Super

Lots of Balls

Chapter 9: Lots of Balls

Someone poked my shoulder. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and looked up. Sam and the hospital. Shit I fell asleep in his room again. Shoot. I turned and came face to face with Tessa, Sam's half sister.

"Tessa?" I groaned as I sat up, stretching. A pain shot through my back and I winced. God is my burn ever going to start feeling better?

"So the story is true then, you really were crazy enough to run into a burning building." I stood and stretched. Tessa.

Sam and I have been friends ever since we were little kids and Tessa kind of just appeared out of the blue one day. It was a cloudy day and it had just finished raining back them. Little me and Sam were sitting on his dad's front porch playing cards; Pokémon to be specific. Sam tried for hours to teach me how to play the silly game, but as cool as it may have been I never really got the hang of it.

Our little game was interrupted when blue sedan pulled up and parked right in front of Sam's house. A pail middle aged woman got out of the car with a teenager in tow. The girl seemed upset as she walked behind the woman with her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes hidden behind her long bangs. I remember her looking nervous. Sam didn't waste any time, he dropped the cards and ran into the house to get his dad leaving me alone with the woman and the girl. We stared at one another for a long moment.

"Hello," the older woman smiled, "I'm Elizabeth Haman, is your Daddy home?" I remember feeling conflicted. Should I have answered her questions or should I have ignored her. But I didn't have to make the choice. Mr. Beck walked out of the house in warn out tee-shirt and jeans with a beer in hand. "Are you Officer Clive Beck of the VPD?" She asked.

"Yes, can I help you?" I turned to look at Mr. Beck and saw Sam peeking out from behind his legs. Sam had always been so shy.

"Do you by any chance remember a Ms. Sofie Mota." Mr. Beck's eyes widened as he took a shaky breath. He looked away from the woman and focused his eyes on the teenaged girl behind him. The older girl looked up meeting his eyes for a fraction of a second before hiding behind her bangs. "Sir?"

"Yeah...yeah I knew Sofie...is she okay?" He asked quietly and the smile disappeared from the woman's face. Tears began to form in the girls eyes before she turned away.

"No. I'm afraid that she's not okay. Ms. Mota-" The lady was interrupted by a splash as Ms. Beck, Sam's mom, parked her flower delivery van behind the blue car. She slammed her door behind her and rushed up the front steps nearly stepping on my hand in the process.

"Oh, I'm sorry Rebecca. Clive what's going on? Who are these people? Are they with the IRS?" She asked quickly but Mr. Beck only ran a hand through his hair. "Clive?"

"Can we come in?" The older woman asked urgently and he sighed stepping aside unable to meet the young girls eyes. The two walked past me into the house. Sam jumped out of the way to let them through.

"Clive!" Sam's mom whisper. "What the hell is going on?"

"Mom!" Sam hissed and his Mom sighed.

"I'm sorry honey, I know. Clive."

"There's something I've got to tell you." Mr. Beck said.

"What?"

"It's.... I have a, uh, I mean I think...Christ just uh, come in okay?" Ms. Beck looked a little bit suspicious but she didn't say anything else as she walked into the house. Sam tried to follow but Mr. Beck stopped him.

"No buddy, you have to wait out here okay?"

"What's going on Dad?"

"It's a...long story okay. This is going to take while so just hang out here with Rebecca okay. Teach her how to play that game your always playing."