Full Circle (31 page)

‘Mommy! Wake up! Wake up, Mommy!’ Bessie screamed.

Holding her tight, I turned to Willis. ‘Call Elaine,’ I said.

GRAHAM, THE PRESENT

The girls were in the family room watching some chick flick, Dad was in the garage puttering, as Mom called it, and she herself was in her boudoir doing God knows what. I was in the living room with my laptop, checking out what all I was going to do to the Valiant at the J.C. Whitney site. Man, they’ve got some shit. Then the doorbell rang, and someone banged on the door at the same time. I jumped up to get it before the entire house went ballistic.

Who should be standing there looking like a geek but skater dude. I thought we’d given him up for Lent.

‘What?’ I said.

‘So she’s got a new boyfriend, huh?’ skater dude challenged.

‘Who?’ I said. Did he know Lotta? What was he talking about?

‘Your sister! My Megan! What’s she doing, man?’ he said, almost in tears. ‘I love her!’

‘Gimme a break!’ I said and tried to slam the door. Unfortunately there was a skateboard blocking it.

‘Well, at least I came in the front door, man!’ skater dude said, sniffing like a baby. ‘I don’t creep around to the back like he’s doing.’

I rolled my eyes and started to slam the door again when I got a clue. ‘Who?’ I asked.

‘That guy!’ he said, pointing toward the side of the house. ‘I’ve seen him out here like every night! And tonight he goes sneaking around the house and he grabbed the ladder your dad left by the garage—’

I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. ‘Stay here! Don’t move! If he comes around front, throw your skateboard at him!’

‘Huh?’ he said, as I ran back into the house.

I opened the door to the garage. ‘Dad,’ I whispered, ‘he’s here! You go to the back door, I’m going out the front and around!’

Dad grabbed my arm. ‘No! You stay in the house—’

‘Call Luna!’ I said, jerking my arm away and heading for the front door.

Skater dude was still standing there when I burst through. ‘You think I can talk to Megan now?’ he asked as I flew past.

‘Just stay there! Watch out for him!’

‘Who?’ skater dude asked.

My last thought as I rounded the corner of the house was: ‘Megan can do better than that!’

ELIZABETH, THE PRESENT

I went upstairs to use the bathroom. I don’t like to use the half bath downstairs because everybody can hear your business. I flushed and headed into the hall.

That’s when he grabbed me. With his hand over my mouth, he whispered in my ear, ‘Hush, Bessie. It’s me, Aldon. Everything’s going to be OK now.’

I stood perfectly still, then nodded my head. Slowly he lessened his grip on my mouth and slowly moved his hand.

I let out the most ear-piercing scream I could muster. And believe me, I could muster a heck of a scream.

Graham came out of my room, somehow, Megan and Alicia came running up the stairs, Megan with a baseball bat and Alicia with one of Mom’s decorative rolling pins. Mom and Dad followed behind.

Graham grabbed the stalker around the neck and Megan and Alicia began beating him about the body. It was all Mom and Dad could do to save the guy from being beaten to death by the girls or choked to death by Graham. Personally, I wanted to jump on him and scratch his eyes out, but it looked like we weren’t going to be able to do that.

Mrs Luna rushed in the front door, saw the commotion on the top of the stairs and came up, followed by a uniformed police officer. Megan, Alicia and Graham were being held back by my parents, all three breathing hard. ‘Aldon’ was sitting on the floor, rubbing his neck with one hand while the other arm hung loosely at his side. Something had broken it – either a baseball bat or a rolling pin. Who knew? Who cared?

E.J., THE PRESENT

I got to ask my questions in person, not through Luna. She let me go in first, by myself, to talk to Eric Rush.

‘Why?’ I said, looking at him, at his bruised neck, his arm in a sling.

He looked at me blankly for a long moment, then said, ‘We’re the only ones left. We belong together.’

It took me a moment, then I asked, ‘You mean the only ones left out of both families? The Lesters and the Rushes?’

He nodded. ‘And I owe Monique.’ His face crumbled and he began to cry. ‘I’ll never be able to repay her for what I did! It was all my fault! I need to take care of Bessie. I need to be her big brother because she hasn’t got anyone else!’

I touched his hand, as repugnant as it was to me. ‘But she does, Eric. She has a big brother, Graham. And two sisters and parents. She has us,’ I said.

He ripped his hand from mine and stood up, backing against the wall. ‘Liar! Infidels! You aren’t her family! I’m the only one who can be her family!’ He lunged for me and Luna opened the door.

She had him back in the chair and his one good hand cuffed to the table before he could touch me. I stood up and left the room. I had all the answers I’d ever need.