Chapter 12
By the time Litt got around to calling Tracy, she had been gone for three
hours. It was about six 'o clock, and she had just been invited to stay for
dinner. So she figured she'd better call and give her a heads up that she
wouldn't be home for awhile. Litt wasn't used to having to answer to
someone, and now that she absolutely had to, she found herself being
extremely irresponsible.
She laughed quietly to Brian as she picked up the phone. They were in his
room, with him sprawled on his bed and her sitting on the floor leaning
against his dresser drawers. "Be prepared for me to be on for awhile."
"Why?" he cocked an eyebrow.
She rolled her eyes and sighed. "When I told Tracy that I was going for a
walk, I could tell she didn't want me to go, so she said not to be gone
long." She doesn't trust me, Litt thought. "I've been gone for three hours."
Brian almost choked. "Dang Litt! Could you procrastinate any more?!"
She grinned slightly and looked down at the palm of her hand; her number was
written there. As she dialed, Brian frowned at it.
"What's that?"
"My number. Like hell I've got it memorized!"
"Hello?" came an expectant voice on the other end.
She winced. They were worried about her. "Um, hey Bill," she spoke quietly,
she couldn't get her voice to project any louder at the moment.
"LITT?!" Even Brian could hear him shout. His eyes went wide in surprise,
but he kept quiet. "Where have you been young lady?!" he demanded angrily.
"We've been worried SICK!"
"Well...right now I'm at the Littrells' house..." she trailed off softly.
"I'm sorry, I guess I lost track of time."
The other end was silent for a minute, and suddenly a picture of Tom flashed
through her mind. It had always been a bad sign when he was silent, because
that meant the rage was just building inside. Her hands began to shake with
the memory, and she shut her eyes to concentrate. At this point, Brian began
to get worried, but he kept his mouth shut. After a moment he spoke, "Litt,
I don't know how you did things back in Phoenix, but here you do as we say.
And when
Tracy says don't be too long, you DON'T go out for three hours!" His voice
had built up again, and he ended in a shout.
Litt was silent, too overcome with memories to speak.
"Are you there?"
"Bill, you're right," she spoke slowly. "You don't know me. You don't know
where I come from, you don't know what I've been through, so I understand
your reaction. Yes, it was wrong not to let you know where I was, and I'm
sorry. But this is probably the first time that I've really had fun in a
long, long time. And if you can't understand THAT, then I'm sorry for that
too. Now, I called because
the Littrells' actually asked me to stay for dinner, and I wanted to know if
that's ok with you." Litt was trying to control herself, but her shoulders
were shaking in the process.
Brian's eyes narrowed with concern, and he came and sat next to her. "Litt,"
he whispered. "Are you ok?"
She just glanced at him absentmindedly and nodded.
"Litt," Bill spoke after a second, calmer now. "I don't think that's a good
idea. You've been out all day and I think--no, I KNOW--it's time for you to
come home now."
Her eyes hardened with stubbornness. "I'll be there, when I'm there," she
spoke through clenched teeth, and then hung up.
Brian looked at her with a surprised expression on his face. "Litt--" But he
was cut off as she raised a hand for him to be silent.
She drew her knees up and hugged them, looking at the opposite wall. She was
trying hard to control her emotions, but there was so much she needed to get
out, and Amber wasn't there to lend an ear. She sniffed slightly and wiped
away a stray tear. Damn it, she thought. I shouldn't of done that. I don't
really know these people, who knows how much crap--if any at all--they're
gonna take. The image of Tom beating her with the bat pushed its way back
into her mind, and
she shut her eyes tight, hoping to make it go away. I wonder if Bill is
anything like Tom, she thought quickly. He seems nice enough...but then
again, so can Tom at times. She sighed deeply and leaned her head against
the dresser with a thud.
Suddenly, Brian spoke up, reminding her that she wasn't alone. "Litt, what
just happened?"
She turned her head slowly to look at him, and he saw her sad face. "You'll
get over the surprise soon enough," she said, responding to the look he was
giving her when he realized how upset she was. "This is how I usually am.
The way I was acting earlier was...new...to me."
"Why did you hang up on him?" he asked softly, but before she could answer,
the phone rang. She quickly went for it, but he grabbed it first. She gave
him a pleading look, but he just waved her away with his hand. "Hello?"
"Brian?" came Tracy's voice.
"Oh hey, Mrs. Adams."
"Could you please send Litt home? We need to have a talk with her."
Brian glanced at the friend next to him and replied, "Tracy, do you mind is
she stays here for a little bit longer? She's really upset."
Litt kicked him in the foot, but he just shook his head at her.
"Brian, this is serious. She needs to come home. Now," she spoke sternly.
He winced. "I know it's serious, that's why I'm being serious. Please just
let her be for now...if I let her out of the house, I can't guarantee you
that she'll make her way over there. Come on, let her stay for dinner, and
I'll drive her home afterwards."
"When will that be?"
"I'll call you before we leave."
She sighed. "You're such a good kid. Alright, you win...talk to you later."
He smiled faintly. "Ok, bye." He turned to Litt and shook his head. "You owe
me, woman."
She was barely able to crack a smile. "Thanks Brian, you don't understand
how much I appreciate that," she replied, rubbing the tears out of her eyes.
"Well, I'd understand BETTER if you'd tell me what's going on with you," he
looked at her hopefully.
She sighed, but the look he was giving almost made her crack. She thought
about all the stuff she'd be letting out; the drugs, the arrests, her
father, her mother, the brawls, the stealing. Suddenly tears welled up in
her eyes, and she knew there was no way she could tell him. All her defenses
melted, and she broke down crying.
"Hush now," Brian whispered, pulling her into an embrace. "It's ok."
She just buried her face into his shoulder and cried like she had never done
before.
Previous Chapter| Go to index|
Back to Fanfiction|
Next Chapter