Sublime Karma

by Peyton Garver

  “No, not yet. Maybe I will, though.” He glanced at Greg, then back at Ari. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to cause problems.”

  A deep, resonating voice interrupted them. “Ah, Mr. Jake Gordon. To what do we owe this pleasure?”

  Jake whirled around on the stool to face Mr. McCullough.

  “If you are here,” Mr. McCullough continued, pausing as he annunciated each word, “that means that you are not where you are supposed to be. And, the only guests I allow in this room are guest speakers. Do you have something to share?”

  Jake flashed his smile. “I was just sharing how illumination enhances the aesthetic appeal in oil painting.”

  “Very impressive, Mr. Gordon, but not very well-thought-out, seeing as we have, sitting at this table, no one working with oils today.”

  “I was just on my way out.” Jake slid off the stool just as the late bell sounded.

  “And I? I will pretend that I never saw you.” Mr. McCullough turned with a chuckle.

  “Spill it,” Troy said, in the weight room during P.E.

  Jake sneered back. “First of all, you guys didn’t have to run those suicides with me. I was the one who was late. I think that act of solidarity just pissed off Old Man Harris.”

  “Prob’ly, but ask me if I care,” Troy said. “So, what gives? Why were you late?”

  Jake sneered. “Why do you think?”

  “Brie? Let it go, man. It’s messin’ you up. She’s playin’ with your head.”

  “I can’t. I’ve gotta figure out what happened. Something’s not right. She’s not answering my texts. She hasn’t come back to school. None of this makes any sense. Can you cover for me at practice? Just tell Coach I went home sick or something.”

  Troy hesitated. “Yeah, sure. I got you.” He nodded, but then sighed. “Listen, I’ll cover for you, but hurry up and figure it out. We didn’t bust our asses all season to have you screw it all up. Don’t leave us high and dry.”

  “Thanks man. And, you know I won’t let the team down.”

  Troy nodded, but didn’t answer.

  Jake leaned against the ladder of the deer blind, getting his thoughts together before walking across her backyard with her sketchpad under one arm and his backpack over his other shoulder. He walked past the high stone wall that surrounded the pool and around to the front of her house. Feeling small, standing on the portico, he faced the heavy double-front door and cleared his throat, hoping he wouldn’t croak out his question. He took a deep breath and wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans, then he rang the doorbell.

  “Can I help you?” the woman asked with a heavy Hispanic accent.

  “Hi, I’m looking for Brie. I’m a friend of hers. She’s in some of my classes,” Jake’s eyes strayed to the interior of the house beyond the woman.

  “Please come in. Jus’ one minute, I be right back.” She stepped aside so Jake could enter. Once inside, he felt even smaller. The foyer had marble floors and two-story pillars on either side of the doublewide staircase that flowed away from the center of the entrance.

  In awe, he looked around trying to remember what he had rehearsed when the housekeeper reappeared with another lady. He knew right away she was Brie’s mother.

  “So, you’re a friend of Brie’s?” she asked with a polite smile.

  “Yes, ma’am, I mean Mrs. Lindstrom. I’m Jake, Jake Gordon.”

  She checked her watch as if she had somewhere to go. “What can I do for you, Jake?”

  He held out Brie’s sketchpad and then took her assignments out of his backpack. “I was hoping I could see Brie. She has a couple classes with me, and I brought some of the work she’s missed. She hasn’t been to school, and I thought maybe—”

  “Why, that was very thoughtful of you.” After accepting the file of assignments, Brie’s mother waved her hand toward the sketchbook Jake held out. “Maria, can you take this? Is that it then, Jake?”

  “Well, I was hoping I could see her,” he handed Brie’s sketchpad to the maid.

  “Oh, I’m afraid that won’t be possible. She’s away, visiting relatives, out of town.”

  “She hasn’t answered her phone or texts. She didn’t tell me she was going away.” He looked beyond Brie’s mother, into an entertainment room, and then glanced up the stairs.

  “Oh, I’m sure that’s because it was last minute, and she forgot her phone,” she said, walking toward the door, ushering him out.

  Jake nodded. Still, something seemed off. “Mrs. Lindstrom, did Brie take Roxy with her?”

  “What?” She gasped. “How . . . I’m sorry. I have an appointment and I really must get going.” She checked her watch again. “When Brie gets back I’m sure she’ll call you.”

  Now, he was even more unsettled.

  Wednesday

  “I can’t believe I’m ditching school. First time ever.” Jake glanced at his band-mate, Alec, sitting next to him. “Thanks for helpin’ me out with this. I didn’t know what else to do or who else to call.”

  “How could I resist? I’m stoked. Never been on a stakeout before. Maybe I should’ve been a cop.”

  “A cop?” Jake gave Alec an amused grin. He was aware of his friend’s tempestuous past. But, that was all behind him now. Alec had even come up with the name “Sublime Karma” for their band. To Alec, karma was the inevitable consequence of one’s deeds, and he was not looking forward to the retribution he would face if he didn’t get his so-called shit together. “Nah, not a cop. Too much violence for you.”

  Alec nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. But, right now I’m pumped.” He rubbed his hands together. “I really did used to want to be a cop. Ya know? When I was a kid, eight years old.”

  “What eight-year-old kid didn’t wanna be a cop?”

  Alec laughed, then patted the dashboard of his aged, dark-blue Jeep Cherokee Sport. “I kinda feel conspicuous in Ol’ Blue sitting here in this neighborhood.” Parked one house down, behind a black Escalade, Alec glanced at Brie’s house. “Her house is ginormous.”

  “Look, there she goes,” Jake said.

  Alec started the Jeep, just as Brie’s mother pulled out of the garage and down the drive in a sleek black Benz sedan.

  “Don’t get too close, but don’t lose her.”

  Alec put the Jeep in gear. “All right, let’s do this.”

  They followed her east on Interstate 70 then onto Route 29 for forty minutes.

  “Dude, maybe she knows we’re following her, and she’s takin’ us on a wild-goose chase. Or, maybe she’s not even goin’ to see your girl.”

  “She doesn’t know, and I’d bet money she’s goin’ to Brie. Maybe she’s on her way to their relatives. This might be a long trip.”

  “Guess we’ll find out.”

  Brie’s mother was off the highway now. Jake noticed the big blue “H” signs for a hospital were coming more frequently. And, sure enough, they followed her into the hospital parking lot. Jake put his hand up on the dashboard and looked at the entrance to the hospital. “Pull over here. Let me out. You got your phone?”

  Alec pulled to a stop. “Yeah.”

  “Okay. I’ll meet you in the lobby.” Jake set his phone on vibrate, pulled up the hood on his sweatshirt, shoved his hands into the front pouch, and walked toward the entrance.

  As he entered the hospital, another visitor, a man, exited. Jake watched him peel off his visitor pass and stick it on the ashbin on his way out. He looked from the man to the back of Brie’s mother, who had just passed him. He watched her approach the information desk to register, and his heart skipped a beat when he noticed she carried Brie’s sketchpad. Would she tell Brie that he had stopped by? He watched her walk to the main corridor and then disappear around the corner. Standing in the entrance, he contemplated his next move.

  “You ok
ay?” Alec asked, clapping Jake on the shoulder.

  “Huh? Yeah,” he lied. He pushed the hood back off his head and shook out his hair.

  “Yeah, right. C’mon, let’s go sit down until you get a grip.”

  Jake nodded and followed Alec to the waiting area just around the corner from the receptionist.

  “I’m gonna go see what I can find out,” Jake said.

  “I’ll be right here,” Alec said, shuffling through a stack of magazines.

  Engrossed in her phone, the young receptionist didn’t notice Jake standing in front of her.

  “Excuse me? I’m here to visit someone. I don’t have the room number, but I’m pretty sure she checked in at this hospital.”

  The receptionist put her phone down. “I can look that up for you. Name of patient?”

  “Her name is Brie Lindstrom.”

  She keyed the name into the computer. “Yes, she has been admitted.” She continued reading off the screen. “Emergency pediatric care. Room Two Thir— Oh. Oh, I’m sorry. Visitors are restricted, only her mother can be admitted. I wish I could help.”

  Jake sighed. “Well, do you think I can call her?”

  “I’m really sorry. I can’t give any information out. Here, I’d definitely call this number before you come back.” Circling a phone number, she handed him a pamphlet.

  Jake accepted the information and went back to the lobby exit. He looked back over his shoulder. The receptionist had already returned to her phone. He plucked off the discarded visitor pass that was stuck on the edge of the ashbin and then returned to the lobby.

  Alec looked up from last month’s issue of Men’s Health. “Well?”

  “She’s here. Visitors restricted, no pass.”

  Alec closed the magazine. “Oh, dude, sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” Jake stuck the visitor nametag with the room number on his sweatshirt.

  Alec laughed. “Stan Goldberg? That room number is probably in geriatrics.”

  Jake grinned back. “Prob’ly. I know it’s not her room, but nobody really pays attention to these things. She’s in emergency pediatrics, two-thirty-something.”

  “Emergency?”

  Jake gave his friend a slow nod. “Yeah. Don’t know anything yet. When her mom leaves, I’m goin’ up.”

  Less than thirty minutes later, Brie’s mother re-entered the lobby. “Alec, there she goes.”

  Alec glanced up from his magazine. “Whoa, I call MILF.” He watched Brie’s mother strut across the lobby with purpose, as if she were on a runway.

  Jake sniggered. “I know, right? But, seriously, you okay waiting for me? It might be a while. If you don’t want to wait, I can text you to come back and get me.”

  “Nah, I’m good. I’ll wait. Where would I go? I have no idea where anything is around here. Besides, I already waited this long.”

  “All right, man.” Jake nodded, took a deep breath, and was gone.

  Chapter 18

  Now, she’s sorry? Now, she believes me? Now? Brie massaged the thin scars on her hand, and then she inspected the newer ones on her arm. Those would fade, like the first one had.

  Probably no one even notices I’m gone. No one cares, only Leif. Leif, where are you? The sedatives only made the numbness worse.

  She scanned the room for something, anything she could use to find relief. There was nothing. Not even a glass, she scoffed, looking at the Styrofoam cup of ginger ale on her tray. The nurse didn’t even leave the can. She inspected the IV tubing that had been inserted into the back of her hand. What if? She fisted her hand, watching as she pressed on the needleless catheter in her vein, but then collapsed back on her pillow. How had she gotten to this point? Leif is going to be so angry. She touched the top of her bandaged foot and squeezed her eyes shut. I’m sorry, Leif.

  The door eased open. “Jake?” She focused on the form entering her room. “Who told you?” she asked, groggy. “How’d you know I was here?”

  Hesitant, he closed the door behind him. “You didn’t trust me enough to say something to me.” A quiet statement, not an answer to her question. “Don’t you think you owed me at least that?”

  What? Say something to you? I owe you? She drew her swollen lip into her mouth and stared at him, sickened by the thought of her secret exposed.

  He shook his hair off his forehead. “You’ve got nothin’ to say?” he whispered, slowly approaching the foot of her bed. “I’ve been looking for you. Texting you. This time, you didn’t answer.”

  “What? You were looking for me?” She looked at him, confused. “I’ve known you all of, what? Two weeks?” She watched him. “You don’t know anything about me.”

  “So, tell me.” He waited.

  She looked away, then her eyes darted back to him. “What about you? What skeletons do you have? Would you share your darkest secrets with me?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  She pressed her palm to her forehead and closed her eyes. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter. You don’t trust me, either. Please, Jake, just leave,” she whispered. “I’m tired, and I want to be alone.”

  “Really? Just leave? Like hell, I’ll leave.” He stood at the foot of her bed. “Did something happen at the dance?” His eyes settled on her lip. “Brie, did I do that?”

  Startled, her tongue lightly touched her swollen lower lip. Then she covered it with her top lip and shook her head. No, Rick did. How could she tell him why she left the dance? How could she tell him she was embarrassed for throwing herself at him? For acting like a slut.

  He reached out to touch her ankle next to the large sterile bandage that covered the top of her foot.

  “Don’t touch me.”

  “Whoa . . .” Jake whispered, taking a step back and holding his hands up in surrender.

  “Why are you here? What’re you doing?” No longer in a stupor, but very much alert, she pulled her knees to her chest, thankful that her mother had brought her a pair of pajama bottoms and one of Leif’s T-shirts, her preferred sleeping attire. At least her mother knew that much about her.

  “What am I doing?” he repeated. “I’m trusting you, so you’ll trust me.” He pulled his hoodie off and dropped it on the bed before plopping down in the chair next to her. Under it, he wore only a snug-fitting faded black tee. He shook his head again, tossing his unruly brown locks back off his forehead.

  Jake expelled his breath. “My story,” he said with a rueful smile, “goes back to when I was nine and my sister, Teagan, was two. It was in the spring of third grade. I came home from school all excited because I got three first-place ribbons at my track and field day. It was the Friday before Mother’s Day. It was a big deal at my school every year.” He smirked. “I thought my mom and sister were going to come and watch, but they never showed.”

  He pressed his lips together and looked down. “When I got home, I ran into the house waving those blue ribbons around to show my mom. I was so excited.” He grimaced. “I ran all through the house looking for her, calling her. She wasn’t there.”

  He looked back up at Brie with brooding eyes and shrugged. “Teagan was sitting on the sofa with a pile of picture books and an empty sippy cup. I have no idea how long she was alone in that house. A half hour? All day?” He shook his head. “I couldn’t get hold of my dad, and I was scared something happened to my mother. But, I was afraid to call the police. When my dad finally came home, I told him, ‘Mom’s gone.’ He found a note she left him.” A snide chuckle escaped him. “She left us. Happy Mother’s Day, right?”

  He looked back at Brie. “I was homeschooled the next year at a neighbor’s, then went back to school in the fourth grade, repeating a year, so I’m older than most of the other seniors. I’ll be nineteen in a few weeks.”

  “November seventeenth,” she murmur
ed.

  A slight grin crept onto his face. “Yup.” He nodded. “So, that’s my story. I never told anyone the whole story before. The guys in my band, they know my mother abandoned us, but not how or when. Our closest neighbors know. Teag doesn’t remember anything about her. My dad works long hours, so I pretty much look out for Teagan. Most people just assume my parents are divorced. I let them. I never heard from her again. To me, she’s dead.”

  Brie watched him, unable to feel his pain because she couldn’t feel her own. But, she understood his loss. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  His eyes locked on hers. “Your turn.”

  She nodded, but couldn’t catch her breath. Her heart pounded, and her hands trembled. The doctor called it an anxiety attack. It would pass. This was what she was supposed to do—talk.

  “Hey, hey, calm down. You don’t have to tell me now, if you need time.” He took her hands in his. “Jeez, your hands are cold.”

  “No. I want to tell you.” She needed to let go of her secret.

  “Okay.” He nodded.

  “Can you hand me my laptop?” She pointed to the wall shelf.

  “Is it charged?” he asked, handing her the computer.

  “It should be. My mom just brought it this morning. I’m allowed to have my laptop, but with no Internet.” She navigated to her video file. “I’m cut off from the outside for ten more days.”

  Brie pulled up the video file, selected the video clip, then handed him the laptop.

  Jake pulled a chair closer to her bed so they could watch it together. He pushed play and turned up the volume to the sound of a family singing “Happy Birthday.” In front of a boy and girl was a cake with six candles.

  The little girl’s mother lit the candles. Then, a man’s voice said, “Make a wish, Cheddar.”

  “Daddy, I’m not Cheddar. I’m Brie.”