Rion and Beckett ate their sandwiches and pretzels in silence for a while. “I’m sorry you won’t be able to go to your usual school anymore,” Rion told her. She would have been willing to help the kid commute, but it would have been over an hour train ride each way. Beckett shrugged. “Maybe the new one will be OK. You don’t have to go back right away though.” It was a Tuesday and Rion planned on giving Beckett until the following Monday at the earliest. Even Chambers had agreed.
“Tomorrow, I’m going to go to your house to get some of your things. I’m not going to make you go,” Rion added quickly. “ Chambers is coming by to look at the apartment and she said she will stay with you while I go. Can you make a list of things you want me to get?” Considering the emergency nature, the social worker hadn’t done a pre-inspection. Hopefully, if she approved, the living situation could become permanent.
Beckett didn’t respond or look at her for a long moment. She chewed her last bite of sandwich silently. Rion almost gave up when Beckett looked up and tilted her head. “Can I go with you?”
Rion let out a relieved whoosh. The kid’s voice was surprisingly confident. “Well, are you sure you want to?” She had no idea if the house would have been cleaned up by now or not. Who makes those arrangements? She wondered. Shit! What if I’m supposed to do that? What if there is still blood in the house? Beckett nodded. Rion considered telling her no, but compromised instead. She had always hated it when adults had coddled her as a child. So many “Your mom is sick right now,” or “Your mom will be back for you soon.” It turned her stomach to think about doing the same thing. “I’ll make a deal with you. You can go, but if the house is still…a mess…you wait outside, OK?”
Beckett considered. “OK,” she nodded, apparently satisfied.
Rion couldn’t stop the grin that spread across her face.
Rion hadn't bothered trying to buy any clothes for Beckett. There was no way to guess what size she wore. So, the kid had arrived to her new home with nothing. She only had the clothes on her back. She needed some new things, that included pajamas and clean panties and very least. “Well, kid, I think we should go get you some clothes.” Beckett stared at her for a moment, waiting for direction apparently. “Just a couple of things. To get you through until tomorrow.”
When she stood, Beckett did as well. She hadn’t said anything else since lunch when she asked to go back to her house and Rion was beginning to lose the confidence the few words had given her. As they made their way down the stairs she tried to move silently. But, despite her efforts, she wasn’t so lucky this time. Bernie, displaying his almost sixth-sense ability to know when she was near, crept out of his apartment.
“Rion!” he wheezed. His wispy white hair was matted at the back of his head, as if he had been in bed recently.
“Hi, Bernie,” Rion sighed. She paused in front of his door and Beckett waited patiently. The smell of old food and old person drifted into the hall.
“Who is this?” he asked, with a smile and raised, bushy brows.
“This…this is Beckett. My sister. She’s going to be living with me.”
“Sister?!” He gaped at her from behind his thick glasses with greasy lenses.
“Yep.”
“I didn’t know you had a sister.”
She just smiled at him, not offering to elaborate. “What can I do for you Bernie?”
“Oh! Oh. Nothing, dear. I was just saying hi.”
“Hello, then.” She gave him a smile she hoped was reassuring. “We need to be on our way though.”
“Certainly. Sorry to interrupt.”
“Have a good day.” She pushed her way through the door aware that the man was watching them as they left. She looked down at Beckett hoping she wasn’t put off by the old guy. She looked as if nothing had happened at all. “I think he’s just lonely,” Rion told her. Beckett looked at her, but still said nothing.
The shopping trip was quick. Rion almost expected Beckett to ask for toys or candy, but she asked for nothing. Rion even offered to buy her a toy, but when she asked her what she wanted, the kid just shook her head. In the end, they had a set of purple pajamas with flowers on them and a pack of panties. Rion had to pick them both out since Beckett expressed no interest or preference.
Back home, it was getting late and Rion made them spaghetti. One of the few things she knew how to cook. Beckett ate silently and Rion did her best to give her time. Eventually, she realized she needed to get the kid to bed soon. “What time do you normally go to bed?” Beckett shrugged. “Well…are you tired now?” Another shrug. Rion sighed. It was only nine, but it seemed a decent time to start putting a kid to bed. “Do you normally take a bath before bed?” The kid nodded and Rion relaxed a little. More progress. “OK. Well, do you need me to bathe you? Or can you do that on your own?” Beckett stared at her as if she just asked her if she was housebroken. “OK,” Rion tried to smile. “Well, do your thing then.”
Beckett went into the bathroom and shut the door. Rion did her best to listen for any sounds that the kid needed help, but other than gentle splashing the bathroom was silent. When Beckett returned, her hair was damp and stringy and she was dressed in her new pjs. Rion handed her the remote and the kid found another news program and settled down. She watched the kid for a while trying to figure out if she was really paying attention to the news, and if Beckett noticed she ignored her. She decided to let the kid go to bed when she was tired enough to go to bed.
Again, Rion was confused by the kid's interest in the news. She wondered if it was due to the fact that Beckett unusually mature for her age. Was she always mature? Or, was this the result of the trauma she had experienced? She hadn't been around a lot of kids, but she was pretty sure that most seven-year-olds didn’t bathe themselves. Did they? Rion was again struck by how in over her head she was. When the news went off at ten, Beckett laid the remote down and slid off the futon. Without a word she made her way into the bedroom. Not sure what else to do, Rion followed. Becket climbed into the bed and slid under the covers.
“Do you need anything?” Rion asked. Beckett shook her head. “OK. Well if you need me, I’ll be in the living room…do you need a light on?” The kid shook her head again. “OK. Well, good night.” She started to turn away but Beckett’s voice stopped her.
“Good night.”
Rion smiled at the kid over her shoulder and turned out the light. She pulled the door mostly shut and returned to the living room. A few minutes later, Link trotted out looking annoyed. “What’s up with you?” she asked him as he began sniffing around, investigating the areas the girl had been sitting. Once all was quiet, and he was sure the kid was gone, he climbed into Rion’s lap and began to relax. Rion tried to watch a movie but didn’t make it long before she began nodding off. She lifted an offended Link off her lap and stretched out on the couch, not bothering to pull it out into a bed.
She wasn’t sure how long she had been asleep when Link, growling, woke her up. Immediately, she knew something was off. She could feel the disquiet hanging around her like a cold draft, chilling her to the bone. She blinked into the dark and her blood went cold at the crouching figure in the kitchen. She froze, not sure what to do but not wanting to alert the intruder to the fact that she was awake. Her heart slammed against her ribs and she couldn’t breathe. She had no weapon and any attempt to get to her phone would alert the person to the fact she was awake. Unable to move, it took a couple of terrified seconds for her to realize the crouching person in the kitchen was Beckett. Not crouching, just short.
“Shit,” Rion muttered sitting up. “Are you OK?” The terror faded with each heartbeat, leaving her mildly annoyed and a lot concerned. Not to mention guilty for thinking Beckett was a malicious entity that had broken in.
Beckett didn’t respond, which wasn’t surprising. What the hell is she doing? “Do you need some water?” No response. The kid was standing facing the counter and sink, with her back to Rion. “Do you need to use the bathroom?” What is she
staring at? It was then that she realized Beckett might have been sleepwalking. The idea came with relief. Finally, the kid does something normal. She had heard somewhere you weren’t supposed to wake up sleepwalkers. She didn’t know if that was a myth or not though—regardless, she had already done it.
Rion stood and walked softly the kitchen. “Beckett?” she whispered. The kid didn’t respond. She reached out to touch her shoulder, hoping she wouldn’t wake her up and send her into some kind of fit. The weight of her hand on her shoulder didn’t seem to affect the kid. “Let’s go back to bed, OK?”
Link growled again and Rion realized he was on the counter hiding in the shadows directly in front of Beckett. His eyes flashed in the moonlight as he looked from Rion to Beckett. Rion’s heart thumped harder. Link was scared—of Beckett. “Beckett?” she tried again. Maybe she wanted to pet him? It didn’t seem unreasonable that the kid might want to play with the unfriendly cat and that desire was coming out in her sleep. She felt bad, she should have done more to introduce the cat to her. Sleepwalking to pet a cat seemed adorable, and she softened a bit. “Beckett?” Finally, the kid turned to look at her. It was hard to tell, but Rion could swear that the kid was wide awake. Her dark brown eyes were focused direction on her.
“Beckett?” Rion asked again.
The kid didn’t respond. Instead, she turned and walked purposefully back into the bedroom. Rion watched her go with pins and needles of anxiety running through her. What the hell was that? She looked at the cat and could tell he was still scared. Why was he afraid of a little kid? She’s not the loud, exuberant type. She just wanted to pet him, right? Link didn’t start to relax until he seemed sure the kid was gone. Only then did his hair smooth out and he settled down on his stomach. But, he continued to watch the doorway as if he expected her to come back.
“What the hell?” Rion whispered to herself. She tiptoed to bedroom and peeked inside. Beckett lay with her back to the door. Rion couldn’t shake the feeling that Beckett was awake staring out the window. She stayed in the doorway for a few minutes trying to reason with herself. She’s just a kid. A scared, sad, and traumatized kid. Even if her life before her dad died was normal—and Rion had strong doubts about that—she was going to go through an adjustment period.
Rion went back to the futon but this time she pulled it out into the bed and wrapped herself in an old quilt. She could still see Link on the counter. She didn’t know what she would do if Beckett started taking her issues out on the cat. Link and Rion had been a team for almost five years. Ever since she found him in a trash can. Some jerk must have tossed him inside because Rion couldn’t figure out how else he could have gotten in there. She pulled him out and he dug his nails into her shirt. She was done. They had been inseparable since. Therapy, Rion told herself. If Beckett started displaying violence towards Link she would make sure the kid got lots and lots of therapy.
Three
The next morning Rion was still uneasy with apprehension crawling across her skin. She wouldn’t have been surprised to find Beckett trying to set fire to the apartment. But, when she woke up, Beckett was still in bed. She had to reassure herself the night before wasn’t some bad dream. After using the bathroom, she headed to the kitchen and heard Beckett climb out of bed and follow her. “Good morning,” Rion grunted. Beckett, of course, remained silent. “Do you like cereal?” The kid nodded and climbed into the stool at the breakfast counter. Her hair, while slept on, wasn’t the rat’s nest most kids wake up with. It was smoke and barely flattened by the pillow. She looked so composed and serious Rion almost offered her coffee.
Rion waited until they both had bowls of cereal before she asked Beckett about last night. “Do you remember getting out of bed last night?” The kid didn’t respond. “I guess you were sleepwalking?” No response. “Have you ever sleepwalked before?” Finally, a shrug. Rion sighed. “I think you were trying to pet Link.” No response. “Have you ever had a pet before?” Beckett shook her head. Rion felt a little twinge of sympathy. Her mom had not been a fan of pets either. “I didn’t have pets when I was a kid either. He’s a really good cat though. Just give him some time and space and he’ll come to you.”
When they were done eating, Rion began washing the breakfast dishes. “Hey kid,” she called. “Pull up a stool and help out.” Beckett stared at her for a few moments before sliding the small stepstool to the sink. She rinsed the dishes and placed them in the drainer. Rion smiled to herself. Assign chores. Done.
She left Beckett to the news show and took a shower. As she shut off the water she heard the front door open and her blood froze for a second. Her first thought was Beckett wandering off, but the second—more plausible possibility—was Chambers was here early. “Shit!” she threw on her bathrobe and hurried from the bathroom. She drew up short in dismay when she saw Kerry standing in the doorway staring at Beckett. She looked up, spotted Rion, and laughed in relief.
“God, for a minute I thought I had the wrong apartment. Who’s this?” She pushed past Beckett and plopped down at the breakfast counter.
“Kerry, this is a bad time.”
The other woman ignored her. “Are you babysitting or something?”
Unperturbed, Beckett had gone back to the news. Rion sighed. “No. Actually, she’s my sister.”
“I didn’t know you had a sister.”
“Well, I didn’t either actually.” Kerry looked at her with raised brows. “She’s my dad’s kid with a different mom. They died Sunday. I’m her only family—that we know of. She’ll be living with me now.”
Kerry stared at her for a beat. “Bummer!”
Rion didn’t know if she meant her father dying or having to take care of her sister. Probably both. She shrugged. “Well, the social worker is going to be here soon, so…” Kerry pulled a face at the words “social worker,” enough so that Rion was pretty sure she’d had a few run-ins with DCHS herself. Part of her wanted to ask about it, but, she knew if she did she would learn more about Kerry. More than she felt comfortable knowing.
“No worries. I just wanted to stop by to say thanks for your help the other night. I would have come by sooner, but I’m just now feeling human again. It was an awful hangover.”
“Sure.”
“I gotta work tonight though, so I had to get back to the real world. I was going to invite you to the bar. I’d buy you a drink on the house for your help, but…” she nodded towards Beckett.
Kerry was a bartender at a dive a few blocks away. Rion realized a whole new side to having custody of her sister—permanent excuse to not have to do stuff she didn’t want to do. “No thanks necessary.”
“OK,” Kerry slid off the stool. “I owe you one.” She waved before letting herself out.
Rion sighed and sat next to Beckett. “That’s Kerry. She’s a mess. But she’s—mostly—harmless. You didn’t do anything wrong, but it’s not a good idea to let people in unless I give the OK. OK?” Beckett looked at her for a moment before shrugging and going back to the news. “You should probably get dressed, Chambers will be here soon.”
Rion watched the kid who wordlessly went to the bedroom. She knew she understood her, but she wished she would engage more. Maybe I should see if the school will test her for a learning disability? Or maybe her therapist will have some insight. She was torn between thinking the girl was too well adjusted—and potentially traumatized. Can she be both? She realized her notification light on her phone was blinking and when she saw the email from her boss she groaned. Rion opened it and was surprised to find a supportive message. A part of her had expected to see some sort of complaint about her time off request. Rion worked from home and had never even met her boss in person so it had been hard to gauge what her reaction would be.
For the past three years she had maintained databases through a contractor company. People who didn’t have the ability or capacity to manage their own data paid for someone else to do so. That company in turn paid Rion to handle the information for multiple companies
. It paid just enough to keep her housed, clothed, and fed, but what it lacked in salary it made up for it in flexibility and the lack of interaction with others.
Rion had taken some college classes but never finished. A fact that made it hard to find a fulfilling career or decent paying job. She had tried being a server at a restaurant and a cashier, and other retail positions but they had never lasted long. Rion was not good at customer service. It never took long to figure that out and the job ended with her either quitting or being fired. But, this one had stuck.
When Chambers contacted her Monday morning, she had emailed her boss declaring she had a family emergency. Tonya had responded immediately and told her to take all the time she needed. Now, her email was just checking in to see how she was. Rion raised a brow. She had never had anything more than a business relationship with Tonya and now she couldn’t figure out why she was bothering to ask about her situation. Hoping Tonya was just being friendly and not trying to figure out if she needed to fire her, Rion responded. She assured her boss she was fine but if she could have the week to settle it would be ideal. Still looking at her phone in confusion, Rion put it on the counter.
A knock at the door made her jump. She looked at the clock and knew it was Chambers. Feeling unprepared, Rion went to open the door. At least she had been able to keep the kid alive for twenty-four hours. That had to count for something, right?
When Rion answered the door, Chambers was smiling at her, despite the skeptical look in her eye. She knew the DCHS worker was examining the apartment building closely. “Hi! You got in without buzzing up?”
“Yes, an older gentleman let me in as he was leaving.”
Great, Rion sighed. Bernie would have questions later. “Oh, OK.” She realized Chambers was still waiting to be let in. “Sorry,” she held the door open wider. “Come in.” The woman stepped inside and Rion held her breath.
Beckett was standing in the doorway of the bedroom. “Good morning, Beckett,” Chambers called. The kid, as usual, didn’t respond.
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