Something Happened by Brandy Isaacs

Author:Brandy Isaacs [Isaacs, Brandy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-08-31T22:00:00+00:00

Twelve

For the rest of the night, Rion tried to get caught up on work. She needed the distraction and sense of normalcy. Even though her boss was understanding, she would eventually get tired of Rion slacking. But, she found herself staring at the laptop without much productivity. Especially since every once in a while, she could hear Beckett shift against the hard floor. Every time the kid moved, Rion froze, expecting her to come running out from under the bed. But, Beckett never made an appearance.

As dawn broke, Shep began to stir. He came awake with a start—sitting up quickly. “What happened?”

“Nothing.” Rion shut her computer and began to make coffee.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“You looked comfortable. And, I still couldn’t even consider sleeping.”

“You need rest. You can’t stay awake all weekend.”

“I don’t plan on it. I’m still just too…worked up to sleep.”

Shep glanced towards the bedroom. “Any change?”

“Not really. I could hear her moving around a few times—but that’s it.”

He climbed out of bed scratching at the stubble on his chin. Rion watched him stretch and shuffle towards the bathroom. When he returned, he sat across from her at the counter. She scowled at the strangeness of having him in her home for so long—and at him making himself comfortable. There was something disturbingly domestic about it. “How are you doing?”

Rion sighed. “I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “I’m just…not equipped for this.”

“I don’t think anyone—except maybe mental health professionals—are equipped for this.”

Rion poured them coffee and returned to her stool. “You don’t have to hang around here today. I’m sure you’ve got better things to do.”

Shep shrugged. “Not really. I’m caught up on class work. And…I don’t want to leave you alone with this.”

Rion knew she should say something, but she left the words hanging between them. She didn’t want to encourage him. But she also didn’t have it in her to discourage him either. Shep’s shoulders slumped a little and he sipped at his coffee. A trickle of annoyance ran through her. Why is he doing this now? Of all the times—this has to be the worst. At least I have a good excuse to discourage him.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do today.” It was a casual statement on any other day. She didn’t know what she was going to do with Beckett. She needed to get her out from under the bed. She needed to get her to eat and shower. Rion thought of all the cobwebs and cat hair under the bed and shuddered. If Chambers showed up now, her taking Beckett away would be the least of her worries. The social worker would probably have her jailed.

“We’ll figure it out,” Shep reached out and patted the back of her hand.

It took a moment, but Rion finally made herself pull her hand back. “How am I going to get her to eat?”

“A good question.”

“I’ve been trying to figure out a way to get her to the therapist too.”

“Any luck?”

“Not really. Pretty much everything rests on her coming out of this.

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