Sleeping Beauty-ish

A Restless Night/Day

That night, I couldn't sleep. I kept wondering why Dad wouldn't take Lexi and Ty in, and, without my wanting, memories I'd pushed to the back of my head resurfaced. I was eleven years old.

"What do you mean you're pregnant?" my father was demanding. "You had me get the surgery years ago, after we had Jack!"

"I've been meaning to tell you, Henry, it's just... I didn't know how. You're always gone on archaeology digs and he actually cares... he's got a lovely daughter, too, and unlike you, he's there for his child." Mom glared at my father, her blue eyes narrowed. Ty had those blue eyes.

"I love Jack more than you will ever know," hissed my father tightly, "and my digs are important. With every new bit of history we discover, we come closer to finding out the truth about our own history."

"And what about the future, Henry?" demanded my mother. "What about Jack's future? You were supposed to pick him up from school on Friday, do you know that? But you got a call from a doctor in Egypt about some stupid mummy tomb, and you spent two hours talking to him about that. Jack's teacher had to drive him home while you were here, and you didn't even notice! I would've gone, except I was actually bringing us money!"

"That was one time!"

"One time? What about last Monday? Or the Wednesday before that? Face it, Henry, this happens all the time, and you don't even bat an eye!"

Dad seethed. "That is not true in any sort of way! My work has random call hours, I admit, and I am always called away on business, but you know I love Jack!"

"I have nothing left to say to you, Henry," said my mother, standing up with a cold look on her face. "I am packing my bags, and I am taking Jack with me. He deserves a better life than what you can give him."

"You will never take Jack," snarled my father.

"And what will you do?" laughed my mother mirthlessly. "Take him on your archaeological digs? Educate him? On what, knowing how to neglect your children?"

"Yes," my father told Mom in a deadly serious tone. "That's exactly what I'm going to do. You've already got two new kids - why do you need a reminder of me?"

Mom clenched her fists. "I loved you," she whispered, tears brimming in her eyes. "I actually did."

And then she left, never to be seen by me ever again, except in Christmas cards my dad refused to look at.

I stared at our hotel ceiling, no longer that eleven-year-old boy, and realized I was crying. I got up and walked to the bathroom for a tissue, and when I came out, Rosalyn (or Rosie, as Lexi now preferred to call her), was perched on the island.

"You could not sleep either, I take it," she said calmly. "What is wrong, Jack?"

"Nothing," I grumbled, reaching for my jacket. Rosalyn looked at me.

"You're lying," she said, sliding off the island. Her feet hit the floor with a soft thump. "I heard you, you know. You were crying and muttering in your sleep."

"Look, I don't want to talk about it, okay?" I said, grabbing a room key and storming outside. Annoyingly, Rosalyn followed.

"Talking about it will make you feel better, you know," she said softly. "Is it about your mother? Lexi said she'd died. She also said that she knew you didn't like her or Ty very much because your mother had left you for them."

"Look, forget it, okay? Why do you care so much?" I demanded angrily, taking long strides down the sidewalk. It was roughly midnight, and you could see the stars very clearly. Rosalyn sighed.

"I care because you are helping me," she said. "That is why."

"Fine," I spat. "My mom wanted to keep me, okay? That's what I was remembering. She thought my dad wasn't decent, and she was leaving him for Lexi and Ty's dad, and she wanted to take me with her. But my dad told her he didn't care, that she'd already taken everything from him, and she couldn't have me too." I punched a nearby brick wall in anger (I really had a problem with walls). Blood trickled down my fist; I'd torn open my knuckles.

"Jack, I know you don't want to admit it, but you miss her," said Rosalyn, studying me. "What was she like, before you stopped talking to her?"

"I don't want to talk about it!" I screamed. "Why can't you just understand that? Why can't you just understand that everyone leaves and no one cares and your stupid dad won't even accept your stepsiblings into your house, and that your mom didn't even care enough to take the case to court but just let me leave and let my home become a suitcase and let me bounce around from country to country and let me be so LONELY for the rest of my life! Why can't you just understand that some moms send you Christmas cards with pictures of their new family on them, looking so happy like she'd never been that happy with you, and that you watch her with her little boy and she's so sweet with him, and she loves her husband so much, and she never did that with you!" I was still punching the wall, and brick dust crumbled down onto my hands. I was crying now.

Rosalyn grabbed my wrist. "Jack," she murmured, "stop. You're hurting yourself."

I silently allowed her to sit me down on a bench, and she wrapped my hand in a tissue she'd taken from the hotel.

We sat there for a while before Rosalyn finally looked at me. "Jack, do you think I'm going to find my true love?"

"I don't know," I said wearily. "Honestly, I never thought I'd even be in this situation. I mean, does it sound logical to you?"

"No, not particularly," said Rosalyn.

That's when I heard the police sirens. "Rosalyn, run. Go hide somewhere. Behind that building, maybe. They're looking for Lexi and Ty." I took off running towards the hotel, but of course Rosalyn followed.

"Do you ever listen to a word I say?" I groaned.

"No," said Rosalyn. "Well, occasionally. But I believe Lexi and Ty need more than one person on this particular occasion."

I quickly slid our room key through the door. "LEXI! TY! WAKE UP!" I shouted, dashing over to the beds. I grabbed Lexi's suitcase, which was now also full of Rosalyn's clothes, too, and Ty's duffel. Lexi was getting Ty up.

"What's going on?" Ty grumbled.

"The police," I panted. "They're outside, I don't know how the hell they found us, but we have to go."

"POLICE!" yelled a voice, rapping on our door. "OPEN THE DOOR!"

By some miracle, we were only on the first floor. I hurled a chair at the window. "Get out! Go, now!"

Lexi looked at me skeptically, but jumped, and Ty went after her. I made Rosalyn jump before me, and just as the police burst in, I jumped out the window.

It was official: I had the worst luck in the world.