One Among Us

by Paige Dearth

  “Why are you standing there smiling like a goofball?” Juju asked.

  “Oh, no reason…other than I think Colby likes me,” Maggie sang.

  “No shit. It took you this long to figure that out? I mean, really, Maggie. Are you that blind? The guy has been hanging around ogling over you for a week. He took care of me, brought you breakfast, gave us money. It shouldn’t take a brick wall falling on your head before you get the message.”

  “What?” Maggie gasped, smiling brightly.

  “There’s something seriously wrong with you. Have you looked in the mirror lately?” Juju mocked.

  “What?” Maggie said, giggling.

  “Oh, forget it. Come back inside before someone sees you standing there and mistakes you for a crazy person with that stupid-ass grin on your face. For the record, it’s obvious you like him as much as he likes you,” Juju added as she walked back into the apartment.

  Maggie didn’t respond, but followed Juju inside.

  “Who was at the door?” Seth asked.

  “It was Maggie’s boyfriend, Colby,” Juju teased.

  “Colby’s not her boyfriend,” Seth yelled, not wanting anyone to come between them.

  Maggie didn’t want Seth to feel threatened in any way and quickly agreed with him. “He’s right. Colby is not my boyfriend. He’s just a guy who’s helping us out.”

  “See, Juju? You don’t know everything,” Seth commented, sticking his tongue out at her.

  Juju got into a defensive stance. “Yeah? Come on, you little brat,” she teased and proceeded to fall on top of him.

  “Get off me, Juju. I’m trying to read,” he said, giggling. “Aggie, tell Juju to get off me!”

  “You two work out your own stuff. I have to get ready for work. I have some early appointments today,” Maggie said. She enjoyed watching the two of them play.

  Colby was Maggie’s fourth customer that day. He came waltzing through the door and plopped down on the sofa next to her. “What’s going on?” he asked.

  “Ahh, work,” Maggie reminded him.

  “Right. Work. So about that…I was thinking maybe you can share the names of the women who work for Rock,” Colby stated.

  “Sure, why not?”

  Maggie spent the next half hour telling Colby as much as she knew about the hookers who worked for Rock. When she finished, they sat together on the sofa, and Colby asked about Juju. When there was no more small talk left, Colby reached for Maggie’s hand.

  “I was thinking about that dinner I owe you,” he mumbled.

  “And?”

  “Well, how about if we try to get away for dinner soon?” Colby asked.

  Maggie angled her body toward Colby. “I’ll have to let you know,” she said, leaning into him closer.

  Maggie felt a flurry of activity inside. Hormones were coursing through her body. Her skin was tingly, and just thinking about kissing Colby made her lips feel as though they were on fire.

  Colby was fighting his own urge to kiss her. He didn’t want their first kiss to be in the apartment where he had to pay to be with her for the hour. If it were ever going to happen, he wanted it to be special, so Maggie knew it was for real and not because of what she did for a living.

  “OK, let me know,” Colby said. He stood and walked to the door. Maggie followed him and wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around him and hold him close.

  “Will I see you tomorrow?” Maggie asked.

  “Yeah, I’ll be back tomorrow.”

  Colby’s eyes were simmering with desire as he looked into hers. They both resisted the compulsion to touch the other. Finally, Colby placed his hand on the back of Maggie’s neck as he tenderly pulled her closer to whisper in her ear.

  “You’re a really special person,” he murmured.

  The heat of his breath on her neck flared the passion inside of her. Then Colby left, closing the door behind him.

  It was only fifteen minutes later when Maggie’s next client knocked. She opened the door, still dazed from all of the emotions she was feeling about Colby.

  “Hey, baby, you here for a date?” Maggie asked in a sexy voice.

  “I sure am. Where’s the bedroom?” the john asked.

  “This way,” Maggie said, leading him into the next room.

  “All right, girl. You go ahead and undress while I watch ya. Then you can undress me,” he said with a slimy smirk.

  As Maggie removed all of her clothes and did the same for her john, revulsion replaced the good feelings she’d felt for Colby minutes earlier. The man stood naked in the middle of the bedroom. “Come on, get on your knees and suck me off,” he commanded.

  Maggie slowly went to her knees, all the while wanting to destroy the john who stood before her, waiting to take his pleasure. Having sex with strangers was a mechanical task that she never associated with emotion. But this time, it was different because of what she had just felt for Colby. This time she was overwhelmed with hate and resentment.

  Maggie tried to make her mind go blank. She tried not to think about Colby or the boorish pig who stood in front of her, slobbering and grunting while he climaxed. But her ability to wipe her thoughts clean failed her. She wanted nothing more than to have Colby rescue her from the destructive world that was her life.

  Chapter One Hundred Fifteen

  On Maggie’s nineteenth birthday, Detective Harker visited Rob and Lorraine. The detective popped in every year on their daughter’s birthday, but this time he wanted to do more than just stop by and show his support.

  “Rae, you never forget her birthday,” Lorraine commented as she opened the door for him. “It’s been eight years, yet you still keep coming.”

  “Yep, that’s what I do best…I keep showing up,” Rae remarked.

  There was something in his voice. He wasn’t quite as jovial as usual, and Lorraine recognized it immediately.

  “Come on. Rob’s in the living room.”

  “Good, because I need to talk to you two together,” Detective Harker said.

  Lorraine’s insides twisted into a tightly wound knot. Oh God, this is the moment we’ve been dreading for the last eight years. He going to tell us that Maggie is dead, Lorraine thought.

  Rob stood as soon as he saw the expression on Lorraine’s face. “What happened? Did you find her?” he asked.

  “No, no, it’s nothing like that. I’m sorry, Lorraine. I shouldn’t have done that to you,” Harker said sincerely.

  “Christ, you scared the shit out of me, Rae,” Lorraine told him.

  “Sorry about that. I have news about another child. I need your help because this kid is dealing with some serious stuff. We found her about a month ago. She’d been missing for two years. Turns out, her crack head mother sold her for some dope. Kid has been through hell. She was sexually and physically abused. Sometimes starved and sometimes left alone for days,” Detective Harker began.

  “That’s awful. What the hell is wrong with people?” Rob asked no one in particular.

  “Well, it doesn’t get better. When we found her, she was pretty beat up. She stayed in the hospital for a short time until we could get her to talk to us. The kid told us that before she was sold, her mother’s boyfriend used to have sex with her. So given that her mother is a loser and can’t be trusted with the kid, we had to put her into the system. She’s been living in an orphanage in Blue Bell,” Harker explained.

  “How old is she?” Lorraine asked.

  “She’s thirteen. Her name is Mara, and she needs your help,” the detective told them.

  “Our help? What do you want us to do?” Lorraine asked.

  “I want you to go and talk to her. You’ve helped many girls just by listening. This kid is rebelling against everyone. They think she’s a big problem, but I think she needs to meet people she can trust. I think you two are those people…”

  Detective Harker let silence fill the room as he waited for one of them to speak.

  “Well, I guess we could talk to her. I mean,
I’m not completely following why you think we can make such a big difference. But OK. How about it, Rob?” Lorraine said.

  “Sure, we’ll try to help,” Rob said slowly. “I’m with Lorraine on this one, Harker. I’m not clear as to why you want us to do this. Mara is already in the care of the state. I mean, if the psychiatrists can’t help her, I’m not sure what we’ll be able to do.”

  Detective Harker let out a sigh that sounded more like a huff. “If they can’t get through to this kid, and they haven’t been able to so far, she’ll never get adopted. She’ll spend the next five years in the system. She’s been through enough. I think she deserves a chance at a decent life. Don’t you?” Harker asked.

  “Of course we do,” Lorraine answered for both of them. “When do we meet her?”

  “I’ve arranged for you to meet her tomorrow at the orphanage,” Harker said. There was a victorious tone in his voice.

  “Oh you have, have you? And how did you know we were going to agree to meet Mara?” Lorraine teased.

  “Well, because I can always count on you two to help when everyone else tries to get as far away as possible. It’s what makes you such great people,” Harker said.

  “I’ll call Julie and see if Keith can go to her house after school, just in case we don’t make it back home in time,” Lorraine said.

  Later that night, as Lorraine and Rob lay in bed, reading, Mara was six miles away thinking about how to kill herself. She didn’t want it to be dramatic—just quick and painless. Her intense anger for all of the people who’d failed her was tormenting her. Mara saw no good way out of her misery, no escape from the demons that haunted her day and night. She often wished she’d never been born.

  The Clarkes arrived at the orphanage ten minutes early the next morning. Detective Harker’s car was already in the lot when they parked. It was a warm September day, and children were playing outside on the swings and kicking balls around in the grass. Lorraine noticed one young girl sitting alone in a corner of the brick building with her back against the wall. The child was crouched down and looked like a cobra prepared to strike at anyone who got close to her. Lorraine knew that girl was Mara.

  Instead of going inside, Lorraine walked over to her. When Lorraine was five feet from the child, she crouched down in the same position, mimicking the young girl’s stature.

  “Are you Mara?” Lorraine asked.

  The girl looked up. Her brow was furrowed, and her upper lip was raised in a foul sneer.

  “My name is Lorraine. So, are you Mara?”

  “Why?” the girl asked.

  “Because I’ve come here to visit someone named Mara, and I think you look like a Mara,” Lorraine explained.

  “Ha. Oh yeah? What does a Mara look like?” she asked mockingly, throwing Lorraine a hateful glare.

  “A Mara looks like she needs someone to cut her a break. She needs someone who can be trusted so that she doesn’t have to carry the burden of her horrific past alone. A Mara looks like someone who needs a friend. She looks like someone who needs to be held and kept safe because her whole, rotten life has been nothing but a complete disaster, full of rotten, no-good people. A Mara would rather die right now than face anymore of her life alone,” Lorraine said.

  Angry tears streamed from Mara’s eyes and dripped from the bottom of her chin.

  “Can I sit next to you?” Lorraine asked.

  “I guess so,” Mara said sadly, beginning to soften.

  Lorraine moved next to the girl and sat snuggly up against her. Then she lifted her arm and put it over Mara’s shoulders. “See, I’m not so bad. You are Mara, right?”

  Mara laughed through her sobs. “Yes, I’m Mara,” she affirmed and continued to cry. After five minutes, while still bawling, Mara rested her head on Lorraine’s shoulder.

  “No one’s ever taken care of me before,” Mara confided.

  “I know,” Lorraine said.

  “What do you want from me?” Mara asked.

  “Nothing. I just want to sit here and hold you. I want you to know there are people who care about you,” Lorraine said.

  “Not likely,” Mara responded.

  “Well, I care. I’m someone,” Lorraine said.

  “I don’t know. Just ’cause you come here once and are nice to me and all doesn’t mean you care. Maybe you’re getting paid to be nice to me like the other assholes around here,” Mara answered brazenly.

  “Oh yeah? If I’m like the rest of the assholes around here, then why do you still have your head on my shoulder? Besides, I don’t work here, and I’m not getting paid by anyone to sit here with you,” Lorraine countered.

  Lorraine and Mara sat in the corner of the building laughing as Rob looked on from across the courtyard. His wife was such a natural with these kids, he thought, as he slowly made his way over to where the two were sitting.

  “Hi,” Rob yelled from afar.

  “Come on over here,” Lorraine yelled back.

  When he reached the corner of the building, he squatted down in front of Lorraine and Mara.

  “Hi, I’m Rob Clarke,” he greeted, extending his hand.

  Rob’s formal approach struck the two of them as funny. Lorraine and Mara started to giggle, and that turned into full-blown belly laughs.

  “Oh nice, nice. I’m the butt of your jokes already?” Rob kidded.

  Lorraine and Mara didn’t know why they were laughing so uncontrollably. Maybe it was to release the tension that had been building up inside of both of them for such a long time. Or maybe it was because they didn’t know what else to do. But whatever the reason, the laughter brought the two of them closer. Even though they’d only known each other for ten minutes, they felt familiar with each other.

  A couple of hours passed before Rob, Lorraine, and Mara entered the building together. Detective Harker and the others who worked at the orphanage had been sneaking glimpses of the three from a window. The doctor thought it was remarkable that the Clarkes were able to get Mara to open up so quickly. He believed there was hope that the girl could be “fixed,” as he put it.

  Mara gave Lorraine and Rob a hug before she left them to go to the cafeteria for lunch. When she was gone, Lorraine and Rob went to the administrative office to find Rae Harker. They found him in the hallway.

  “Well, I see you made a new friend,” Harker teased.

  “We sure did. She’s a wonderful girl, Rae. She’s clever and funny. You’d never know it by looking at her serious expression,” Lorraine babbled.

  “That’s good. Yeah, that’s real good to hear, Lorraine. If we can get her help, then perhaps she’ll have a chance at being placed in a foster home,” Rae said casually.

  “A foster home? I thought she was going to be adopted,” Lorraine barked.

  “First things first. If Mara gets placed in foster care, she’ll have a better chance of being adopted,” Harker explained.

  “No! You can’t put that poor little soul into another house where something bad could happen to her,” Lorraine protested.

  “Lorraine, foster care is progress for these kids,” Harker explained.

  “No, I couldn’t live with myself if anything more happened to Mara. I…we…want to bring her home with us. We’ll talk with Keith about it when he gets home from school. I’m sure he won’t mind. After all, he’ll have someone to share his chores with. If everything goes well then we can be her foster parents,” Lorraine blurted out. She looked at Rob for a reaction, and he nodded at Harker.

  Harker’s smile lit up his face. “Yeah, that’s what I figured would happen once you all met.”

  “Are you saying you planned for this to happen?” Lorraine asked with a smile.

  “Well, let’s just say I had a good feeling about the three of you,” Rae said.

  “All right, it’s settled then. I’ll call you tonight and give you a definite answer. If we’re good to go, how soon would she be able to come home with us?” Lorraine asked.

  “Let’s go talk to the people in char
ge of this place and figure it all out,” Rae said.

  Detective Harker knew from the moment he met Mara that she and the Clarkes would hit it off—or at least, he’d hoped so. Mara desperately needed loving parents to guide her, and the Clarkes needed a daughter to help them heal. Over time, the Clarkes had seen many happy and tragic reunions between parents and their missing children. Harker doubted that they would ever see Maggie again. He also knew they wanted and needed to raise a daughter. He knew Keith was a good kid and wanted more than anything for his parents to find peace again. Detective Harker had gambled, and it had paid off big for all of them.

  Just over a month later, the Clarkes picked Mara up and took her home. Mara was in awe of their modest home. Having been raised in the projects and trailer parks, the Clarkes house took her breath away. She was particularly quiet, taking in all of her new surroundings and following Lorraine around the house like a puppy.

  Upstairs, Lorraine paused at the bedroom door before she opened it. As she stepped inside with Mara on her heels, she felt elated and deeply saddened. Lorraine had hoped that Maggie would be back in the bedroom someday, but she surrendered to the likelihood that Maggie would never return home.

  “Wow, is this my room?” Mara asked.

  “Yes,” Lorraine responded with distance in her voice.

  Mara looked around and noticed that the room was set up for a younger girl. The stuffed animals on the bed looked old and abandoned. “Whose room was this before?” Mara asked.

  “It was my daughter’s room. Her name was Maggie.”

  “Did Maggie die?” Mara asked, picking up on the change in Lorraine’s demeanor and hoping she wasn’t sleeping in a dead girl’s bed.

  “We don’t know. She was stolen from us a long time ago.”

  “Oh, can I see a picture of her?”

  Lorraine led Mara over to the dresser and grabbed a framed picture of Maggie that was taken just before she was kidnapped.

  “She’s very pretty. Look at those eyes,” Mara commented.

  “Yes, she was a beautiful little girl.”

  Lorraine realized this might all be too much for Mara, who had her own past that needed to be handled.