Crushed (47 page)

“Yes,” Cleo said. She was surprised her voice sounded like barely more than a whisper.

“I’m going to do whatever I can to make this situation right. I don’t want you worrying
about anything. I don’t want you to worry about Luci because she’ll be okay. Or Paul
because I’m going to take care of that situation, too. I don’t want you to worry about
where you’re going to go. None of it. I just want you to get better, okay?”

Cleo gave her another barely-there nod and Beth gave her a gentle hug. It was all
she could do to keep herself from bursting into tears.

“I have to say, I have never seen Reece so frantic before. It’s always been obvious
that he loves you,” she said quietly as she stood up. “I ju
st don’t think I ever realized
how much.”

“I love him, too,” Cleo said as she wiped away another stream of tears.

“I know sweetheart,” she said with a small smile. “I think if you two can make it
through w
hat you just went through, you’
re going to be able to make it through anything.”

“Are you sure Luci is okay?”
Cleo
finally managed to ask. Her voice sounded so small and shaky.

“She will be,” Beth assured her.

“Mom?” Reece said from the doorway. “I think we’re ready.”

***

Beth had been right. Luci’s elbow had been dislocated and her arm was now in a splint.
During the day, she would need to keep it in a sling. Cleo had ended up with a few
stitches on her forehead and the doctor determined she did, indeed, have a concussion.

Child Protective Services had been called and an officer had also come in to speak
to both Cleo and Luci. Beth had called Patty and it was agreed that Cleo and Luci
could stay at the Hildenbrandt’s for a night or two.

Patty was able to give directions to Paul’s girlfriend’s house. Beth passed them along
to the officer that had questio
ned the girls. That was
where they found him.

Beth had done exactly as she said she would
. She had stayed with the girls
, flitting back and forth between them. Constantly reassuring both of them that it
would be okay, that she would make sure of it.

Cleo had been hesitant when Reece asked if she minded coming back to his house. Patty
had said both she and Luci could come and stay with them for as long as was needed.
But Reece hadn’t wanted her to go. He wanted her where he could keep an eye on her.

Beth assured Cleo that Landon had been asked to get himself a hotel room. Indefinitely.

When Cleo woke up the next morning, her head was still throbbing. She carefully scooted
out of bed, careful not to jostle Luci. But she nearly stepped on Reece.

She and Luci were
sleeping upstairs. They were
across from Beth’s room, in the spare bedroom. She realized Reece must’ve come upstairs
sometime during the night. He was sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor.

Beth had assured Cleo that she would call the middle school and explain Luci’s situation
to them. She would also call the high school and explain Cleo’s. Reece probably could’ve
gone to school but he argued he wouldn’t be able to concentrate anyway. So Beth had
agreed to let him stay home for a day. A day that both of the girls clearly needed
to recuperate.

Cleo carefully stepped around him so she could get to the bathroom. She desperately
needed to take something for the agony in her head. She tiptoed to the door and let
herself out of the room.

After she’d taken her painkillers, she found Beth in the hallway waiting for her.

“I heard you get up,” Beth said. “Were you planning on going back to bed?”

“Not really,” Cleo told her. She knew she wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep at
this point. Not with the way her head was hurting.

“Would you mind coming downstairs with me so we can talk about a few things?” Beth
wondered.

Cleo agreed and the moment she settled herself onto the sofa, Beth covered her with
a blanket. Cleo blinked at her in surprise. She wasn’t used to people doing things
like that for her.

“It’s chilly this morning,” Beth said as she settled down next to her. She looked
Cleo over with a scrutinizing gaze. “You’re head is still hurting pretty badly, isn’t
it?”

“A little bit,” Cleo fibbed.

Beth frowned but didn’t refute her and then she sighed. “I don’t even know where to
begin,” she said as she fidgeted with the fringe on Cleo’s blanket. “I guess maybe
with Paul. It’s too early to know for sure, but it sounds like there’s a good chance
he’ll be serving time for this. I hope that’s the case,” she said forcefully. “I spoke
with my lawyer this morning—,” Cleo’s confused look caused her to interrupt herself.
“I needed to speak with her about Landon. As long as I had her on the phone, I found
out a few other things. As I said, it’s too early to tell. But she thought there was
a good possibility he’d be serving a year or more.
Both you and Luci ended up in the ER. But, e
specially because this is not the first time he hurt you.”

Cleo nodded in relief. Her body was still battered from the ordeal on her birthday.
Add to that her recent trip to the emergency room as well as Luci’s. And things were
not looking good for Paul. She had already inferred that much from what she’d overheard
at the hospital.

“As for Luci, I think we need to discuss what may happen. That is,” she said carefully,
“if you don’t mind. I would like to help. But if it’s not my place, please just say
so.”

“No,” Cleo said, embarrassed that her throat was already starting to constrict. For
years, she’d been an expert at keeping tears away. Now for the past
few
day
s
, she couldn’t seem to stop crying. “I would appreciate your help. I want…I want custody
of her. Is that possible? Do you think?”

Beth gave her a small smile. “Reece told me he thought you’d say that. So this is
what I’ve found out so far. The odds are in your favor because you’re a blood relative.
But that, right now, is about the only thing in your favor.”

A tear trickled down and Cleo hastily wiped it away.

“Are you sure about this? Have you thought it through? It’s obvious how much you love
your sister. But the reality of raising a child…” Beth paused when she noted the perplexed
look on Cleo’s face. “Never mind. That was not a well-thought out question. You are
well aware of what’s involved. You’ve been taking care of her for a while now, haven’t
you?”

“Yes,” Cleo firmly replied.

“Have you thought about where you would live?” Beth wondered. “I would imagine rent
is pretty high in your current home. A three bedroom house like that. Tha
t will be something that they’
ll be looking at; where you will li
ve. They’
ll also want to know how you will support Luci and yourself,” she looked troubled
by the last part. Cleo was too young to have to support herself, let alone a sibling.

“I don’t want to live there,” Cleo told her. “I hate it there anyway. But I do have
money saved. I’ve been preparing for this for a while. Just in case. Paul made it
perfectly clear that he
could kick me out at any time so…so I’ve been preparing,” she repeated. “And I’m not
naïve. I know the money I have saved will go fast. But I think it’s enough to get
us through until the summer. Then I can work full time.” But there was college to
think of, too. And how would she work full time and go to college? Her head exploded
in pain at the thought.

Beth grimaced because she was well aware Paul’s threats manifested when
her
husband interfered in their lives. She had promised
Reece that she would help Cleo. B
ut the longer she spoke with the girl, the better she got to know her, the more determined
she became to see her promise through.

As a mother, she was having a hard time wrapping her head around Cleo being so young
and having to deal with so much. To have to face the possibility of being kicked out
of her home, at that age, made Beth furious.

“Okay,” Beth said with a small nod. “It just seemed easier to bring the two of you
back here last night. But Patty said you and Luci could stay with them until we find
you a place of your own.”

“Do you think that I really have a chance at getting custody?” she wondered. And had
Beth really said ‘Until
we
find you a place of your own’? Cleo was sure she had. She just wasn’t sure what it
meant. But it might n
ot matter what Beth said if she
really didn’t have a chance at this anyway. “Or are there too many things going against
me?” She finally asked. It was hard to force out the question. She had been thinking
of this day for a long time. But now that it was here, the details all seemed so overwhelming.

Beth was quiet for a moment. Cleo got the distinct impression that she was tossing
some pretty serious ideas around in her head.

“I think,” she finally said, “that I will do whatever I can to make sure that happens.”

“Thank you,” Cleo said. T
hough the words themselves seemed so insignificant.
So inadequate. But she didn’t know what else to say.

“I don’t think I’m being too presumptuous when I say that I think there is a very,
very good chance that you are going to be family someday. And that means Luci would
be family too. I
always
take care of my family,” Beth firmly replied.

Chapter 27

With the help of Beth’s lawyer, Luci’s guardianship status was moving along more smoothly
than Cleo ever would have expected. She cringed at the thought of what this was costing
Beth. But the one time she’d brought it up, Beth had admonished her for doing so.
Cleo silently swore to herself that someday, when she had a
real
job, she would pay Beth back. Though she knew that day was a long way off, it would
come.

It had been nearly a month and Cleo and Luci had been staying with the Donovans the
entire time. Paul could have gotten out on bail, Patty had told Cleo. Except that
the
last she had heard, he had no one
willing
to pay it for him.

While they were living
with the Donovans
they frequently ate dinner with Beth and Reece. Beth had very firmly insisted upon
it.

She had even managed to give
Cleo some
much appreciated
cooking tips. Often, Reece and Luci would go down to the game room and leave Beth
and Cleo to the kitchen. After a few of these dinners, Cleo realized that cooking
wasn’t nearly as
hateful
as she’d always thought. And now that she had someone to teach her, she realized
that she kind of actually enjoyed it.
She was fairly sure she would never love it, not the way Beth did, anyway. But she
might actually learn to
like
it.

It was after one of these Sunday dinners that Beth told them she had something she
wanted to share with them.

Cleo and Reece found a place on the couch but Luci had headed downstairs to play on
the X
-
Box.

Beth handed Reece a folder. He flipped it open, not sure at first what he was looking
at. Then he started flipping through the pages, with Cleo looking over his shoul
der. The first page had been a
picture of a house. The next few pages were the listing details.
It was downtown. It was a small one bathroom, two bedroom house.

“It was a foreclosure,” Beth said excitedly.

“You bought Cleo a house?” he asked. It was the first thing that had come to his mind.

Cleo and Luci were still at the Donovans for multiple reasons. But the biggest being,
they could not find anything reasonable to rent on such short notice.

But the moment the words were out of his mouth, Cleo’s face turned white. If that
was really the case, if his mom had bought this for Cleo, he already knew there was
no way she would accept it.

“No,” Beth said. She shook her head. She also gave him a look to let him know that
what he had said was just preposterous. “I bought myself a house.”