All Roads Lead Home (Bellingwood) (33 page)

"Well, I'm not certain why you thought this call
was necessary if you aren't interested in my son. I don't care to have anything
more to do with you. So, thank you for calling. Good-bye."

After Mrs. Delancy abruptly ended the call,
Polly sat at the table completely stunned by the
conversation. She couldn't imagine anyone
being
more delusional than Joey, but his mother seemed like
she was off the deep end. How was she able to maintain all of the activities
she did as a volunteer?

That phone call was useless, to say the least.

She
plugged
her phone into the computer and dropped the audio
file from last night into her cloud drive so it would show up in several places
if necessary, then spent some more time wandering aimlessly around the internet.
Finally she turned the computer off and flipped the lid closed. She stowed it
in the
cupboard and pulled out a couple
of large bowls
, filling them with
candy and se
tting
them out on the counter.
Polly pulled the
casserole out of the oven and checked it.
Practically defrosted.
It would be perfect for the boys' supper tonight.

"Doug? Billy?"
she called into the hallway.

The guys came
in
wielding their light sabers. "Aren't these cool?
"
Doug
asked.

She smiled. "Those are way cool. The
force is definitely with you." Then she pointed
at the oven and said,
"I've got a
Shepherd's Pie casserole
in
here. I’ve set the timer, so take
it out and eat the whole thing if you want. Okay?"

"
Okay
." Doug walked over and watched her set the
timer, then pulled his phone out and set his alarm for the same time. "Just
to make sure we hear it. Thanks."

With them set for the night, Polly left and went to
Lydia and Aaron's house. When she pulled in the driveway, Aaron was outside
with a plate of steaks sitting beside the grill.

"How do you like your steak, Polly?"
he asked, brandishing a large grill fork.

"I think I've spent way too much time out east,
Aaron. Medium-rare to rare is perfect. Not quite bloody in the middle, but
close."

He shuddered. "Alright, yours goes on last. Lydia
is upstairs getting things ready for dinner. I'll be up in a bit."

Polly went inside and up the stairs.
Funny how this house was beginning to feel so familiar.
Lydia met her at the top of the steps; hands filled
with vegetables.

"I'd hug you, but I might crush tomatoes down
your back and that would look like a bloodbath. Not something we want the
neighbors to see," she laughed.

"Can I help?" Polly asked.

"Sure. Here, I was going to chop these up for the
salad. It's all ready to go." Polly began chopping things up into
bite-sized pieces and tossing them into the salad bowl while Lydia continued
putting things out on the table.

"It's a simple meal tonight. Aaron doesn't grill
steak that often and
when he does,
I
take
the evening off from heavy cooking. I've got baked
potatoes and a broccoli dish in the oven. Will that be enough for you?"

"That will
be
wonderful, Lydia. Thank you,” Polly assured her.

They set the table and when Aaron brought the steaks
up,
Lydia pulled
the dishes out of the oven.

It didn't take long for conversation to turn to the
events of the night before. Lydia took great joy in telling Polly how Joey had
sat there
in obvious shock
for a few minutes after she strode out. Soon he
picked up his phone, put it in his pocket and looked around
,
then left.

"What did you get from his phone, Polly?"
Lydia asked.

"Oh, I got his mother's phone number and
maybe
a
counselor's number, too.

She went on, "I called his mother today to see if
she would be any help. Guys, I think she is as delusional as Joey. She told me
I needed to tell him I didn't want to be with him, as if I haven't been doing
that over and over. Then, she told me I would be a welcome addition to her
family. I don't think she heard a single word I was saying. And if she heard
the words, she certainly didn't understand them."

"I'm sor
ry,
Polly,” Lydia said. “You
're going to
figure this out and you know we’ll do whatever we can to help you.
"

"I know. I want to drop him off a bridge
somewhere and stop
all of this
. Last night he sounded insane when he was talking to
me. I got some of it recorded on my phone and before I came over here, I put it
on my computer too. Just in case I ever need it. At this point, I don't know
how I'm going to get him out of my life." Polly sighed and dropped her
hands in her lap.

Then her phone rang. She looked at it and saw that it
was Billy. When she answered it, she heard his panicked voice. "Polly,
you've got to get over here and bring the Sheriff. Some guy, it was probably
your boyfriend, beat the hell out of Doug. He's lying on the gravel and I'm
worried about him."

Aaron's phone rang at that moment and he picked it up,
listened,
then
looked at Polly.

"
Billy,
is he still
there?" she asked.

"No, he's gone. I hit him with the light saber
and a car drove by and
he got in his car
and left. I
called 9-1-1 and they're
sending someone.
Get
here quick!"

She jumped out of her chair and Aaron was right behind
her.

"I think Joey beat Doug up at the school,"
she said to Lydia. "He's gone now, but I have to go make sure they're
okay. Aaron? Are you coming?"

"I'm right behind you
,” he said. “
and
if you don't
hurry, I'll be right in front of you."

The two of them ran down the stairs and out the back
door to their cars.

Tearing through the streets of Bellingwood seemed
overly reckless, so Polly let Aaron lead the way
. After throwing the truck into Park, s
he jumped ou
t and ran to Doug, t
he siren of the ambulance coming down the highway, its
mournful wail echoing her concern.

"Doug!" she cried. "I'm so sorry! Billy,
how are you doing?"

Doug looked a little chagrined. Billy had wadded up
his brown robe and put it under Doug's head,
and
thrown the blanket from the
back of
his
car over him. He was wiping blood off Doug's face.

"Billy isn't going to let me get up until the
EMTs get here," Doug said. "I told him I would be fine. It's just
that my head really hurts."

Aaron knelt down beside him. "They're nearly
here. You've been beaten up pretty badly. This wasn't what I meant to have
happen, boys."

Polly gave a weak giggle, "Yeah. Way to take one
for the team!"

Aaron asked, "Can you tell me what happened?"

Both boys started to talk and Polly put her hand on
Doug's shoulder. He stopped talking and waited.

Billy started back up again. "Well, we were in
the hallway messing with our light sabers, acting all Jedi and stuff. There
were a few trick-or-treaters. They thought we were cool. We handed out a lot of
candy.

"Then we heard another knock on the door and when
we opened it there was a guy standing there. He took one look at us and started
yelling for Polly. He accused us of doing bad things with her. Both Doug and
me, we were pretty upset at that and told him there was no way we would ever do
anything that nasty with Polly.

He stopped and said, "Not because you are
n't pretty or anything, Polly."

"
It's
okay, Billy. Go
on."

"He pushed past us into the school and went
upstairs, screaming your name and flinging doors open. We thought he was going
to open up the bathroom where the crime scene tape was and we told him he
couldn't do that. That made him even madder. He ran into your room and I'm
sorry, Polly, he started tossing your stuff around. Doug told him to stop it
and get out, that he was going to call the Sheriff.

"Well, that made him even
more mad
and he rushed Doug and smacked him in the face. Doug
fell down and I realized I still had my light saber, so I hit him in the head.

"Dude, that didn't even
phase
him! He went back downstairs and I helped Doug stand
up. We followed him and he was in the kitchen,
throwing things and pulling stuff out of the cupboards
. Screaming about how you were his and he wasn't going
to let you live in some stupid little town and you deserved better than this.
On and on.

"Then, he saw us standing there and it was like
he took crazy to a new level. He came running at us and before we could get our
wits, he pushed Doug to the ground and started beating on him. When I went
after him with the light saber, he grabbed Doug and started running and dragging
him. He pulled him outside, then down the steps and onto the gravel. Finally I
caught up with him and wailed on him with my trusty saber here a couple of
times.

"A car pulled out of the entrance down the road
and he saw the lights and
something must
have clicked
, because he dropped Doug,
ran to his car and drove off.”

An ambulance, a fire truck and another sheriff's car
pulled into the lot. Two EMTs got out and rushed over to where Doug was on the
ground. They took his vital signs, then began checking him over for breaks. The
poor kid moaned a couple of times as one ran her hands over his arms. She
looked up, "I don't think anything is broken here, but he's been beaten
badly and has some nasty cuts and scrapes from being dragged across the gravel.
We're going to take him in, get him cleaned up and x-rayed."

Billy looked down at his friend, "Dude. You're
getting to ride in the ambulance. They can go really fast, you know."

"Uh huh.
This is so cool," Doug's cynical look dampened
Billy's enthusiasm.

"No worries," Billy said. "I'll go tell
your parents and see if they want a ride to the hospital. I got this."

Aaron
stopped
Billy, "Son, you go on home. I'll go talk to the
Randalls
and we'll make sure they get to Doug tonight."

"But?"

"Dude," Doug said. "I'm fine. You did
great. You're my best friend and you had my back. Take my car to your house and
come down to Boone tomorrow when I'm all cleaned up and in a pretty hospital
gown. You can laugh at me and help me hit on the nurses."

Doug
turned his
eyes
up
to
the EMT. "My keys are in
my pocket. Are you going to let me get them or do you want to go after them."

"Which pocket?" she asked.

"The right front pocket of my
jeans."

She reached in, pulled them out and handed them up to
Billy.

"See what I mean, Dude? I got girls already
checking me out. Tomorrow will be great."

Polly
caught
the EMT roll
ing
her eyes. She had to be Polly's age and stood up to
confer with her partner. They got Doug onto the gurney and into the ambulance. Aaron
spoke with the officer who had accompanied the team, then turned to Polly.

"Polly, can you tell me what hotel your friend
was staying at in Boone?"
he asked.