Keep Me Safe

Chapter Sixteen

Meredith and Ethyl, still shaken from the night before, were not told the truth about what had happened. Mama lied to them and said that it was the doing of some rowdy drunk with bad aim and a shotgun. That morning they were sent to stay the day with Dr. Smith and his wife, who were told the same story and were more than willing to allow the girls to play with their grandchildren that were visiting from out of town.

With them gone, everyone gathered in the living room for a serious talk. Unfortunately, no one seemed to know just what to say. A tense silence hung in the air as everyone cast uncomfortable glances at each other. Even Argie, who was normally hyper, laid quietly in the corner with his head on top of his paws.

It was Papa who finally let out a long sigh and turned to face Lottie. "I think you know what we need to talk about."

"Yes, sir," Lottie meekly mumbled. She sunk further back into the couch and hung her head, letting her hair conceal her face.

Looking at her, Agnes realized just how much she had changed since the first time they had met. Gone was her confident stride, her gentle smile, her loving demeanor. In the span of a few short weeks, all of it had been replaced by the shell of a woman that was now sitting on the couch. Her once perfect, silky hair was now disheveled and ratty. Deep bags resided under her bloodshot eyes, and her shoulders seemed to reside in a place of perpetual slumping. She was a master of faking smiles, but Agnes could always see right through her; lately, none of her show-stopping smiles had been anywhere near genuine.

Mama wrapped her arms around Lottie from behind and rested her chin on top of Lottie's head. "Doll, we're not trying to blame you or say that we don't want you around, because we really do love having you here. However, our main goal is too always keep our family members safe, including you. We're going to do whatever we need to do in order to keep everyone safe." Her words were slow and carefully thought out.

"I know that I need to leave."

She tried to stand up, but Mama kept her arms around her and held her down. "Don't you dare try to leave. We ain't kicking you out, and we ain't going to abandon you. What Papa's trying to say is that we need to find a place to temporarily keep you until you can go with Aunt Linda. In no way are we blaming or rejecting you."

Floyd, who had seated himself next to her, placed a gentle hand on her knee. "Lottie, this is why I brought you here. We're going to figure out something."

"But where is she safe?" Darryl asked. He sat against the wall by the fireplace, a bowl of roasted peanuts in his lap. "This town is too small to secretly move her somewhere. No one can keep their damn mouths shut!"

"I could talk to Williams and see if she'd be allowed to stay in the jail for a couple of days."

"I doubt that moron would help after what happened with Leonard," Agnes scoffed. "Besides, do you really want Lottie, in her current condition, to be down in a jail cell? With murderers?"

Franny snatched a peanut from Darryl's bowl and frowned at her. "Quit being so dramatic, child. You know we ain't had a murderer in this town for twenty-something years. At worst, she'd just have to listen to Bob Wilcox's drunken warbling all through the night."

Abel nodded in agreement with his wife, but didn't say anything.

"But what if she's there locked up in a cell one night, and one of the guys shows up to kill her? How would she protect herself? I've got to agree with Agnes on this one, as much as it pains me."

Papa cracked a slight smile and said, "The end times are upon us. Darryl is agreeing with Agnes."

Agnes jumped to her feet, a light bulb going off in her head. "We can have her stay with James!"

"Nunnaly?" Mama gasped, clutching her chest.

"Yes! He lives far enough away from town that anybody walking around his house in the middle of the night would be a red flag. He's got enough guns to supply the army and has no problem shooting them! It would be perfect."

"Agnes, I know I can't really control who you hang around, but I would prefer it if you didn't subject Lottie to James' company. You know how your mother and I feel about him."

Darryl spat out a peanut shell onto the ground. "Again, I'm going to agree with her. James seems like our best option, like it or not."

Mama huffed and crossed her arms. "The man always smells of liquor. He'd be too drunk to even shoot straight."

"Y'all run into him maybe once every few weeks. He doesn't always smell like whiskey."

"Lottie is a dear friend of mine," Floyd interjected, placing a hand on her knee, "and I don't think that staying with him would be too good. He lives in a shack!"

Agnes pushed his hand of Lottie's leg and replaced it with hers. "Well, Lottie is a dear friend of mine, and I think staying with James is the only safe option we have. Franny, Abel, what do you think?"

Everyone turned to face the couple, and the room went silent. Franny looked to Abel, who shrugged. Finally, she sighed and shook her head. "I don't like it, but I think Agnes is right."

"I told you so!" Agnes screamed, jumping to her feet. She did a little dance on the hardwood floor before shoving her finger in Floyd's face and declaring, "I know better than you, idiot!" To top it all off, she stuck out her tongue at him.

Abel meekly cleared his throat and stepped forward. "I think," he muttered, pointing at Lottie, "that you should maybe ask the miss where she wants to go."

"Dammit, Abel, I was gloating. Couldn't you just let me have this one moment before you started speaking sense?"

Papa turned his attention to her and said, "Honey, I'm so sorry we've left you out of this conversation. What are your thoughts? Do you want to go to James'?" 

Mama picked up a nearby brush and began gently combing through the numerous knots and tangles in Lottie's hair. It was something she often tried to do with Agnes, and was always met with extreme resistance. Lottie, however, melted into her hands and allowed her whole body to relax.

"I think," she murmured peacefully, her eyes closed, "that James' is the safest place for me. I've met him before, and he seems pleasant enough."

Mama immediately stopped brushing Lottie's hair. "Dammit, child. This is not the outcome I was hoping for."

Agnes laughed manically and continued her victory dance. "I win!"

Papa locked eyes with Mama, and they both let out long sighs. "I guess you can take her over tonight. Are you sure he's going to let her stay?"

"Definitely. He still owes me a few favors." She grabbed Lottie's hands and tugged her to her feet. "Come on. Let's go get you packed up." She pulled her in the direction of the staircase.

Lottie allowed herself to be dragged along. "Can I ask what you did to get him to owe you so many favors?" she asked when they were halfway up the stairs.

Agnes was tempted to tell her, but she realized that it might not be such a good idea considering her parents were within earshot. She cracked a playful smile. "No, you may not."

"I'm starting to regret agreeing to go to this man's house. He seems like quite a bad influence on you." She chuckled and winked at Agnes.

"Would you agree to go if I brushed your hair?

Lottie's eyes went wide and lit up with a light that Agnes hadn't seen in a while. "Would you?"

Agnes leaned over the banister and hollered, "Toss me up the hairbrush!"

When it was clear that no one else was going to do anything more than stare at her, Darryl rolled his eyes, set down his peanut bowl, and crawled across the floor. He snatched it off the couch and hurled it at her.

She snatched it mid-air and continued to pull Lottie behind her. They quickly disappeared into their room, and the door was shut behind them.