Marie's Path

Chapter 19

The house was quiet when Marie came home from school. Jay had dropped her off, but couldn't come in with her because he had Academy work. She didn't question him, or any of them when it came to their Academy jobs. To her, that was their thing. They always told her what they could, and she was fine with that. 

She was working on her trust issues and trying to be more open with each of them. Yet she still couldn't bring herself to open up about her father. She didn't know if they knew, and wasn't about to ask. None of them ever brought it up, so it was easier to put it in the back of her mind and forget.

Chase wasn't even home to greet her. Marie chuckled thinking how that dog had turned into an Academy dog. The Toma team and Chase just clicked. He was always with one or more of the guys when she was at school. None of them trusted her mother enough not to do something to Chase if she was given the opportunity.

Mindy wasn't there either. She would come in for a couple hours every morning, but had other clients too. And her mother wasn't at the point where she needed extra care yet.

Corey had added the app on her phone so she could look at the camera's and know where her mother was before she came into the house. She didn't ever want to be taken by surprise. He had even added the red line button which Marie loved and Raven hated. She had zapped him a couple times to get back at him for scaring her so much when they first met.

Since she wasn't in the position that Sang was in, they didn't bother with the other buttons. If Marie needed something that wasn't an emergency, she'd send out a group text and whoever was available would get back to her. It worked for them.

Marie wasn't afraid to be alone in the house with her mother in the daytime. But nights were a whole other issue. Even with a lock on her door, she couldn't take it. The house was too quiet and every creak she heard put her on edge. And even with having Chase in the room with her to give her a warning growl, she could still never fully relax enough to sleep. So every night one of the guys would stay in Sang's old room.

Her mother had seemed pretty docile in the days after Axel confronted her. She kept pretty much to her room and didn't say much to Marie, or even Mindy. And she would never come out when any of the guys were in the house.

When the house was empty is when Mrs. Sorenson would leave the room. They'd check on her with the camera's and watch her putter around the kitchen, or do her own laundry. To people who didn't know better, she looked like an average woman just doing her thing. But Marie knew better, the days had been too easy. She knew without a doubt her mother was a ticking time bomb just biding her time.

Marie set her school bag down in the entry before going to her mother's room. She knocked before opening the door. Seeing her sitting on her bed watching tv, Marie went over to the small table where her mother ate her meals.

"Just letting you know I'm home," Marie told her as she picked up the dirty dishes. "I'm making a taco bake casserole for supper. Does that sound alright with you?"

Mrs. Sorenson didn't look at Marie, but her face was harsh as she stared at the television. A grunt was her only response.

"Ok then," Marie muttered as she turned to leave.

"Why is there a lock on your bedroom door?"

Marie stopped at the door and looked back at her mother. That was the first full sentence she had said to Marie in days. She wanted to laugh, her mother knew full well why there was a lock on the door. The idea of not being in control was starting to get to her.

"Mother, you know you aren't suppose to go up and down the stairs. What if you had a dizzy spell and fell?" Marie gave her mother a look of fake concern and turned to leave.