Catch Me

Chapter Twenty: Safe

Chapter Twenty: Safe  

When Haleigh had finally arrived at home it was around five o'clock that night. The sun was starting to sink behind the mountains and the sky was turning a bright shade of pink. Haleigh's dad's truck was parked in its usual spot in the dooryard, near the woodshed. She pulled up next to the truck and cut the engine, before hopping out of the Subaru. She was surprised that Sky hadn't greeted her immediately but assumed she was probably fast asleep inside next to the wood stove. The Jeep that belonged to Haleigh's brother was missing which meant he had probably returned to base earlier in the week. Haleigh was a little upset that she wouldn't be seeing her brother this visit, and told herself she should have come last week when he had been home on leave.

Haleigh looked around briefly, taking in her surroundings, it had been a while since she had been home, yet nothing had really changed. The house its self was a very old double wide that sat in the middle of the property. The vinyl siding was pealing off, along with parts of the shingled roof. Haleigh's dad had built a very large porch off of the trailer in hopes it would give it a newer, put together kind of look. It hadn't worked, and part of the wood on the porch had begun to rot. There was a wood shed near the trailer that Haleigh's dad had built out of random logs and scrap wood he had found around his property. It was currently stacked high with fire wood and tarps draped over the wood, keeping it dry from any expected weather they were about to get. Beer cans littered the drive way some looked like they had been there for months, others only weeks, and Haleigh's heart sank when she noticed some brand new ones which looked like they had only been there for a couple hours.

Sighing deeply, Haleigh made her way up the rotting porch toward the front door of the trailer, and walked into her childhood home. She expected Sky to greet her excitedly, but she wasn't there. This made Haleigh's heart sink again. The door led directly into the living room area that hadn't changed either. The wood stove sat off to the far side of the room, two couches were placed along two of the walls and the old tv sat on a wooden entertainment center that Haleigh's dad had built years ago. The wood floors were littered with dust, and looked as if they hadn't been vacuumed in months. Sky's dog bed sat next to the wood stove, empty, and to Haleigh's dismay her dad laid, passed out on one of the couches. He was covered in sawdust with his work boots still on. Empty beer cans littered the floor around him. Some even lay on top of his sleeping body.

"Great..." Haleigh sighed as she made her way toward the kitchen. She grabbed a garbage bag from the cupboard and made her way back into the living room to pick up the discarded beer cans. The cans clinked together and rustled the black garbage bag, and Haleigh's dad began to stir. As he rolled onto his side more beer cans fell from the couch replacing those that Haleigh had just picked up. She sighed again and placed the remaining cans into the bag before tying the opening into a knot and placing it near the door. She would take it out later.

"What are you doing here?" Haleigh's dad grumbled. He sat up on the couch a little too quickly and Haleigh could see his face turn a greenish color.

"Do you need a bucket?" Haleigh wondered, she didn't want to have to clean up her father's vomit from the floor later.

"I said what are you doing here, girl?" He growled for the second time.

"You told me to come. Remember? We talked last week and you said to come visit this weekend." Haleigh could feel her eyes begin to brim with tears. She knew what was about to happen, she should be used it, she should have a harder shell. She shouldn't care, she knew he didn't mean the things he said when he was drunk. But somehow his words still cut through her like a shard of glass.

"I don't want you here!" He grumbled again. He stood from the couch and made his way toward the kitchen. Haleigh could see him open the fridge and grab another beer. "You're the reason your mother left, you know that?" Silence. Haleigh wasn't going to entertain her drunk father by replying. "You were the loudest, most unhappy baby there could have ever been." He was slurring his words as he cracked open the beer. Haleigh wasn't surprised when he guzzled it down in less than a minute. "She couldn't put your noisy ass down without you wailing to be held again. She went mad trying to take care of you. And then she left us. She left me with a crying, wailing two year old, and two other kids to take care of." Haleigh let the tears begin to fall as her father's words tore through her heart. "What are you bawling about?" Haleigh's dad redirected his focus to his daughter's tears. "Did you find out that dumb mutt was dead?" He grabbed another beer from the fridge. "Don't surprise me. You's still cryin' like a goddamn baby!" He growled and flung the fresh beer across the room, she flinched as its contents exploded when it hit the wall behind Haleigh's head.

Haleigh could feel her heart breaking at the news her beloved childhood pet had passed away. It was inevitable, Sky had been an old dog. Haleigh just wished she could have been here to say goodbye to her. Although her heart was breaking because her dog was dead, the tears were a combination of angry tears and sad tears. Angry tears because of what her dad was saying about her mother, and sad because she would never again get to pet Sky's silky short beagle hair and tell her that she loved her.

"What are you still doing here?" Haleigh's dad bellowed from where he stood in the kitchen. Haleigh would never understand how it was possible for someone to be such a great, caring, and loving father when he was sober, and a total monster the minute alcohol touched his lips. "Get out of my house!" He yelled again. Haleigh let out a sob before turning and exiting the trailer. She hopped into her old Subaru and started the car, she backed out of the driveway and drove down the street. Haleigh could barely see where she was going, and was lucky this was such a small town, it meant that there was hardly any traffic. She pulled off the road when she came to the tiny cemetery. She put the car in park and sobbed into the palms of her hands. After a few minutes she picked up her cell phone, which had been sitting in the passenger's seat and dialed Zander's number.

"Hello?" Zander answered on the third ring. Haleigh didn't answer, she was trying to control her crying. "Haleigh? Are you alright?" Zander's voice sounded concerned. He could hear the sobs. "Dude can you give me a ride?" Haleigh could hear Zander talking to someone else. "Haleigh where are you? Jackson's giving me a ride, I'm coming to get you." Relief suddenly filled Haleigh's body. She knew she wouldn't be able to drive herself back to campus. She couldn't see anything through the uncontrollable tears. She also needed Zander, she needed to be in his arms, she needed to feel safe. Haleigh managed to choke out a few words which told Zander exactly where she was. Zander offered to stay on the line until he got to her, but she refused, she just wanted to cry by herself for a while.

An hour passed and Haleigh knew Zander would be showing up shortly. Only a few trucks had driven by her the entire time she had been waiting for Zander. Silent tears still stained her face, and she was having a difficult time catching her breath. No amount of puffs on her inhaler seemed to help. Suddenly a small sports car pulled up beside Haleigh's Subaru. She was sure this was Jackson's car. Everyone around her home town either drove pickup trucks, jeeps or Subarus. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen a sports car drive through her town.

Haleigh's focus fell to Zander as he stepped out of the vehicle. In one swift motion Haleigh flung open the drivers side door of her car and jumped out. She couldn't hold herself back as she threw herself toward Zander. He worriedly wrapped his arms around Haleigh in a protective manner as Haleigh hid her face in the crook of his shoulder. She could feel the tears begin to stain his shirt, but she didn't care. Being in Zander's arms was taking away any pain she was feeling. She instantly forgot about the harsh words her father had yelled at her. The memory of a full can of beer being chucked at her head vanished. She was no longer the reason her mother had left. Most of all she was completely and utterly safe.