The Ground Below

Chapter Seventeen

“Keep your eyes open.”

The storms were rolling in on the east coast. I’ve been here for a month, and I don’t think the weather has gotten this bad. Kaylie and I were sitting in the cabana watching the clouds darken. The rain splattered off the shrubs collecting into puddles on the stone walkway.

Loud booming sounds thundered through the air, and lightning sparked out in the distance. “Maybe we should go in,” I suggested to Kaylie. Her only reply was a nod.

The cabana steps had been fairly slick, and caused Kaylie to fall. The first sound I ever heard her make was the high pitch scream she belted. She held her ankle, as tears started to fall. Trying not to panic, I lift her from the ground moving her to the big house since it had been the closest. I didn’t bother asking her if she was okay, because I knew she wasn’t.

“Amy!” I screamed.

Margie, the housekeeper, greeted me at the door. “What happened?” she asked wide eyed and suddenly in a panic.

“She fell stepping out of the cabana.” Two seconds later, and I spotted blonde hair. Amy came racing through the kitchen entrance. “What on earth—,” she noticed Kaylie in my arms, and cast a glance at me.

I was scared they would blame me for her fall, my eyes started fogging up. “She fell.”

Next thing I knew, Kaylie was being cradled by her father. I didn’t even notice him enter the room. Amy looked at me, her eyes softening. “Oh, honey. Calm down.”

Swallowing hard, I nodded.

“We’re just going to take her to the hospital. It will be okay. Understand?” Again, I nodded. “Just go tell Karter, because he’ll want to know.” Of course Karter would want to know that his baby sister is hurt. What if he thought that I was to blame?

That is plain crazy to think. We have this newfound friendship, and I feel closer to him than I’ve felt to anyone outside of my family.

Not wasting any time, I ran out to the guest house—my house I should say. The living room, and kitchen were empty, but I knew he was home. Pacing quickly to his room, I didn’t even knock.

“Karter—,” my words caught in my throat.

His hands quickly went behind his back, but I seen it—the white bag of powder. My eyes widen quickly. Shaking my head, I run to my room slamming the door closed. Karter did coke?

How could I have known? But, then again, how could I have not known? It all comes back to me—the dilated pupils, and the mood changes. I wonder if the coke had been affecting him those times he had been cruel.

My head falls in my hands as I slide down to the floor, my back against the door.

Drugs? I’ve never felt so disappointed in my life.

A thump comes from behind my head. “Parker--,” another steady stream of knocks. “Parker, open up.”

And, I do. I open the door. He needs to know what I’m feeling right now.

“What you saw—,” he begins.

“No.” Shaking my head, I tell him, “No excuses. I know what I saw”

He shakes his head, looking down at me. “I wasn’t trying to come up with an excuse or a lie to tell you. It was cocaine.”

Thinking about all the people I’ve lost, the tears start flowing faster. But, I give up on fighting. “I lost my mom,” I whisper so quietly, I’m not sure he even heard me.