Generation 5, Chapter 1
My brother Will has got to be the cutest toddler ever! Of course I don't have much experience with toddlers or anything but still - he's adorable. He's also got more energy than my sisters and I ever had at that age...and there were three of us! If it weren't for Data, none of us would be able to sleep past sunrise because Will ALWAYS wakes up with the sun.
I really think it was a mistake for Mom to teach him to walk though, how foolish is that?! Within days of learning to walk he was venturing up and down the stairs! Mom nearly had a heart attack the first them she saw him on his way down the stairs - Data was there before she could even shriek though and made sure he made it down safely.
That's when they started trying to block the stairs from him with gates but nothing could stop Will. Every obstacle was just a challenge he had to find a way around. Anyway, enough about him - this is supposed to be about my life right?
Nope, that's not me! That's my sister Annika. Annika had been spending almost every afternoon after school hanging out in town and wouldn't tell us what was up. I couldn't blame her for not telling Kira - those two rarely got along - but I thought she and I were closer than that! So I followed her one day...yeah I know, bad sister.
She was sitting outside the book store reading a book - at least I think she was reading, except for every few minutes she would look up at the big clock anxiously before turning her attention back to the book. She never turned the page.
Just after seven, HE came out. That's Byron - the boy Annika has had a crush on for, like, ever! Apparently she finally caught his eye...among other things.
After a few minutes it felt totally pervy to be watching them suck face and all so I made a hasty retreat home. Kira had known about my covert op and tried to look uninterested when I came home.
She watched me pick out a book from the shelf and watched me sit down to start to read and let me read the first couple pages before she exploded. "Well?!"
"Well what?" I asked, feigning ignorance. She rolled her eyes and glared at me. "She has a boyfriend..." I told Kira everything I knew and we were still giggling about it when Annika walked in with a dreamy look on her face. "Evening Ani..." I said. She waved at me but didn't say anything before floating off on her little love cloud. Kira and I burst into giggles again.
------
"Please Mom!" I begged. My sisters and co-conspirators lent their voices to the plea as well. I'd approached them about this trip a couple weeks ago since I knew there was no way mom and dad would let me go to China all alone. I tried just Kira at first but we both realized Mom would turn us down like nothing if we proposed going without Ani so we brought her into the equation.
Mom looked at Dad and Dad looked back at Mom. Sometimes I think they are telepathic. Neither one of them said anything, just looked at each other, considering. Finally they looked back at us and smiled. "Fine, you can go..." and then they laid out all the rules.
My whole desire to go to China was to learn SimFu...you see we'd been watching this movie and it just looked cool. It's like the first time you watch Indiana Jones and suddenly want to be an archeologist...only you don't want to be a boring archeologist with your nose in a book all the time - you want to be Indiana freaking Jones with adventures and Nazis.
So that's how I ended up in China kicking a wooden pole...
I wasn't as good as the guys in the movie...I was the boring archeologist with my nose in a book - except even those guys were probably better than I was. Thankfully Kira wasn't much better than me, that gave me an odd sense of pleasure.
After getting whacked in the head by the train dummy I knew it was time to bow out for now. But I did put in an order for a training dummy and board breaking set to be sent back home...because I like self humiliation like that.
Ani had promised to bring Mom home some Koi and some Chinese seeds for her garden so she'd spent the day exploring the Scholar's garden while Kira and I got our butts kicked by a wooden pole with arms. We had to track her down before heading back to the hotel for the night.
I woke up before sunrise the next day and found a cryptic note on my bedside table. Glancing over at the others, I confirmed that Ani and Kira were still asleep. Just after the sun rose above the mountains, I found myself staring at a stem spewing rock face. "Whoa." I said looking at the Dragon's Maw and then back at the note. It just asked that I explore the place and come back to the hotel when I was done..that couldn't be so bad.
Of course the fact that it was only signed "Su" and I didn't know any one named "Su" should have rung about a dozen alarms in my head. And yet I stood in front of a wall that I was SURE was the key to getting beyond the gaping Dragon's mouth and tried to find the hitch.
When the wall started to rumble and slowly disappear into the ground, I fell back in surprise. Standing back up, I dusted off my dress and grumbled. "Maybe I should have picked a different outfit for adventuring..."
I opened every door and chest, I put my hand in every creepy crawly hole and I collected a lot of gold, gems and relics along the way. This was so much cooler than being a SimFu master...I was Indiana freaking Jones...without the Nazis. I'm not so much a fan of Nazis anyway.
I spent the whole day in the Dragon's Maw and it was well into the night by the time I emerged dirty and laden with goodies. Kira and Ani pestered me about where I'd been all day but I just told them I went exploring - true enough right? I got a couple more random notes from Mr...or Ms? Su but never actually met them face to face during my trip.
Kira and Ani made plans to go sight seeing on our last day and begged me to come along but I was exhausted and when I finally woke up after noon, they were gone. They left a note saying they were going to the Terracotta Army if I wanted to join them later.
By the time I made it to the Terracotta Army though, they were gone. I called up Kira and she said they were in the market place and would be for awhile if I wanted to join them. I tracked them down and found them both reading and talking excitedly about some of the things they'd seen together.
Life was pretty much the same as ever when we got home. Data was still on a quest to upgrade everything in the house to unbreakable so whenever he wasn't playing with Will, he was tinkering with something or other. Dad had actually taken up writing lately - I'm not sure why but he said something about having invented everything already. He'd enlisted Mom's help as his proof-reader and editor.
And Mom and Dad were still as in love as ever. It was sweet and a little gross at the same time. I mean they are my parents after all! Yick! Don't need to think about THAT thank you very much!
------
It wasn't long after we'd gotten home from the trip when Kira came home a little late from school. Ani had just gotten a distressing phone call from Byron and was crying on my shoulder about it when she walked in.
"What's with her?" Kira asked, pointing to Ani.
"Byron just called and broke up with her...." I said softly, putting an arm around Ani to comfort her. "Didn't say why..."
"Oh that." Kira said nonchalantly and started to walk away.
"How did you know?" I called after her. Kira stopped in her track and turned back toward us. She had a tiny smile on her face for a second before she replaced it with a fake frown. It didn't take much to imagine just what had happened...Kira knew very few boundaries it seemed.
I wasn't sure Ani saw the smile. In fact, given the apparent calm of her face I was sure she hadn't. So the movement ad slap seemed to come out of nowhere..."You did this!" she shouted and then thwack!
I glared at Kira as I dragged Ani away before she had a chance to jump Kira. "Bad form Kira!" I hissed. I sat Ani down at the dining room table and then retrieved some cake for us. We ate in silence for several minutes.
"How could she?" Ani said, loudly breaking the silence.
"Well you know how Kira is...she's just...Kira..." I said, chewing on my lip.
"Why are you defending her?!" she exploded back at me.
"I'm not! I mean I don't mean to...I'm really sorry Ani...." I trailed off and stared at my cake for a few minutes. When I looked up again, she was gone.
My own love life wasn't faring much better really. Phil and I barely saw each other anymore. He'd started some garage band and was spending all his free time doing that. I tried to be a good girlfriend and support him but they were terrible....really really terrible.
I first met Isaiah through Byron actually - they were brothers. I'd gone over with Kira one night - supposed to be some sort of buffer I guess. She'd managed to convince Byron to break up with Ani but didn't actually want to date him but he didn't seem to get that. So Isaiah and I talked while Byron and Kira made out on the couch. I could see she was letting him down oh so easy...poor guy.
Anyway, after that, Isaiah and I started hanging out more and he was a lot of fun to be around.
We both had feelings for each other, that much was obvious, but after the whole Kira/Byron/Ani fiasco - we both knew we couldn't go any farther as long as either of us were involved with someone else.
"I'm going to break things off with Celeste" he said, holding my hands.
"I'll break things off with Phil." I said. It all sounded so simple that day on the beach.
It took me a week to manage to get a hold of Phil and get him away from his band mates...let's just say it didn't go so well. He lashed out at me before I even had all the words out of my mouth! I can't say that I was overly mature about the whole situation either. Let's just say Phil and I won't be friends again anytime soon.
The first time Isaiah and I could get together after the mutual break ups was Will's birthday party. I invited Isaiah over and just hoped I'd be able to get away from the family long enough to talk to him.
"Thanks for coming" I said with a smile.
"My pleasure" Isaiah said. Before we could say anything more, I heard my mom calling from inside about candle time. "I think that's our cue to go inside." he said.
Will grew up into a cute looking kid, I had a feeling he would break a few hearts of his own in time...a long time! He was going to be a cutie no doubt. After the cake and a respectable amount of "family time", Isaiah took my hand and led me out onto the porch.
"I want you to be my girlfriend....I want to kiss you but I don't want to do that unless you say you'll be my girlfriend..." Isaiah said.
My heart was hammering in my chest as I nodded. "And I want to be your girlfriend....I would very much like for you to kiss me too...."
"Good." he said...and then he kissed me like I'd never been kissed before.
End Chapter
Outtakes
Kira put down her plate and one of the merchants swooped in to eat her egg rolls!
Ani stole a few of the terracotta army men lol
Getting better!
I'm not sure this is a good idea
Fight!
I don't blame Kira for laughing at him this time
Kira and Isaiah don't get along.
Generation 4, Chapter 6
We weren't in the new house long before Data discovered that water didn't work well with his circuitry. I'm not sure how Scotty neglected to mention that fact to him but Data was a curious one. One night after the girls had all finished their baths and been tucked into bed, Data decided he wanted a bath too. It didn't end so well.
We heard the pops and fizzles of electricity from the other room and rushed in to see what had happened. There was a puddle of water on the floor and the bath tub hadn't been drained yet. "Oh no!" Scotty said with a grimace.
"Can you fix him?" I asked nervously. I'd rather grown to like Data since he'd first come into our lives and would hate to see anything bad happen to him.
"I think so..." Scotty said, though he didn't sound too sure. "Can you go get me my tools?" I nodded and retrieved his tool box and he set to work.
Thankfully, Scotty had Data back up and running in no time and Data agree to never take a bath again. A couple weeks later, I got all the confirmation I needed to know that I was, in fact, pregnant again. Scotty was thrilled and said he wanted a little girl. It surprised me since we already had three girls. I, however, wanted a boy.
My new garden was really doing well but it required a lot of work since it was just starting out. Scotty was anxious about me working so much outside but I assured him that it was still early yet in the pregnancy and as far as I knew I would NOT be having triplets this time. At least I hoped not...
With the girls' birthday, the episode with Data and then the pregnancy, I just hadn't had much time to explore the island. But I had an appointment half way through my pregnancy and decided I would visit the park and maybe the beach. The triplets were at school and Scotty was glued to his invention table lately so it was just me. The first people I met were the Caliente sisters, it took me weeks to remember which one was Nina and which one was Dina.
I can't really say they were the nicest people I'd ever met - they had a bit of a mean streak in them. They liked to go around scaring the crap out of people. Dina did just that to me one day and I swear I thought my water was going to break right then and there. Even as Nina was scolding her sister for scaring a pregnant woman, I could see her fighting back a giggle of her own.
They were also very flirty girls. There were always rumors about them being seen with this man and that man - they seemed to have a particular attraction to same of the married men in town and I was suddenly thankful that Scotty liked his invention work table more than he liked going to the park. I admit to being secretly pleased the day I saw Nina get rejected for flirt from someone. I didn't want to see her hurting or anything.
I always said my girls - especially Ezri - were six going on sixteen but when they're birthday's game around again to thrust them into official teendom, I wanted to sob into my pillow. I noticed early on that Ezri and Kira seemed closer to each other than either of them were to Annika. They sat together on the bus while Annika had to sit in another seat. They played together more and usually left Annika at home reading. For her part, Annika didn't seem particularly upset by any of this but it upset me.
On their birthday, Ezri and Kira were giggling before they all stepped up to their cakes. They each had their own and at the last minute, Ezri and Kira decided to switch cakes with each other and they leaned in together to blow their candle out at the same time. Annika blew her candles out a moment later, ignoring the conspiring pair.
Ezri
Kira
Annika
It was the middle of the night when I finally went into labor. Unlike the triplets who had come very early - this baby was actually almost two weeks late and the doctor was talking about doing a scheduled c-section. I desperately wanted to experience a normal delivery this time and held him off as long as I could. So when I felt the first real contractions at 3AM, I was ecstatic. Even if it did wake me out of a peaceful sleep.
The labor was long and painful but in the end I got exactly the birth experience I wanted and I got a beautiful baby boy out of the process. I think Scotty changed his mind about wanting another girl too because he wouldn't stop talking about sports and "guy stuff" to little Will.
Not long after Will was born, the issues with Annika and her sisters came to a head. Mostly between her and Kira. Kira made some inappropriate comment to Annika about her clothes I guess and Annika was really hurt by it. To make matters worse, Kira then insulted her for being upset. I think it may be time to get the girls there own rooms, or at least give Annika her own space from the other two.
Ezri was the first of the girls to bring home a boy. Scotty and I were peaking out the window as they flirted on the front porch. I can't say I much approve of his clothing choice but I actually know his mom and couldn't really disapprove of him much...Scotty, on the other hand, was ready to storm out when they lean in to kiss each other. It took every ounce of my strength to hold him back.
Will's first birthday came on all too soon, I couldn't believe my little boy and last little baby (at least as far as I have planned) was about to grow into a toddler. I didn't look forward to the potty training days but I always had great fun teaching the girls to walk and talk.
I brought him to the cake as Scotty, Data, Ezri and Annika cheered; Kira snickered and laughed. She said something about how silly it was to get a whole cake for a one year old but it was a tradition and it was his birthday!
He had Scotty's hair color! That gorgeous brown hair looked stunning on my little boy. Scotty was beaming with pride as well - he's broken through the blond genes with something other than a random black hair child.
Data and Will became fast friends. There is something about a little boy's imagination that makes it seem to so natural to be friends with a robot. Data loved playing with him and telling him things; Will told Data things too but in that garbled toddler tongue that no one could really understand. But still, he said a lot to Data.
End Chapter
Outtakes
Nina is pregnant...not sure who the father is lol
Homework
Kira with Will
Chapter 7
"This is crazy" Leni muttered several times. "I'm going back to my hotel and will hole up there until my flight on Monday and get off this crazy island."
"There's a fair chance your hotel room will have been tossed, he knows who you are - he's that good." I tried to explain. "We need to get off this island now, not on Monday."
"Who is he?" Leni crossed her arms across her chest and looked at me stubbornly.
"Doesn't matter." I said, trying to pull her along as we were now standing in the middle of an almost deserted street - if he was still looking for me, he wouldn't have to look very hard.
"Yes, it does! If you're going to drag me down with you, I want to know why and for whom!" Leni's voice carried through the night air.
"Leni!" I hissed. "Let's go, I will tell you everything I know if you get the hell out of the street now." I glanced around but didn't see any unusual shadows lurking about.
Leni seemed to finally catch on to my anxiety and looked panicked for a moment before nodding. "Fine. But we're going to my hotel." And just like that she was off, leaving me to follow her for once. I rolled my eyes but I was just glad she was moving again.
As suspected, her hotel room had been trashed. There was no sign of forced entry so I can only assume he got a key from the front desk some how. Her laptop was smashed on the floor, papers and files were scattered everywhere, some of the papers were charred.
"Gah!" Leni shrieked as she first stepped in and surveyed the damage. "How...why...?" she whirled around on me and grumbled. "What are you involved in?!"
I let out a low guttural growl but otherwise said nothing. This woman was possibly the most irritating person I'd met in recent history. "Why don't you get what you came here for?" I said, stepping around the mess to the window.
Leni looked like she was fuming and not quite done but after a moment she stomped to her laptop to survey the damage. I let her take her time picking through the wreckage while I looked out the window, watching for shadows. What exactly was I involved in?
When I looked back at her after a few minutes, she had changed and was attempting to disassemble her laptop with a pocket knife. "I think it's fairly trashed Leni." I said as I watched her work.
"May yet be something salvageable if I can get to another computer." she muttered, not looking up at me.
I shrugged and looked back out the window. I thought I saw someone lurking in the shadows but when I looked closer there was no one there. The tinkering noise from behind me finally stopped and Leni cleared her throat. She had a small backpack stuffed with whatever she could carry and the laptop looked gutted, laying on the bed. "Are we still leaving?"
"Mmhmm." I said, looking back out the window as errant thoughts and questions tumbled around in my mind. I creased my brow at one particular thought and turned to face her. "How did you find me?"
"What?" Leni asked, confused at the sudden change. "I told you, it's what I do."
"I get that...but how, specifically? No one knew I was here. The only person who ever knew about this place was Felicia" I said.
"I talked to your brother - I saw a picture of you and Felicia here and asked her family about it - your brother just confirmed what they already told me..." she was chewing on her lower lip a bit.
"I don't have a brother." I said thinking about her story, she seemed to be telling the truth as far as she knew it though.
"What?" Leni's eyes were wide. "No, he said he was your brother and the Gianni's said they'd talked to the same person...."
"I don't have a brother Leni!" I said loudly. I turned from her and pinched the bridge of my nose. When I looked back, Leni looked confused and uncomfortable. After another moment and a deep sigh, "Let's go..." I said even as I thought about just leaving her behind in the hotel room.
------
We took the darker, silent side streets to the marina docks where rows of sleek boats were nestled. I scanned the row of boats until I found the one I was looking for. I climbed on board but Leni hung back on the dock, looking uncomfortable and confused again. She was actually a little cute when her brow furrowed like that - or she would be if she weren't so damn irritating. "Are you coming?"
"Why a boat?" she asked.
I smirked and leaned on the railing, "Because you may have noticed that there is only one flight a day to and from this little island back to the mainland and I'd rather not have another run in with our would-be killer."
She considered my words and finally, with a begrudging look, she climbed aboard the sailboat. She sat quietly as I prepared the boat and didn't speak until we were underway. "Nice boat." she said softly. "You really don't have a brother?"
I shook my head. "No."
"Damn!" she said. She lapsed into another silence for awhile. Without word, she got up and walked, a little unsteadily, to the front of the boat.
I watched her for several minutes as she leaned against the railing. Was the guy claiming to be my brother Victor Luna? Or was this a copycat of some sort? Maybe Luna really was dead and some nut job had just read about him on Wikipedia and decided he liked the M.O.
When I came up behind Leni, I didn't say anything to distract her from her thoughts and for a few moments she didn't acknowledge me. But when she turned to look at me, her face was crossed with worry. "This is my fault isn't it?" she said softly.
"What?" I asked surprised by the question.
"I led him here...he's after you and I gave him the answer...I didn't know it but this is all my fault." she said.
"No...well him coming here specifically maybe but he probably would have found me eventually." I said.
"Who is he?" Leni asked.
"I don't know, honestly. I have guesses though." Even though we were both tired, we sat back on the deck and talked about everything we knew - which wasn't much at this point. I told her about Victor Luna and described him to her based on the picture I'd seen in the file but she said that didn't sound like the person she'd talked to. She told me about my so-called brother and the beginnings of her investigation into Felicia's disappearance which had led her to me.
We were both yawning when everything had been said and re-said. "There's a bed down in the cabin. I'll show you." I said leading her down the stairs.
"Um..." she looked awkwardly at the one double bed and then at me.
"Don't worry about it. I'll be up on the deck." I said with a small smile.
"No, we can.." she started to protest.
"There's a small bathroom over there, you can get cleaned up." I said with a a nod in the direction of the bathroom. "We'll probably make port by morning."
"And then?" she asked.
"Well, I'm going home - but you...you can wherever you want from there." I turned back to the stairs. "We'll figure it out when we've both slept a bit."
------
I didn't really sleep that night, I laid out on the padded benches on deck and tried to close my eyes but my thoughts were going to fast to sleep. Staring up at the stars above me, everything that had happened in the last couples days played through my mind. I didn't know what would come of going back but the island no longer seemed like home - it never really had been home I suppose, just a place to avoid reality. I glanced over to the stairs leading down to the cabin and wondered if Leni was sleeping.
Before sunrise, I descended the stairs quietly and cleaned up quickly. Leni had tossed the covers aside and was sprawled across the whole bed. I grinned at her for a second before going back up to the deck. I watched the sunrise from the front of the boat and saw a sliver of land ahead of us. If the guy who'd run us off the road thought we were actually dead, he might be on the morning flight to the larger mainland airport, we'd probably be arriving at the same time...on the other hand, he could be waiting a day or two on the island to see if we surfaced.
I didn't hear her approach until she was right behind me. "That where we're headed?" Leni asked.
I nodded. "Yep, there's a larger airport - lots of flights to just about everywhere."
"Good." she said simply. I heard her walking away but didn't turn to face her, still watching as the land before us grew larger on the horizon.
After awhile, I went below decks to get dressed and was thankful for the clothes I had on the boat. With reluctance, I also shaved the stubble I'd grown accustomed to in the last six months. It felt like I was shedding part of my brief life as an islander.
------
I didn't ask Leni where she was going, I hoped she had enough sense to disappear somewhere for awhile but I wasn't going to suggest it and risk pissing her off. We passed through security together without a word but I noticed we were both looking over our shoulders a lot.
"Keep your head down." I told her as we were standing at the arrivals/departures boards. She had become slightly less irritating over the last few hours - while she was asleep - but mostly I didn't want to see anyone else hurt or killed.
"Right." she said, sticking her hand out. We shook hands and then walked in different directions. I paused and looked back at her but she was gone. Just as well.
End Chapter
Chapter 16: Falling Up
The rest of us knew it was our cue to leave Todd and Mei-Ling to talk so we wondered away. Every so often, I'd glance back at them, curious as to this mystery fiance of Mei-Lings but Erik would turn me back around. When Nai'a's father arrived to drive us home, the good bye between Todd and Mei-Ling was as affectionate as ever. Erik, Nai'a and I exchanged looks in the car, waiting for Todd to say something -anything - but he wasn't talking.
"It's an arranged thing" Todd said without any prompting, as we drove back into town, "between the families but she hasn't agreed to it or anything." he added with conviction. And that was the last of the topic, he went back to not saying anything.
------
In the following weeks, Timothy started missing school a couple times a week. At first he said he was sick, then doctors appointments and then he stopped explaining. The last time Timothy had missed more than a couple days of school in a year he was six and had the chicken pox. Worried about him, I knew there was supposed to be a student council meeting so I headed for it, ready to wait until it was over in order to talk to him. But when I got to the classroom, it was empty.
I checked the date and time against the announcement on the bulletin board and frowned. Maybe it was somewhere else, I started for the gym which was the next most likely location I could figure. I crossed the football field on my way and saw Todd in the stands with Mei-Ling. "Hey guys?" I approached them and cleared my throat a couple times.
"Hmmm?" Todd asked, barely glancing my direction before resuming kissing Mei-Ling. Clearly her having an arranged fiance was not a damper on their relationship.
"Umm, have either of you seen Tim?" I asked, not even sure if I was expecting a response.
In a moment of reprieve they shook their head. "Why?" Todd asked, looking at me for the first time. Mei-Ling started nuzzling against his neck.
"I'm worried about him, I just want to see if he's alright." I explained.
"Try calling him?" he asked, he attention returning to Mei-Ling even as he asked.
"Yeah," they were back to making out and I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for your help." I figured he wasn't at school after all and made why way to the car, hoping I might find him at home.
I knocked on the door and waited. When I didn't get a response, I tried again and called out for him, "Hey Tim? You here?"
I thought I heard some sort of motion inside and on the third knock, the door actually clicked open on it's own. I peeked around the door and didn't see anyone. "Tim?" I said aloud.
Glancing around, I saw piles of clothes everywhere - some appeared to be clean and in various states of folding and others looked to be dirty. In the kitchen there was a small stack of dirty dishes and several bags of groceries needing to be put away. I saw Tim's backpack tossed on the couch as well.
"Tim?" I called out again, still surveying the room. I glanced up the stairs toward his room. "Hey Tim you up there?"
There wasn't an immediate response but a few moments later, Timothy came out of his parents room with a tray of food. He wasn't paying much attention to me as he quietly closed the door behind him and started to navigate the living room chaos - clearly familiar with the terrain.
"Tim." I said again, to get his attention.
"Oh Ginny!" he said in surprise, he almost dropped the tray when he saw me. But soon the surprise was replaced with embarrassment. "Um..." he look away from me and set the tray down on the arm of the couch.
"Tim, are you okay?" I tried hard to not look around the room again.
"What are you doing here Genevieve?" he asked, adopting my full name once again. He so rarely used nicknames that I knew my presence had flustered him.
"I was worried about you. You've been missing school and you never miss school." I explained.
"Well I'm fine thanks." he said, picking up the tray again and heading for the kitchen with it. I followed him and tried to help him put away the groceries but he whipped around toward me, "I'm fine, I've got it!" he snapped.
"I just want to help." I said but stepped back from him, hurt by his out lash.
After a moment of silence, he nodded. "I'm sorry..." he stifled a yawn and shook his head to clear it. "I'm just tired and moody I guess." When I didn't say anything, he seemed to be thinking and then took my hand and led me back to his dad's room. He opened the door very quietly and after we'd stepped inside he closed it again.
Mr. Kline was sitting in a chair in the corner staring straight ahead. He took no notice of us and barely even blinked while we were there. "He's been like this since right after..." he trailed off but I knew what he meant. "He barely eats and barely sleeps, never leaves the house..."
"But who...." I knew, even as I said it, who did everything now. Timothy had taken on every household chore - even the grocery shopping.
"I try but it's just....it's so much." he looked down at his feet for a minute and then back at his dad. He looked like he was ready to cry or pass out, or both.
"Come on." I said, taking his hand. The park was a few blocks away and we walked there in silence.
"We've gone through so much of the savings, he stopped going to work so there's nothing coming in really." Timothy said, leaning against the railing of the bridge.
"I started working nights at the theater and then am up doing homework and I feel like I barely have time to sleep..." he looked at me and I could see how much he'd been aged in the last few months. He has heavy circles under his eyes and just didn't look like a seventeen year old boy anymore.
"Tim...have you called family, or doctors?" I suggested quietly.
"I can't! If I can even get him to a doctor, they'd want to place him in a home and then where do I go? My nearest relative is in Egypt!" he sounded desperate. "If I can just make it until my birthday...then I'll be eighteen at least..."
I placed my hand over his. "You have to tell someone, he needs help - more help than just you can give him."
"Who am I supposed to tell?" he asked in frustration. "I don't even know how to get in touch with my uncle and as far as I know there is no one else."
I considered for a minute and then spoke up, "My dad, you can tell him. He can probably find out the contact information for your uncle too."
"I don't Ginny." he said, staring down at the water. Even as he did so, I could see his eyes drooping because he was so tired. He only protested a little as I dragged him back to my car, he insisted on checking on his dad once more before we drove to my house. My dad wasn't home yet so I was going over notes from the class he missed while we waited. "I don't know about this..." he said as the clocked neared 5PM.
"What if he gets worse Tim? You can't be there twenty-four-seven. What about school? Please tell him, tell someone at least..." I said, pacing the room.
"Tell someone what?" my dad asked, stepping into the room.
Timothy was anxious and I knew he wanted to unburden himself, it was too much for him to deal with alone, but he was terrified of what would happen next. Being adopted, the Klines were the only family he had and he'd already lost his mom this year - losing his dad would probably break him.
"Tim? You alright?" my dad asked when he didn't say anything. "Whatever it is, I'd like to help..." he knelt down in front of Timothy to look him in the eyes.
Timothy was shaking slightly as he looked at my dad, no doubt debating what to say and how much to say. But when Dad placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, he broke down and started telling everything in a rush of words - everything he'd been holding in for months.
"Shh, it's okay." Dad soothed him as the words finally stopped. He had to ask Timothy a few more questions for clarification. "I'll make some calls. I want you to stay here tonight okay."
"I have to go home, I have to check on him." Timothy protested, already trying to stand up.
"I'll take care of it Timothy. I promise." Dad reassured him and after repeating himself a few times, Timothy nodded. "I'm going to go make some calls, see if I can't track down that uncle of yours. Ginny, will you make up the guest room please."
"Of course." I said with a small smile. I touched Timothy's arm and was relieved that he didn't try to pull away from me. My dad nodded and then went down to his office.
I showed Timothy to the guest room after I'd made up the bed. "I can get one of Dad's t-shirts for you to sleep in if you want." I offered.
Timothy nodded. "Thank you Genevieve." he said tiredly.
"No problem." I said with a smile.
"I mean for checking on me...and for suggesting I tell someone. I don't know how....anyway thank you." Timothy gave me a very weak smile.
I nodded. "I'll go get that shirt." I said. "I'll be right back." But when I got back, Timothy had already crawled into bed and fallen asleep, his glasses laid askew on the side table and the lamp was still on.
"Sweet dreams Tim." I said as I reached for the lamp and turned it off. I closed the door quietly behind me and went downstairs. My dad was on the couch, a pile of papers with quickly scribbled notes were in front of him on the coffee table.
"How's Tim?" he asked, looking up from the notes.
"Asleep already." I said, sitting next to him on the couch. "Is he going to be okay Dad?"
"Tim?" he asked.
"Mr. Kline." I corrected him.
"I don't know sweetie, I just don't know." he said and put an arm around my shoulder. "I hope so, now that he can get some help."
I nodded and leaned back against his arm, feeling comforted by its presence. "Thank you Daddy." I whispered. "For helping."
"Anytime kiddo, anytime." he said.
End Chapter.
