The Road Home

Chapter 12

Exhausted and finally finished with Monday's language sessions, Ben gathered his scripts. Yesterday had been a blur of activity. He had graded papers, written exams, and went over grade reports the entire day. It was past midnight before he finally got to sleep. Today hadn't been any slower and before he realized, it was close to five, which left no time to practice with Harper. The lot was clearing out as he took long strides towards her trailer. People wanted to get home to their families; the actors to the conference room to unwind. And he was going to be late.

Ben glanced at his watch, fully aware he was cutting it close to getting to his night class on time. Always running, he sighed. As tight as his schedule was this week, he doubted he and Harper would be able to make up her morning session. She was doing well with her lines, so hopefully, the few sessions she had missed wouldn't hinder her progress. As he drew near to her trailer to tell her, he noticed Mel walking out the front door.

"She's not going to feel like working tonight."

The look on her face bothered him. "What's wrong?"

"The police found a note in Helena's things. They gave it to Statler and he sent it with Stan this morning to Rapid City. She's extremely upset." Mel walked past him. "I'm going to get her something to eat."

Ben rapped on the door. The words extremely upset raced through his mind. He, once again, glanced at his watch and thought of how he needed to be on his way to Black Hills. Maybe Mel was exaggerating. Maybe it wasn't as bad as he was afraid it would be. He thought about checking to see if the door was unlocked and going in. However, he decided to call first. After two rings, she picked up but said nothing.

"Harper?" he could hear her breathing. "I'm at your front door. Are you ok?" His phone went dark. Bewildered at the situation, he waited for a moment then was halfway down the steps to find Mel to get more information when the door opened. He turned to see her, immediately noticing her red, swollen eyes. As he walked in, she began to cry. He gently put an arm around her and walked her to the couch.

Harper put her face in her hands and took a deep breath. She sat silently.

A thousand thoughts went through Ben's mind. What should he say? Should he bring up the note or wait for her to mention it? How late was he going to be for class?

Only a few seconds passed before Mel entered the front door with a tray of food.

"You need to eat." She placed the tray on the table in front of Harper and then knelt beside the table.

"I'm not hungry," Harper replied, quietly.

"It might make you feel better," Ben suggested. He didn't want to leave her like this but wasn't sure what to do. He couldn't call off his class. Not this late. And he wasn't even clear what the protocol would be if he did. He had never missed a class.

Harper shook her head, sniffed then wiped her eyes.

Mel grabbed her purse from the floor beside her. She dug around in the bottom until she pulled out an orange, unmarked pill bottle. Removing the lid and examining the contents, she looked at Harper. "If you eat, I can give you something to help you sleep."

"Like what?" Ben asked, angrily.

"Stay out of this," she sneered. "I've taken care of her for years."

"By giving her drugs?" Mel's passiveness at her offer infuriated him.

"Stop," Harper whispered.

"I'm just trying to help you, honey," Melinda told Harper, ignoring Ben and his intimidating glare. "Eric wants me to go with him to Pierre. Is it okay if we take your car?"