A flashlight in the shadows.

Chapter 19: rehabilitation.

Saturday is the best day of the week, in my opinion. It was extra special today because after Jane's appointment I get to drive with Bennett and his dad to Augusta. Dad was in the kitchen making eggs Benedict. I went to Jane's room and saw her lying in the bed on her side. She was sound asleep. I sat gingerly on her bed, careful not to stir her. I swept some hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. Her face was frozen in the mask of sleep, peaceful and uncaring. Many of the people around town knew who our mother was, and almost all of them say we look just like her, although I've always known that I take after my dad. I walked down the stairs to greet dad in the kitchen.
"Hi, how're you today?" I asked, running my hand through my messy hair. He looked up and smiled to me.
"I'm good, how's my baby girl?" I kissed his cheek and he handed me a plate.
"I got a call this morning."
"From who?" I asked, taking a seat. He looked at me, blinked a few times, and looked away.
"Your mother, she told me she tried talking to you, but you shut her out?" His eyes looked hurt. It always made me mad when dad felt guilty about Cassandra leaving. She's plagued us with nothing but sadness since jane was 2. Jane's too young to remember the hurt, but I remembered how it felt every Mother's Day, when there was no one to give cards to. No one to have a make-up tutorial with. Hell, dad even had to show me how to use a pad, that's something that should be reserved for a mother. But she hadn't taken the chance to know us before she left our lives. Now that she's back, during the year I graduate, she wants to be in my life? Please, don't blame me for believing that's bullshit and for not wanting anything to do with her. But dad never did get over her. Sure, he's had a few dates since she left, but she is his one and only, which really pissed me off when I was little. The fact that he couldn't just move on. I sighed and looked down at my plate.
"Yes, I told her not to call me again."
"Sarah, you will not ignore your mother, she is coming over next Sunday, you will let her in, understand me?" He spoke in a firm tone that left no room for arguments. I nodded grudgingly and ate the rest of my food. Jane called down to us at 9:27;
"Dad! Sarah! Help me down stairs please!" We walked up the stairs and grabbed Jane's arms, pulling them over our shoulders and carrying her down the stairs. After we finished breakfast, we all started getting ready. I threw on some black sweatpants with a blue sweatshirt and threw my hair in a messy bun. We set jane in the backseat. Bennett jogged over and smiled.
"Hey."
"Hey," I said back, smiling. He sighed and looked at jane.
"Hi jane."
"Hello Bennett." She said back, smiling. He's looked at me and sighed.
"Just wanted to remind you to call me when you're on the way."
"I will Bennett."
"K, bye."
"Bye," I waved as he walked back to his house. Dad looked at me, then at him, then back to me and said,
"What was that?"
"I'm going with him and his dad to Augusta after we're done with Jane's appointment." I said nonchalantly, buckling up in the front seat. He got in and frowned.
"Where will you be staying?"
"We're visiting his grandparents, so I'd imagine their house."
"But you're not sure?" He asked, a worried expression on his face. I shrugged.
"No, I guess I'm not sure, why're you so interested?"
"I just want to make sure your not sharing the same bed or anything..."
"Dad! It's fine, I promise, Bennett's not like that." I said, realizing how lame it must sound to dad. He nodded and sighed.
"Alright, then. Are you going to need money?"
"No, I'll be fine, let's go. We don't wanna be late," I smiled. He smiled back, the skin around his eyes wrinkling up as he did so. It made me feel warm inside. He drove toward the center. Jane was smiling and talking about how nice the nurse was. I listened in silence, happy that she was trying to be positive about all of this. Being responsible for what happened to her, I couldn't help but feel guilty and sad. She tried cheering me up with a constructive conversation.
"Well, you you know what'll be the best part about all this?" She asked. I smiled and asked,
"What?"
"We can always get front parking spaces at the grocery store!" We laughed and dad pulled into the center. A stout black woman in a white outfit walked out and smiled at us.
"Hello, you must be Jane, let me help you." We all hoisted her onto her new wheel chair and walked inside. She took us to the front lobby and handed my dad a clip board.
"Just sign in and we'll introduce her trainer."
"Ok," we sat down in the wooden chairs and waited. They started playing shake it off, so jane started singing along.
"Cause the players gonna play play play...."
"Stop! My ears can't take it!" I said, pushing her playfully. She rolled her eyes and sighed. Dad handed the nurse the clipboard and smiled. She smiled back and nodded her head toward a long hallway.
"This way, follow me." She started walking. I pushed jane in front of me, gliding along every now and then. We passed the yoga center of the building on the way there. I looked inside and saw Lucy bending almost in half. Her long hair fell back in a seamless waterfall of hair. She smiled at me with white teeth. I nodded and kept walking. We approached a small room with one mirror wall and wooden floors.
"Please wait here while I go get Jacob."
"Jacob?" Dad asked, his eyebrows knitted. She frowned, then smiled and giggled a little.
"Oh, pardon me, he's going to be her physical therapist, he's the best we have here." She walked out, closing the door behind her. There were metal bars on the wall and several mats and balls everywhere. I picked up one and leaned against the wall.
"Think fast!" I threw one at dad. He caught it in the chest. His eyes were surprised at first, but they quickly turned devious.
"So that's the game you wanna play?"
"You bet, old man," I teased. He smiled and threw the ball at me. I dropped to the floor and rolled away, avoiding the ball. He quickly grabbed another one and threw it, this time hitting me in the shoulder. I picked up another one and threw it at jane, but she ducked and threw one towards me, but dad took the opportunity and pelted her in the head. She turned around, mad. She smirked and threw one at him, which bounced off his back. He threw one at me, but I ducked and threw one at jane. She chucked it at my head, but it bounced off two walls and hit the side of the door frame as someone entered. The man, who I assumed was Jacob, stepped back a little, but smiled when he realized it was just a ball.
"Should I come back later?" He asked in his deep voice. He was a little older than us, but defiantly not by much. I'd say he just got out of college. He had a strong build with broad shoulders and strong muscles. He had tan skin and sharp features with a shade of hair I would call surf boy. It was shorter, but still had a few bangs going across his face. I smiled casually. Jane looked like she wanted to scream. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was on the floor. Dad shook his hand with enthusiasm.
"Hi, I'm Jane's dad."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Jacob Newman. And...I'll go out on a limb and say you're jane?" She looked like she was going to melt. She didn't respond for a minute. I laughed and set a hand on her shoulder.
"Yes, that's her. She's just a little shy, right?" She barely nodded and looked away, blushing. I rolled my eyes and smiled. He smiled back and said,
"Well, we'll work on that along with her excersizes, ready?" He asked her, squatting in front of her chair. She smiled and nodded.
"As I'll ever be." He laughed a little at that one and they went to a different room, dad following. I decided to get some food from the vending machine. Several old people stared at me on my way over, probably trying to see what I was there for. I refrained from sticking my tongue out at them while wiggling my fingers in my ears. Maturity is key. I slipped a dollar into the slot and pressed the buttons for the Hershey's bar. The bar made it about halfway out, then it dangled there. I pounded on the glass a few times. It only bounced.
"C'mon!" I shouted at it.
"Need some help?" I heard a voice say. I turned to see Isaac in sweatpants and a red shirt smiling at the machine. "It does this sometimes, I got this." He pounded the sides and shaked the machine. The bar flew loose and fell to the bottom. I grabbed it and leaned against the wall.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome," he said, turning to go away. I sighed and tapped his shoulder,
"Wait."
"Yeah?" He asked, turning to face me.
"What're you doing here?" I asked. He pointed to his left arm.
"It broke last year during one of our games in Florida. I've needed some rehab for it, plus Lucy likes yoga." He nodded to Lucy. She was sitting in the criss cross position with her back towards us. I smiled and asked,
"Are you two together?" He laughed at that one. His eyes lit up and he smiled wide.
"No, Lucy's my step sister, her mom and my dad got married two years ago."
"Oh, that's too bad," I said, taking a bite of the chocolate. He frowned and tilted his head to the side like a confused puppy.
"Why?"
"You two would make a cute couple." He rolled his eyes and stuck his hands in his pockets. An old man in a speedo ran past us, his therapist running behind him. I frowned and giggled.
"Okay...that was random." He laughed a little and stood beside me.
"That's Mr. Winston. He's going a little senil, but he's a nice guy."
"Whys he here?" I asked. He watched the old man run. He tripped on a rock and face planted on the tile. I couldn't help but laugh a little.
"He fell down the steps and tore up his knee cap pretty good." He turned to me and leaned against the wall. "Ok, my turn."
"Your turn for what?" I asked. He smiled and said,
"To ask a question."
"Shoot."
"Why're you here? You don't look hurt." He tilted his head and looked at the back of my legs, letting his eyes fall slowly. I smirked and crossed my eyes.
"Are you checking me out?"
"One of my specialties," he said, winking and smiling at me. I gagged and giggled a little.
"Moving right along, what's your question?"
"I've already asked it; why're you here?" I thought about what to say.
"My sister sort of...had an accident."
"What kind of accident?" He asked, stretching. I looked down at the floor and played with my now empty wrapper. I crumpled it in my fingers and bit my lip.
"I'm not supposed to talk about it."
"That bad?" He asked, looking at me. I nodded and looked back at him.
"Yes." He shrugged and set his hands inside his short pockets.
"Fair enough, is she here now?" I frowned and looked around.
"Uh...why else would I be here?"
"Yoga?" He tried. I shook my head and giggled.
"I don't think I could touch my toes if I wanted to." I patted my stomach. He rolled his eyes.
"You're not fat, don't even pretend, c'mon." We stood in silence for a moment. He finally shrugged and said,
"Wanna walk around or something?"
"Sure, where should we go?" I asked. He shrugged and we started walking. We passed an open park area where several people were jogging or stretching. We turned onto one of the dirt paths and continued walking.
"So, you like basketball?"
"Not really, I hardly know anything about it." I said. He frowned and shrugged.
"Why were you at practice then?"
"Because Bennett was there," it came out differently than I had meant. He groaned and said,
"Please don't tell me you're one of those girls..."
"No! I didn't mean to say that. He asked me to go, just to try something new, we're not dating or anything...."
"I never said you were," he said, smirking. I felt my cheeks redden.
"Please don't assume..."
"I'm not assuming anything. Why're you so concerned with what the school thinks?" He asked. I stopped and thought for a minute. Why did I care? Because of my reputation? Wow.
"Well....I don't know, the gossip." Yeah, the gossip. He smiled and nodded.
"Ok, I can see that. But really, if you two just dated....no one would care after two weeks." I considered this for a few seconds. My phone started ringing. I picked it up and frowned.
"Hello?"
"Uh, it's me....where are you?" Bennett.
"I'm still at the center, why..."
"Please hurry, he's getting antsy."
"Antsy?"
"Just...hurry, for my sake." Then he hung up. For his sake? I frowned and set the phone back in my pocket.
"I've gotta go."
"Did I say something?" He asked, smirking. I shook my head.
"No, Bennett's expecting me." I started walking off. He waved and called behind me,
"Bye!" I told dad I was leaving and called a taxi. The driver pulled up and smiled.
"Where to?" I gave him the address and he nodded, driving off. He pulled up to the driveway and smiled. "Ok, that'll be...$20.50." I handed him $25 and let him keep the change. I walked down the road with my bags. I approached the house in silence. It looked even crappier during the day. The sides of the mobile home were peeling away and the wheels were sunken into the mud. The Rottweiler from my other visit was chained in the same place, but he looked much skinnier in the daylight. He was growling at me while chewing on what looked like a bone. A small dug out hole served for a makeshift fire pit where a charred log sat in it. There were broken bottles and rusty cans everywhere I stepped. There was only dirt and sand where the loosely labeled front lawn was, but there was over grown shrubbery and trees surrounding the area. I heard a loud voice from inside the home. I propped my bags against the lawn chair near the fire pit and knocked on the door. The yelling suddenly stopped. I stood in silence for a minute. Even the dog had stopped growling and perked up his ears. The door creaked open, revealing an over weight white man with a bald head and the greyest eyes you could imagine. He wore a wife-beater tank top that revealed some dark chest hair and armpit hair. I cringed on the inside. On the outside, I smiled and gave a small wave.
"Uh, hi. I'm Bennett's friend." He smiled with teeth as yellow as a school bus.
"Yeah....Sarah. That's your name?" His breath smelled like Budweiser and chewing tobacco. I coughed a little and nodded.
"Yeah, that's me."
"I'm Bennett's dad." He held out a hand that resembled a ham roast. I shook it. His grip was strong and firm. He took a few steps to the side.
"We'll get going in a minute, wait here for a sec," he walked off across the floor. The home was small and dirty. Cigarette scents stained the air and ash trays filled up the TV tray that sat besides a large leather chair. A TV sat across from it on two cinder blocks, movies piled into a mountain besides it. The kitchen/dining area was littered with beer cans and paper plates. The floor was rusty and old. There was only one bedroom, but I didn't look into it. Bennett stood in one corner, his dad whispering something to him. He whispered angrily back, trying not to make eye contact. He whispered something back, looked at me, and said something else before pushing past him into the bedroom and shutting the door. Bennett's fists clenched inside his jean pockets. He wore black jeans with a red flannel over a white shirt and a black beanie that said; 'If you can read this, you're too close.' He seemed a little more tense than he usually was. I smiled and sighed.
"Uh...hi."
"Hi, thanks for hurrying." He said, looking back at the door. I pointed and said,
"That's your dad?" He turned to me and looked at the floor.
"Yes, that's him." He looked at me. I nodded and bit my lip.
"Seems like a swell guy." He chuckled a little. I shrugged.
"What?"
"Swell guy? Nice word choice." He chuckled some more. I rolled my eyes and smirked. His dad came out in a leather jacket with a suitcase.
"K, you ready boy?" He asked Bennett. Bennett nodded and slung his bag over his shoulder. We all walked out and got in an old Chevy silver ado. The tires were jacked up monster truck style. I got in the backseat and buckled up. We started off on our 55 minute trip to Augusta. Bennett sat silently in the front seat while his dad tried engaging in conversation,
"So, how'd my sissy of a son hook up with such a fine little lady like you?" He asked. I frowned and said,
"Bennett isn't a sissy." Bennett looked out the window. His dad laughed and shook his head.
"Ok, fine, whatever. How'd you two meet."
"Our teacher paired us up for an assignment, and he moved next door. That's about it." I said. He smiled and shook his head.
"I just can't believe that this skinny little SOB got together with a girl like you." He laughed again. I sat up and said,
"He's not an SOB, and we aren't together. We're just friends." He frowned at me and spun to him.
"You mean to say you haven't got the balls to ask her out?" He half shouted half exclaimed at Bennett. He winced and looked straight ahead.
"Well...I can't, she's already with someone." I frowned and looked a question at him. His eyes urged me to agree. I stammered,
"Y-yeah. His name is Isaac." Something glinted in Bennett's eye, but I couldn't say what. It was gone within seconds. His dad smiled and said,
"Prove it. Call him up." He kept his eyes on the road. Some deer sat by the side of the road grazing. He honked the horn and laughed as they ran off. I looked around as I thought of a plan.
"Uh....my phone's dead, I'll call him when it's charged."
"You can use my phone." He said.
"Um, I don't have the best memory so it'll have to wait." Everyone was silent for a few minutes. His dad finally sighed and cleared his throat.
"Alright, fine. When we get there." He turned on the radio. It started playing 'The 8th of November.' He sang along in an out of pitch voice that sounded like someone was repeatedly smashing a hammer into his lungs. Bennett looked back and gave me and apologetic smile. I smiled back and made a fake gun with my hand. I stuck it in my mouth and pulled the trigger. He smiled and held in a laugh. We passed a small cabin on the way there. An old man sat outside with an old rust colored dog. I smiled and thought, 'I wonder if jane would like a dog?' Just then, Bennett's phone went off and he pulled it out and answered,
"Hello?" He listened for a few moments before nodding and handing me the phone.
"Who is it?" I questioned. He sighed and said,
"It's Carson." I frowned and answered,
"What do you want?"
"Just wanted to let you know Jane's sleeping peacefully, and she always will as long as you don't get cold feet." Then he hung up as quickly as he had called. I shivered and hoped that she was dreaming happy things.

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Hope it wasn't the worst thing since spell check! Enjoy the next chapter more, bye! :)