In Another Life

5. The Dark Side

That Wednesday, Amlyne was again surprised when her period showed up unexpectedly. She was in school when the cramps started. She hoped it would hold off until the end of the day, but no. She came into Home Economics and her friend Katie told her to go to the bathroom. There was blood on her pants. She went to the bathroom and saw that her underwear was full of blood. It was so heavy it had seeped through to her jeans. Amlyne was mortified. She grabbed handfuls of toilet paper. She tied her jacket around her waist and went to the office. She told the secretary, Mrs. Henderson, that she needed to go home. The secretary demanded to know what the problem was. There were 4 other students in the office. Amlyne tried to quietly tell her that she had started her period and needed to go home. Mrs. Henderson was hard of hearing and she yelled when she talked. "What?  You have to got to your period for plants?" Amlyne was so embarrassed. The other students started to giggle and point. "No, m'am. I need to call my mom. She is home today." Mrs. Henderson pushed the phone toward her.  

Amlyne called home, but there was no answer. Oh no, she thought. Amlyne put the phone down. She called her mom's and dad's work and they weren't there. Amlyne started to panic. She grabbed the phone book and called the next door neighbors, an elderly couple, who were still listed as an emergency contact in her school record.  Amlyne got the wife that they all called Aunt Lily Mae. She asked if the husband, Uncle John, could come get her. Aunt Lily Mae put Uncle John on the phone. Amlyne tried to tell him how to get to the junior high school. After about 10 minutes, Aunt Lily Mae got back on the phone. "I got that girl down the street to come get you. She was out in the yard. " Amlyne had no idea who the "girl down the street" was. After about 15 minutes, Beth walked into the office. She told Mrs. Henderson that their names didn't match but she was responsible for her. Mrs. Henderson said, "Ok, I hope those hatch for you." 

Amlyne was so relieved to see Beth. She told her everything when she got in the car. Beth was always so kind and understanding. "It's ok honey. I had just got home with Jeff. I saw your parents leaving this morning at 9 o'clock when I headed to the hospital." Beth drove to Wendy's and bought lunch for three. She dropped Amlyne off at her house and told her to come over as soon as she got cleaned up. Amlyne used the hidden key to get in. She grabbed some clean clothes and went into the bathroom. She took off the bloody clothes and took a quick shower. She got dressed and put the dirty clothes in the wash. She grabbed her book bag, locked the door, and put the key back in the hiding place. 

Amlyne opened the Alan door and went in. Jeff was on the couch in his usual spot on the end by the door. He was wearing shorts an was covered by a blanket. Beth was at the table. Amlyne sat on the couch opposite Jeff.  She looked over at him. He teased her, "faker." Amlyne got up and went to the table. Beth had pulled out her burger. She gave Amlyne the Wendy's bag. Jeff yelled across for her to get drinks from the refrigerator. Amlyne grabbed two Pepsi cans. She sat down and gave him his drink and put hers on the table beside the couch. She gave him a burger and got hers as well. Jeff paused for a few seconds. Amlyne looked at him. "What's wrong? Do you need something?" Jeff batted his eyes at Amlyne and said, "Will you feed me?" Beth burst into laughter. Amlyne looked him straight in the face and said, "Sure, honey." She grabbed the burger and gently smashed it into his face. Lettuce, onions, and ketchup dripped from his face. He smiled and sat back. "I am so glad some things never change!"

A few days later, Amlyne was over for a visit. Jeff working on home bound instruction. He asked her to help him with his work. He had trouble with school and could use any help he could get. Government was a headache. They were learning all about how a bill becomes a law. Jeff had to copy four pages of notes. Amlyne grabbed the notebook and copied it all for him. Then, she read and explained it to him. Math was easy business math, just adding, subtracting, multiplying, and division. English was reading and answering questions. Amlyne read the stories to him and wrote out his answers. Amlyne came over three times a week to help him. His grades improved and he said she was better than any teacher he ever had. Since his left arm was in a cast and the right hand was bandaged up, he had permission to dictate his answers. Amazingly, with Amlyne's help, his grades shot up. "I should have done this a long time ago," he proudly announced. In time, Jeff healed and got back on his feet.

After he got up and walking with crutches, Jeff started going out with friends again. New friends started showing up. He was home less and less and acting stranger and stranger. Amlyne went over one Saturday. Jeff wasn't home.  She was talking with his mom. A loud roar came down the road. It was a white car with huge mufflers. The car came screeching into the driveway. Greg the Goon from the hospital threw open the driver door with profanities spilling out. Jeff crawled out the passenger side. He grabbed his crutches and hobbled over. Greg just kept running his mouth GD this and Fuck that. Beth was not happy. She gave Jeff the look. The boys went inside. About a half hour later Greg came busting out. "Later bitches!" he screamed and slid in his car and tore up the street. Jeff called out, "Amy Lynn, come here. I want to show you something." She looked at Beth who nodded to let her know it was ok. Jeff was in his room.  He was sitting on the bed. Amlyne asked him what he wanted. He looked at her blankly. Amlyne noticed that his eyes were blood shot and he smelled like something weird. Jeff shook his head. He got up and handed her a RaceCar magazine. He turned to the page with reader stories. There was a picture of a mustang and the caption said, "Proud Mustang owner, Jeff Alan, sends us this picture of his 1969 Pony."  Amlyne was proud, but sad. The car was gone. She told Jeff that she had to get going. He told her that Greg was so cool. He talked about how Greg had access to "any drug you want." Amlyne was scared. She left a little while later. Overhead the sky had turned an ominous gray. It was getting darker in more ways than one. 

For the next 4 years, Amlyne kept her distance from Jeff, who continued to slip away more an more. His new friends caused a lot of problems. The drank and did drugs. She didn't go anywhere with him anymore.  Amlyne heard that he got into an argument with his parents when he stayed out all night and put his fist through the wall. He had to get screws and bolts put in to use it again. He was arrested for being involved in a bar fight. Greg and his gang had drawn Jeff in. They introduced him to Nico, who was the lead drug dealer. He wanted Jeff, with his biker looks, on his team. Jeff said he just wanted to be a consumer not a seller, but he would help set up meetings with new customers. 

Amlyne finished high school and went on to college. On her graduation night, as the class ligned up to enter the football stadium, a loud car pulled up beside the gym. Everyone turned and looked. It was Jeff walking up the drive. He was there to see her graduate. Amlyne was so embarassed. He was in torn jeans that dragged the ground, a black concert t-shirt, and flip flops. He walked right up and hugged her. "Way to go, Mouth." (Another nickname Jeff made for Amlyne was 'Mouth of the South.' He called her 'Mouth' for short)  Amlyne's classmates were staring and whispering. He said he would see her later and walked into the stadium for a place to sit. He was so proud. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and kiss her forever. 

Amlyne left for college in August. She had never been away from home and was terribly homesick. She slowly adjusted and made new friends. Back home, Jeff just got deeper and deeper into the dark hole. When Amlyne came home that first summer,she barely recognized the boy she once knew. He look like hell. His hair had grown long, dull, and scraggly. He had let his beard grow out. And he had lost weight. Amlyne tried to talk to him but he just said she wouldn't understand what was going on. One night he took a handful of pills and passed out in his car. He occasionally asked her out to grab a movie or to eat, but she always said she was busy. He was hurt, but he knew that he had driven her away. He realized he loved that girl. She wasn't a mousy 11 year old anymore. She was a grown woman. She was the kind of woman he wanted to love him. So when she left at the end of the summer to head back to school, he tried to find someone to take Amlyne's place, but there was no one who would ever hold his heart the way she did.