Broken Tides

Chapter Six

The next morning I woke up, slung over Jay's shoulder, and halfway down the stairs. I started to panic, "The hell, man?"

He chuckled, "Oh you're awake. Couldn't get you up this morning." I had never really realized just how tall he was. I didn't like being carried, granted we had no way for me to get down the stairs, and even with as nice as he was it was still weird. "Sorry about the abrupt awakening but your aunt and I were talking."

"Okay?" talking? about what?

"Well you're not making any money right now, and she can't be here all day because she has work-"

"I don't need a babysitter, I'm twenty one. If I wanted I could get myself around."

He nodded. "I'm not here to babysit you. Last night Kat gave her number to that one girl's mom, Milly, for hair stuff. They were talking on speaker, and her mom was asking if she could come over instead of going to the salon, because Milly doesn't like babysitters. I mentioned how well you worked with her, and the ladies worked out for you to babysit while her mom is out. It also gives you something to do other than sit up and your room and smoke all day."

"So ya'll signed me up for babysitting."

"For $30 an hour." He cocked an eyebrow at me.

"Damn, okay. Well I'll still need some stuff down here." I crossed my arms and leaned into the couch.

"laptop, your weird tackle box, wheelchair, and this-" he showed me all the stuff he'd already brought down, but held my silver cigarette case up so I couldn't get it. "We told Milly's mom you smoke, but you can't do it in the living room with her or in your aunt's bathroom. You can do it on either the stoop - which I modified to have a ramp this morning for you- or the back patio. Says your aunt."

"I know the rules, I live here remember. Technically the will defines this as my house, not Kat's." I reached for my chair, and he set the case down.

"I heard about that. What happened to your folks anyways?"

I stared at him blankly, as he shoved scrambled eggs into his mouth from a plate left on the coffee table. "You're from here, right? Like your parents live next door?"

"Always have. But I lived with my step mom and dad. My mom and step dad live next door."

"Ah." I wheeled over to the fridge and grabbed a canned energy drink.

"Why? Does everyone around here already know?" He asked, following me with his plate as I wheeled out to the patio.

"Kinda, yeah." I lit a cigarette and took a few puffs before setting in the ash tray on the patio table. I sighed, opened my drink and leaned back into my chair. "Well, long story short, my dad fell off the face of the planet and my mom lives in assisted living."

"Why not here?" He plucked a cigarette out of my case and used his own lighter, looking at me the whole time.

"She kept running off, stopped going to work. Starting throwing things at me and Kat. One day Kat came home to my mom having literally destroyed everything in the house, and me locked in closet in the downstairs bathroom." I paused. I didn't really talk to anyone about this stuff. Not anyone really. Jonah was really easy to talk to. "After that we tried therapy, but no matter how many drugs they pumped into her she'd say she saw him at the cliffs, or that she heard him singing outside the window and just loose it. Me being around also doesn't help." I slipped the picture from the tackle box out of my case. I had put it there cause I liked it. I handed it to Jay and his eyes bugged.

"Damn you look, just like him." came his remark, as he carefully handed the picture back to me.

I winced a little internally. " Yeah." I was quiet for a minute before going on. "The police only found some of his clothes and shoes at the top of a near by cliff by the shore. He didn't show up for weeks before they just up and declared him dead." I looked away from him as I ashed out what was left. I considered not lighting another, but I felt like I needed it. "When you brought me home I found the tackle box on my bed. It has a whole bunch of my father's stuff that we've never seen before. Including drawings and a journal that dates the events leading up to his disappearance and up to a few weeks ago."