Happily Never Forever

by Sarah Peis

  Cassie’s face lit up and she nodded her head so hard her hair was flying everywhere. “I think I could swing that. You are the best. I love you. I knew you weren’t going to let me down. And you should really look at the numbers.”

  Whatever. I turned on my borrowed heels and left the office, the folder now a crumpled mess in my hand. Once I sat down, curiosity got the better of me and I opened the folder to have a look at what she was talking about. I nearly fell off my chair when I read what the proposal included.

  Nobody was worth that much for a three year secondment and especially not someone like me. I knew I was a disaster in the office. I understood nothing of the technical workings of the software. I was a crap assistant. What the hell was I supposed to do at his office?

  After I was done grumbling about it and I had forgiven Cassie once she bribed me with a brownie, I got on with my day. Only screwing up one appointment all day put me in a great mood and I was back to normal by the time I arrived home.

  “Oma, I’m back,” I called out when I made it through the front door. Josie came running towards me, her little toddler sway making her look like a drunk person. The fact that she wasn’t wearing any clothes, except her diaper, and had chocolate smeared all through her hair didn’t help the overall appearance.

  I corralled Josie into the bathroom to clean her up and put her PJs on. She was happy to comply as long as she got to wear her pink cloud ones. I had to buy three pairs of the damn things since she wouldn’t wear anything else.

  Once I had read her four bedtime stories, found her donkey and cuddled her for an acceptable amount of time, she passed out in her crib. This usually happened suddenly and in the most awkward position she could bend herself into. Today was no different. I tried to rearrange her limbs as best I could without disturbing her and then left.

  Once I collapsed into a kitchen chair, I was ready to pass out.

  “You need to eat more,” Oma said and put a huge plate in front of me. I would only be able to eat about a third of it. She didn’t believe in small portions. Or regular sized portions.

  “How was your day?” I asked and started eating which made me sigh in pleasure. There was no better cook than Oma.

  “We went to the new playground on Foster and Billings. Josie loved it and made a new friend, a little boy her age called Elija. His dad is single and they live in the neighborhood.”

  Oh no, I knew what would come next. And wait for it, bam it happened.

  “You should meet him for coffee. He is very good looking. And did I mention he was single? And a dad?” she said.

  “That’s nice. I’ll think about it.” Code for never gonna happen. And Oma knew the code only too well. Because I wasn’t dating. At all. My last experience didn’t end very well, and I was unwilling to go there again. At least not while Josie was little.

  “Where is Freddie?” I asked between bites.

  Oma avoided the question and went back to the living room. I knew what that meant. She hadn’t come home. “She hasn’t come home yet,” I said. It was more of a statement than a question, since I already knew the answer.

  “She’ll come back in her own time.”

  She so wouldn’t. But trust Oma to be optimistic about the loyalty of a teenage girl that may or may not be related to Satan. “That’s what we thought last time. And it didn’t end well. For any of us.” I abandoned my dinner and grabbed my car keys. “I’ll go look for her. Call me if she comes home.”

  I got back into my car, suppressing the sigh I was desperate to release. That kid was going to be the end of me. As much as she drove me up the wall, I couldn’t really fault her for going a little off the rails. Our upbringing was tumultuous to say the least. Being left by a parent was never easy, being left by two was devastating. We would have been swallowed up by the state had Oma not taken us in. She tried giving us as much stability as possible, but living with a teenager was a challenge. Living with two was a drinking problem.

  Since I was paranoid and knew how self-destructive Freddie could be, I drove straight to Dickhead’s house. I didn’t know what I was going to do if she was there. But I had to double-check. Gunner followed me as usual. Not sure if he ever tried to be inconspicuous because his black town car stood out among the dented and rusty Fords and Chryslers that could usually be found around Butler.

  The drive was just as daunting as the first time, my clammy hands stuck to the steering wheel and I seemed to be getting slower the closer I got. I could be asleep by now. Dreaming of chocolate fountains and—like most nights—Rhett.

  But instead I was stupidly driving towards what could possibly be another confrontation with a drugged-up rapist. Just what I was hoping for to make my week extra special. At least I had Mr. Commando with me.

  When I got closer, the silence was deafening. I couldn’t hear any music. No voices. There were no cars parked along the driveway. The remnants of previous parties still littered the road and lawn. The house looked deserted when I pulled but since I was already here I got out anyway.

  I held onto my phone and keys, one to defend myself, the other to call the police. He wouldn’t catch me by surprise again. A car door slammed shut and Gunner appeared next to me. All that muscle would be handy, my keys looked very lame in comparison. And unless he had something growing out of his hip and leg, he was also carrying.

  Neither one of us said anything as we approached the house, but his silent disapproval was obvious. I bet he would go straight to Rhett and tell him what I did.

  The front door hung on an angle, looking like it had been kicked in. The living room was a mess, overturned furniture and shards of glass everywhere. There was still no noise, except for the drumming of my heart. I felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. This kid was going to give me an early heart attack.

  But I also loved her more than anything and would go to the end of the earth to make sure she was okay. So I kept walking, making my way through the rooms on the bottom floor. Every single thing in the house was broken. It was a mess to end all messes. It looked like a mini tornado had torn its way through. And to make sure it laid waste to everything, I reckon it had come back a second time.

  I slowly made my way upstairs, my eyes wide, careful not to blink in case someone was going to attack. Gunner followed, his heavy boots echoing in the empty house. The banister was broken, looking like someone had smashed through it at some stage. I found nothing upstairs. It was just as deserted as the rest of the house. There was no way they would have just upped and left. What the hell had happened? I knew the parties out here were notorious, the drugs a given and Dickhead was a dickhead with way too much sway.

  He paid off the local cops and scared the crap out of anyone else. Gossip was rampant in a town as small as Butler but Dickhead never got so much as a mention. Not even Betty said a word about him. And she was the biggest gossip the town had ever seen in its 114 year history.

  “What happened here?” I said, not really expecting a response but getting one anyway.

  “What do you think?”

  “A tornado spontaneously developed inside the house and destroyed everything?”

  I grinned at Gunner, hoping despite previous experience that I would get at least an eye twitch from it. But nothing. He just looked at me, looking all terminator with his short cropped hair and huge muscles.

  “Come on Gunner, you are a badass commando, you could find out what happened.”

  “I already know what happened.”

  Say what? “Why the hell didn’t you say so to start with? I nearly shat my pants walking into this house, and you said nothing?”

  He followed me outside and I stepped in front of him. Time for answers. “So? You gonna tell me? Or is it a big badass commando secret?”

  “No secret. But I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out. There is only one person who has enough power and money to kick out Butler’s local crime lord.”

  I stepped back and nearly tripped over my feet. “Rhett?” I sai
d, before I let my mouth gape open.

  “Yup. Now let’s keep looking for your sister. I’m hungry.”

  “That’s it? That’s all you’re going to say?”

  He walked the remaining steps to my car and opened the driver’s side door. “Yup.”

  Too stunned to argue, I got in and he closed the door behind me. What the hell? How much money did Rhett actually have?

  I checked my phone just in case Freddie had decided to become a human being instead of the demon spawn she had turned into.

  Oma hadn’t called so Freddie wasn’t home yet, which meant I had to make the rounds again. Lucky Butler wasn’t all that big.

  She wasn’t at the town’s one and only diner, so I tried the football field. There really wasn’t that many places she could be. Her best friend Laney wasn’t around at the moment, having won a scholarship to attend school in France for a semester, and this was likely one of the reasons Freddie seemed to be losing it more than usual lately.

  The football field was busy, but Freddie was nowhere to be found. I asked a few of her friends if they’d seen her but apparently she’d skipped school altogether today. She didn’t seem to understand that any negative attention would result in a child services check. Everyone knew she lived with Oma and me. Even though it was a small town and everyone was up in everyone else’s business, nobody had ever reported it. Anna McAllister had such a bad reputation everyone knew we were better off living with someone else.

  So everyone knew but nobody had ever questioned the arrangement.

  The school on the other hand wasn’t understanding when it came to unexplained absences, especially from a student that was barely passing.

  I walked back to my car ready to call Oma to check in. Gunner followed me and even nodded to a few people in greeting. Butler apparently liked the strong and mute type.

  “Emmerson, wait up.”

  I turned around and came face to face with a very wide chest. I lifted my head and looked into the serious eyes of Tate, football star and all-around good guy. He lived on our street and gave Freddie a ride to school most mornings. They used to be good friends, but I hadn’t seen him around in a while. He usually never missed our Sunday roasts. Come to think of it, there had been a few missed roasts the last couple of weeks.

  “Hey Tate, how you doing?” I greeted him. His blond hair was tousled, his shirt on inside out. Not the Tate I knew.

  “I think I know where she is,” he said.

  Please don’t say jail. Please don’t say jail. Please don’t say jail.

  “She’s at the water tower.”

  What the hell? I wish he’d said jail instead. The old water tower was a hazard. It barely stood upright and was rusted to bits. There wasn’t any water in it and hadn’t been for a few years. The mayor was in an ongoing standoff with Burke Construction who were contracted to rebuild the tower. Same old story of two guys trying to prove who had the bigger dick, or in this case the bigger water tower.

  I groaned and turned back towards my car. I guess I was headed for the blasted water tower.

  “Don’t tell her it was me who told you,” he called after me.

  “Don’t worry, my lips are sealed,” I said, not looking back.

  I made it there in record time, cursing the entire way. Why was she doing this to me? And why the water tower? She could have just sat on a bench in the park. Much safer and so much easier to get to. Even the road leading up to the tower was filled with potholes and safety hazards. My little car was groaning in protest when I forced it over yet another branch.

  The tower looked as unsteady as ever, leaning slightly to the left. I couldn’t wait to climb up there and risk my life. Just the thing to do on this grey afternoon.

  “Freddie? Are you up there?” I called out, hoping I didn’t have to climb at all. I got no answer and walked around to the other side, looking up. The relief I felt at seeing two familiar shoes stick out from the railing. She had done a lot of stupid shit lately, but this time I was more worried than I let myself realize. I was surprised she would be out here all by herself. She was so scared last week that I thought she’d never leave my side again. I wondered what had changed.

  “Freddie,” I called out again. Her head came into view as she leaned over the side.

  “Go away.”

  “No. Come down here.”

  “I’m not ready.”

  “Ready for what?”

  “To talk to you.”

  The conversation was shouted and could probably be heard two counties over. But I really didn’t want to climb up the rusty ladder to get to her.

  “What the fudge did I do?” I shouted back.

  “You told Rhett you were going to work for him. In Denver. You are going to leave us, just like mom.”

  What the actual fuck? How the hell would she know that?

  “Who told you?” Better to own up to it. She was a smart kid. Lying would just make it worse.

  “Rhett.”

  Again, what the actual fuck?

  “When did he say that?”

  “Leave me alone.”

  Hell no, that was not going to happen. She was a pain in my backside but we were going to sort this out right now. Guess I was going up the ladder.

  “Stay here, Rambo, I’ll be back.”

  I received a grunt in return and watched Gunner make himself comfortable on a tree stump. I hoped he got a splinter.

  The first few steps were the worst. It got slightly better after I stopped looking down. But hell, who was I kidding, I had to stifle the urge to pee my pants the whole way. I was not made for this. Once on top, I came face to face with an angry Freddie. Her glare was getting lethal. I sat down next to her, my shaky hands gripping on to the railing for dear life.

  “I’m not leaving you alone. Now tell me what Rhett said.”

  She chewed her lip for a while and watched me sit stiff as a rock next to her. Better not to move on an old dilapidated structure that could collapse at any minute and was condemned for a reason. Just as well she could read my moods like an open book and at the moment I gave out an I’m not leaving vibe. With a sigh, she relented and finally started talking.

  “He told me you were going to work for him.”

  “That’s true. But I’ll only be gone two nights a week.”

  She looked at her lap. “That’s not what he said.”

  “Well that’s all he’s gonna get. I don’t really have a choice. But you should know that I would never leave you guys behind. If I was moving to Denver, which I’m definitely not, I would drag you there with me. You are my everything. And I don’t intend to live my life without you. Ever.”

  Her shoulders relaxed slightly and she looked at me from under her ridiculously long eyelashes. Just not fair she got the gorgeous-everything gene. Her eyelashes were just the tip of the iceberg. Don’t get me started on her stupidly gorgeous hair despite the crazy locks, or her blemish free skin. She was slender, but still had curves. Not even Oma’s cooking changed her shape.

  “When did you even talk to him?” I badly needed to find out. Because he seriously overstepped boundaries. Some that I would hammer back in place as soon as I got my hands on him.

  “I was freaked out about Colin. You told me Rhett had lots of money so I called him the other day. And he said he’d help me. That’s why we haven’t heard from Colin. He took care of it for us, Emmi.”

  Oh she didn’t. “You what?” I yelled and momentarily let go of the railing. “Not only did you go through my phone for his number, you also asked a stranger for a huge favor. What the hell, Freddie?”

  “Stop yelling at me. He doesn’t want anything in return. He told me so when he called this morning to let me know we’re safe.”

  My hands went back to the railing, the grip tight from anger this time, my fear of heights forgotten for the moment. “Nothing is ever free. You should know this,” I said to a very contrite-looking Freddie. When she looked down at her lap again and started chewing on her lip
, I put an arm around her shoulders. “He’s not the same guy he was before he left, baby girl.” I didn’t think she’d remember him anyway. She was such an introverted child, not talking to anyone outside of her family.

  She leaned into me and the tension left my body. We would be okay. Rhett on the other hand wouldn’t. We were none of his business. Not anymore. He should have told me as soon as Freddie called him.

  “He was really nice about it. And he called a few times to check up on me. And then this morning he let me know that I didn’t have to be scared anymore. That Colin was taken care of. I even drove past his house to make sure he was gone.”

  Her voice sounded hopeful and happier than I’d heard it since the attack. I was grateful Rhett had given that to her. She had hope. Maybe my pride wouldn’t admit to it but I wished it was me who had fixed it for her. I was her big sister. I was supposed to look out for her. Protect her. Always. And I had been powerless to do anything.

  I kissed her head and my eyes moved to the tree line in front of us. It just wasn’t natural to be able to see the top of a tree. And with that thought, adrenaline shot back through my body and I went stiff. “So now that you’re not mad at me anymore, you think we could get down from this death trap?”

  I felt Freddie chuckle under my arm that was still draped over her shoulders. “Tate’s dad checked the tower last month. He said it was pretty stable, just not stable enough to hold water.”

  “You still talking to Tate?” I asked, trying not to sound too curious and scare her off. Her only response was a shrug and a noncommittal sound. Interesting. I guess I had to get out the big guns, aka hot chocolate and marshmallows, and put her into a sugar coma before she’d tell me.

  We climbed back down, Freddie with the careless ease of a fifteen-year-old, me with the slow, jerky movements of an eighty-year-old. I stifled the urge to kiss the dirt when my feet touched solid ground again. I’d already lost major cool big sister points when I screeched in a high pitch even I didn’t recognize halfway down the ladder. I thought the damn thing was swaying too much and the screws were coming loose. It wasn’t and they weren’t, and once I’d determined I was still alive and well, I descended the darn thing in record time.