju said, hoping to lighten her friend’s mood.

  “Yeah.” Maggie perked up. “That would be cool. We’ll pick a date. Then every year we’ll celebrate it with him.”

  “OK, what date?” Juju asked, enjoying the game.

  “We need something easy for him to remember. How about December 3? Get it? One, two, three?”

  “Yeah, that’s so cool. I love it,” Juju told her.

  Then Maggie had another thought. “Why don’t we head down to Needle Park?”

  “Really? Why do you want to go there? I thought you didn’t want to hang with those people—people like me, let me remind you,” she teased.

  “Because I want to get to know as many pushers as I can, ’cause if they know Seth’s with me, then maybe they’ll watch out for him. If they like me, then they’ll keep an eye out for him, right? Isn’t that the way it works?” Maggie asked in a sassy tone.

  A huge grin spread across Juju’s face. “Yep, that’s how drug dealers fly. See, you’re learning. We ain’t like you damn streetwalkers who will eat each other alive to fuck some smelly old man,” she quipped.

  Hearing Juju call her a streetwalker made Maggie feel as if a dozen butterflies had suddenly hatched in her belly. Maggie was a smart girl. While she’d known the truth all along, to hear it coming from her only friend suddenly made it very real. “Yeah, but I didn’t pick my career; it sorta picked me,” she responded sadly.

  “Come on, Maggie. I was only messing with ya. You’re much more than some low-down, dirty tramp. You’re smart, and someday you’re gonna be something great,” Juju told her, convinced there were good things in store for her friend.

  “Do you really think so?” Maggie asked, wishing Juju had magic powers and could see into the future.

  “Of course I do. You’ll see. First, we gotta help Seth. Then we’ll work on what we’re gonna do. You know, like what we’re gonna be when we grow up,” Juju said with optimism.

  For the first time since arriving in Kensington, a spark ignited in Maggie—a tiny flame of hope that one day she could see her family again and help Seth to find his family. She had the feeling that something good was about to happen. She clung to that feeling as if her life depended on it.

  In fact, it probably did.

  Chapter Sixty

  Over the next week, Rock and Seth nailed down the daily routine of delivering drugs. Rock saw his sales go up as a result and was pleased. Juju was happy on two levels: first, because Rock mentioned his increased sales to her; and second, because Seth was doing much better in his new situation.

  Juju was one of Rock and Seth’s regular stops. Rock parked on the street and told Seth to give the bag to the lady who would be waiting on the side of the house. When Seth rounded the corner, he saw Maggie waiting for him with Juju.

  The boy ran to Maggie with open arms. Maggie lifted him into the air and quickly set him down. “You can’t stay, Seth. You have to get back to the car fast. But I’ll be here whenever you come by to bring something to Juju,” she explained.

  “Why can’t I stay with you, Aggie?” he asked, his eyes filling with tears.

  “Seth!” Maggie said sternly. “You can’t cry. Rock will figure out you’ve seen me, and then we’ll both be in big trouble. Come on now, you have to be brave and strong. Remember how brave Max was when John William would separate the girls from the boys? Remember how Max took care of you then?”

  “Yes,” he responded timidly.

  “Well, that’s exactly how you have to be right now,” she stated. “Now go get back in the car and finish your work with Rock,” Maggie told him, and gave him another quick hug.

  Juju rubbed the top of his head. “See ya later, little man,” she said with a big smile.

  The two girls watched as Seth ran around the front of the building to Rock’s car. As he slid into the passenger seat, Rock asked, “What took you so long?”

  “I tripped when I was running over to the girl. I’m OK, though,” Seth lied.

  “Good. Next time, be more careful,” Rock instructed.

  Day after day, Seth delivered drugs to Rock’s pushers. Doing this, he was able to see Maggie almost every other day. There was never time for talking; it was always a quick hug, a peck on the cheek, an “I love you,” and off he would run. But it was a vast improvement over the life he’d had since school let out for the summer.

  This new job for Seth helped to ease his troubles at home to a certain extent. Thelma still denied him of any kind of love or encouragement. Many nights, he slept out in the backyard, chained to the railing. He still had to endure her short temper and stinging slaps to the head, arms, and legs. But the one thing she could no longer deny him was food. Rock insisted that she feed him.

  “The boy needs to be fed so he can run this shit, Thelma. So make sure he eats. And another thing: he needs to take a bath every day. Ain’t nobody wantin’ dope delivered by some foul-smelling kid,” Rock demanded.

  Thelma didn’t like Rock telling her what to do. But he so rarely took a stand on her parenting that she honored his request and made sure Seth was fed and clean. Out of all of Thelma’s cruelty, the verbal abuse was hardest for Seth to process. Bruises on the skin faded, but bruises on the heart and mind left scars that took a lot longer to heal.

  Chapter Sixty-One

  On September 28, Maggie’s fifteenth birthday, she finally faced her past head on. She started the day with her normal routine. She left the house of whores, stopped at Juju’s for breakfast, and then walked to the library when it opened, so she could read for an hour.

  For weeks leading up to that day, she contemplated going through old newspapers from the day she was taken. As much as she wanted to read about her own disappearance, she feared reliving the months that immediately followed her kidnapping. She worried that perhaps her parents had never looked for her, even though she knew that wouldn’t be true. But after the things she’d done and all the time that had passed, she seriously doubted they could accept her back as the young woman she’d become.

  On this morning, her birthday, she finally decided she’d take the plunge. As she looked through the local newspapers from August 3 of that year, she found nothing. Then it dawned on her that the story would have been published the day after she was taken. She pulled the local paper from August 4. On the front page, she looked into the eyes of the eleven-year-old girl she vaguely remembered. The young girl looked so happy. Maggie remembered the family party where the picture had been taken a month before her disappearance. But now, four years later, she barely recognized herself.

  She stared at the photo of Maggie Clarke, wishing she could go back in time and take back all she’d lost. The girl looked so sweet and innocent. Maggie knew the picture showed a girl who was carefree and in love with her life. Then she shifted her eyes to the story, and the headline practically slapped her in the face. It read:

  GIRL, 11, KIDNAPPED FROM PLYMOUTH MEETING MALL

  Eleven-year-old Maggie Clarke disappeared on August 3 from the Plymouth Meeting Mall. The young girl was on her way to get a slice of pizza, her mother told reporters. “She was only gone for a couple of minutes. I don’t know where she is. If anyone knows where our Maggie is, please call the police.” Lorraine Clarke, the girl’s mother, sobbed when interviewed outside her home early the next morning. Maggie Clarke is five feet tall and weighs eighty-two pounds. She has black hair and blue eyes. She was wearing denim jeans and a pale pink blouse at the time of her disappearance. She was last seen inside the food court at the Plymouth Meeting Mall. A
nyone who has information should call the Plymouth Township Police Department.

  Maggie hadn’t noticed the stream of tears running down her face. She felt as though she was a third party to the information as she tried to absorb the article about herself. Maggie continued searching through other papers. Her picture had been plastered all over the front pages. Her mother and father were interviewed several times. Maggie didn’t remember her parents looking as old as they did in the photos. The most troubling realization was that Maggie no longer felt attached or connected to them. Her heart broke as she stared mournfully at the two people who were once her parents: they were now strangers.

  Maggie found articles written about her every few days for three weeks following her disappearance. She was saddened that each time an article appeared, it was hidden a little deeper in the paper. Finally, her disappearance was nothing more than a brief update that simply said that the search parties had ceased until more evidence turned up. She read all of the articles twice. The one common thread, aside from her parents, was a Detective Rae Harker. Judging from the picture in the paper, he looked like a large man—someone criminals wouldn’t want to mess with—and Maggie wondered how long he looked for her and how much he knew about her.

  Looking back, Maggie felt downright stupid. She had lost her life trying to impress a bunch of snot-nosed classmates who excluded her from their lame little group. She would give anything to reverse time. The gnawing grip of regret settled into her bones, and a veil of darkness fell over her.

  Maggie quickly left the library. By the time she found Juju in an alley off Kensington Avenue, she was practically hysterical. Her sobs came in loud, gut-wrenching waves. Juju was alarmed, thinking that something horrible had happened to Seth.

  “What is it? What’s wrong?” Juju asked.

  “My mom and dad looked for me, Juju. They looked for me and never found me. I should have never left my mom. I should have stayed with her and my brother at the mall,” she sobbed.