Desperation

Chapter Two: Father And Son

  Beckett took me out to the car and we drove off, heading back to town. "Who did you find?" I asked. I was taking the deal seriously. I was trying to be talkative and happy. "Well.. no one," He said quietly. "We didn't find any living members that were eligible to become your guardian." I knew it. "Then.. where are you taking me?" I asked. "I made a promise. I told you I would get you out in a month." He shrugged. "I mean, I don't really have family either. My wife and son died couple years back. So I figured we could just kind of.. take care of each other." He said.
   "So you're adopting me?" I asked. He struggled to answer for a bit. "I am." He said finally. "Unless you want to go back." "No, no. I'm fine." I argued. "Thank you.." I said silently. "For what?" He asked. "Giving me a chance.." I smiled at him. His eyes met mine and he smiled, too. They were a dark brown, the same color as his hair. I was picking again. "Do you know anything about Jeb?" I asked. "Jeb? Jeb who?" He asked. "The one who was arrested a couple years ago due to domestic violence, with my mom." "Ohh.. he got out a couple days ago. He was only charged for a few years. It's his time out I guess."
   Beckett shrugged. I supposed I'd call him John now, instead of his last name. It wouldnt be normal if I continued calling him his formal name. He wasn't gonna call me Anderson all the time. I guess now my name was Bailey Anderson Beckett, though. He took me to a store and let me buy a few outfits other than the rags I'd been wearing for a whole month now. I got mostly light colors, hoodies. He pointed that out and called me a pastel goth. I laughed and accepted it.
   "So. You ever been to school before?" He asked, as he searched through the jewelry. "No." "Have you ever really been in public?" "No. Not until mom died. I always stayed in the junkyard." "Why?" "She didn't want me out. I had too many bruises. She was scared I was gonna get her and her boyfriends caught." I answered. Now I honestly couldn't care less. Everyone in this town already knew about me. I mean, nothing ever happens in this town. Nothing. So when something big happens, like when Jeb hurt me, when mom died, everyone knows about it. No one in the town liked me. They thought I was gonna be like my mom. So they avoided me. And I avoided them.
   This honestly didn't bother me. I liked the solitude. It felt safe. I don't like letting people really get to know me anyway. The kids at the orphanage and John are the only exceptions. I mean. Everyone here knew me. They just didn't know me personally. I don't know, it's hard to explain. "So.. how did you learn?" John asked. "I taught myself everything. I stole schoolbooks from some of the cars in the junkyard." "Did you do anything else there?" "I fixed Cars. There's one that I've been working on sense Jeb-" "can I ask you something?" He asked me, looking at me.
   "Sure." I responded. "What did they do to you?" He asked. "What did Jeb do?" I sighed. "Well.." I struggled. I was so uncomfortable. I didn't want to answer. "I'll tell you, if you tell me something in return." I ordered. "Something that hurts you a lot. So it's fair." He furrowed his brows. "Fine." I sighed, struggling to open up. "Well. He tried to rape me. My mom saw, and that started the fight they had that sent her to the hospital." He dropped whatever it was he had in his hand in shock. I felt ashamed. "I'm a whore. I know. Please don't get rid of m-" he cut me off.
   "Don't you ever let me hear you say that bullshit again, Bailey!" He raised his voice. "You're not a whore. Don't you dare think it!" I jumped at him raising his voice, and cussing. I hadn't heard him cuss. Like, ever. Before I could protest he had his arms wrapped around me. I shivered a little, wrapping my arms around him. "I'm sorry.." I stammered out. "Don't be sorry when you've done nothing wrong." He seemed genuinely hurt. Why did he care so much? I was confused. "Your turn." I quickly changed the subject off of me. Off of what happened.
   He let me go after a moment with a heavy sigh. "I lost my wife and son in a car crash around the same time Jeb was arrested. I say crash, instead of accident, because it was no accident. It was my fault. It's my fault they're dead." I looked at him. "Why do you say that?" I asked. "That's.. another question. You have to tell me something else about you, before I'll answer it." I shook my head. There was nothing else to tell him. Nothing else I knew. He shook his head. "Then you're not gonna find out." He grabbed the clothes and went to pay for them. Everyone knew about the accident. No one knew what he just told me. I pondered on what he said. Trying to find what he was saying.
   He caused the crash. No. He couldn't have. He's hurt by their deaths. He blames himself. It's not really his fault. I didn't push him any further. "Alright, let's try something not so personal." I started. "Why did you become a detective?" I asked. "Hmm.." he thought. "I don't know. Me and my buddy Michael both dreamed about it. We use to play pretend detective when we was younger, and we both vowed to become real detectives one day. So here we are." He shrugged. "You live in a mansion.." I started. "Your parents left you millions of dollars and a mansion, and you chose to be a detective."
   "Right." He smiled. "I don't really use the money they left me. I don't gorge myself on it. I use the money I earn. Yeah, when I really want something or need a little help I'll check into it, but I've only used a couple thousand dollars out of that safe on myself." "Why?" I asked. If I had a million dollars, I'd never work a day in my life. "It's not about the fact that I have it. I'm happy I have it, that way if something big happens I can spend it." That's when I caught his wording. He said he only used a couple thousand on himself. "You used most of it on your family." I pointed out. "Correct. And I'll use it on you, too. You're family now."
   I smiled a little. "No. You won't. It'll be fair for both of us and I'll earn what I take." I promised. He shook his head. "You remind me of him." He meant his son. I smiled a little, honored by that. "Thanks.." I said softly. He drove into the town. "Was you all alone in that junkyard all the time?" He asked. I shook my head. "No." "Oh? Who was out there with you?" He asked. "Warrior. I had a dog. She stayed with me out there from the time I moved out there to the time I left. She.. passed, the night before mom overdosed. I buried her. She was fifteen, I think." I explained. "So She was just too old." He looked heart broken. "What Bree's was she?" He asked. "American pit bull terrier. She was beautiful. Blue coat.." I mumbled. "She sounds gorgeous." He said softly.
   He took me to his mansion, and led me to a room carrying my bags. "This will be your room. It's got a tv, giant bed, closet, bathroom.." he explained. "All to yourself." "Wait.. what? I get to keep it?" I asked. He nodded. "You earned it. You saved a whole orphanage full of people." I laughed and threw myself on the bed. "Thank you!" I squealed. He smiled and watched, looking out the window. "Time sure flies. It's late." I nodded, following his gaze. The window was huge. The bedroom itself was on the second floor of the building, and there was a set of three huge ceiling to floor windows that overlooked the woods behind the mansion. The mansion was on the edge of the town, my room faced the woods surrounding us. The town.
   He went off to another room and came back with a couple pill bottles. "Okay, So, they got your prescriptions in for your trauma, I just got to go pick them up the other day. These will help with sleep, and these are Prozac. They help you feel better, anti-depressants." He explained. I took them and took one of each. "Thank you.." I said again. He nodded kindly and pointed to the closet. "When you're ready to sleep you can change into sleep clothes, there's already big white shirts and joggers in there."
   He left the room and I laid there, already feeling the affects of the drugs. I was so tired. I didn't feel a single worry. I smiled. I changed into one of the clean white t shirts and my boxers and nothing else. I slipped into bed, and was out like a light. I slept hard, but I didn't even dream. All I could remember when I woke up was darkness. I woke up what seemed like years later, drool trailing across my cheek and my pink and blue curls boofed up messily around my head like a cloud. I don't know when I woke up. How long I had been asleep. I just saw the sun beaming through the window, and knew it was already midday. It had to have been.
   I popped a couple more pills, feeling guilty at first, like I was turning into my mother, but I knew I wasn't her. I needed these. I stretched, throwing on a pair of the grey joggers and leaving the room. It was hard to walk at first. I slept so hard. I wandered down the stairs to where John was. "There you are. I was starting to think you was never gonna wake up." He laughed. "I'm sorry.." I said. I knew my speech was slurred. I couldn't help it. I was so tired. He smiled. "Well, I'm glad you slept well. I have a surprise for you. I was gonna wake you up with it but you looked so tired."
   "What?" I asked, stretching again. "Come with me." He took off for the living room. I followed him. I heard a little yap, and then saw the best thing I'd ever seen. It was a tiny puppy. It was pure black, not a speck of white on it, and it's eyes were an ocean blue. It yapped when it saw us and ran to us, slipping several times on the hardwood floor. I hit the floor, lifting it up. She wriggled in my arms and whined, struggling to lick my face. She was the same breed as Warrior was. "I'm sorry she ain't the same color as your girl was. I saw her at a yard sale this morning and I had to get her, she's the same breed. She wasn't even really for sale, but I talked them into it." He laughed.
   I looked up at him. I felt the tears swell in my eyes. "She's mine..?" I asked. "Of course she is. She was already named though. She responds to Amara." I kissed her little dog head. Her ears weren't cut, they were still floppy. They were still puppy ears. I couldn't stop smiling and laughing. "And I get to keep her..?" I asked. He smiled and nodded again. "Of course." He smiled. I sat her down and ran to him, wrapping my arms around him tightly. "Thank you so much, John.." I buried my face in his shoulder.
   He rubbed my back. "Of course, Bailey.." I felt Amara's tiny paws tapping the backs of my legs and heard her whine. She was asking for attention. It was like she was telling us we were forgetting her. I laughed and lifted her up into my arms and kissed her head again. She yipped and wagged her little tail happily. She wasn't Warrior, no, but she was now my baby. I had to take care of her. She was almost out of the new puppy stage, she was already growing into her thick body build that all of her kind had, she looked about a month or so old. I couldn't believe it, I couldn't stop smiling. John was the best.