Pick-me-up (25 page)

“Um, Jen?”

“What?  I gotta go.  This place is
a shithole.”

“Jen, I need a place to go.  Stuff’s
going on and mom’s pissed because I’m not at school.  I just
don’t need her shit right now.  Do you have wheels?”

“Naw, man.  Those was Jimmy’s wheels.
 And that mother fucker Austin hasn’t given me any child
support in two months.”

“Jen, please.”

A few muttered curses filled the moments of
decision.  “Awright.  Hold on.”  This time there was
muffled crinkling as Jenny talked to whoever was with her.
 Katelyn bit her nail.  

“Yeah, be ready in 15 minutes.  We’re
getting’ out of here before mom gets here.”

Katelyn tried Tim two more times before Jenny
and her driver honked in the driveway.  Katelyn took a jacket
and her handbag.  She’d come back later for her uniform before
her shift.  Her books sat where she left them the previous
night on the chair in her room.  Katelyn didn’t bring home the
notes and books to study for tomorrow’s exams.  She knew she
wasn’t helping herself, but there was no way Katelyn was going to
school today.  

Rap music blared through the two-door coupe
car driven by Jenny’s friend, Jerome.  Katelyn was glad for
the noise so she didn’t have to talk.  They drove her to Tim’s
house and stayed parked in the street as she knocked repeatedly on
the front door.  The bass from the car echoed up to the house
despite the windows being rolled up.  The day threatened to
snow even though spring break was only a few days away.  

Katelyn tried the doorbell one last time.
 She turned to see Jen waving at her to get back to the car.
 Katelyn held up a finger to indicate one more try.
 Before she turned back to the door, she heard the lock being
opened and the door followed.  Tim’s mom stood in the opening
with one hand on the door and the other on the frame.  Her
wiry frame didn’t block much, but the expression on her face
stopped Katelyn momentarily.  

“Is Tim home?”

Tim’s mom appeared to ponder her answer.
 She never made any real effort at being nice to Katelyn, but
she never made an effort to be mean either.  His mom had to
know what they did in his room in the basement.  Katelyn had
stayed over many nights, especially this winter when getting out of
his bed to go into the cold was too mean of an idea.  

Tim’s mom seemed to have just woken up
recently, either that or she had a rough night.  Katelyn was
surprised it was her that answered the door.  She worked in a
trucking office or something.

“You haven’t heard from him?”  Tim’s mom
studied Katelyn closely.  Katelyn understood now that she had
her own form of concerns.  “Was he with you?  Do you know
who Manny is?”

“No, I mean, I don’t know where he’s at.”
 Katelyn wanted to give her something more.  “He won’t
answer his phone.  I don’t know Manny.  Who’s he?”
 A few seconds of silence followed.  Tim’s mom had no
intention of answering her.  Katelyn looked at her feet.
 When she looked back up, Tim’s mom’s eyes were looking beyond
Katelyn to some understanding she’d reached.  

The horn of Jerome’s car broke the trance.
 His mom shifted her eyes from the car to look straight at
Katelyn.  “He’s not here.”  She gripped the door and
leaned forward before she shut it.  “He was doing fine.
 He was doing fine before you.”  She leaned her face
forward in accusation and then retreated behind the closing door.
 

Katelyn stood momentarily shocked.  How
is this my fault?  She didn’t have time to think about the
answer.  The horn blared in an unending noise and finally
stopped as she walked down the front steps.  Her situation hit
her.  Katelyn had nowhere to go.

Jerome dropped Jenny and Katelyn off at
Ashley’s apartment on the south side of Northrup.  Ashley
lived in the same apartment building as Jenny had lived before she
was kicked out.  Only single mothers on government aid could
live there.  Ashley had one child who was already four years
old.  She was one year older than Jen.  

Ashley seemed happy that they showed up and
used the opportunity as free babysitting.  “I just have to run
to the store and maybe the bank.  Are you sure you don’t
mind?”  Ashley’s daughter, Anna, was home from morning
preschool.

Right after Ashley left, Jen went to the
couch and crashed.  

Now, nearly two hours later, Anna was drawing
pictures, and Katelyn was starting in on another fingernail.
 She looked at her cell phone for the time.  Nearly 3
p.m.  She was supposed to work at 4 p.m.  The thought of
going into work and dealing with drive thru customers, along with
the assistant manager constantly looking at her order fill times,
made her even more anxious.  She’d call in sick.

Katelyn waited on hold while the manager came
to the phone.  It was Brett, the new store manager.
 Katelyn’s stomach flipped as she told her lie.  “You
sure you can’t work?  You’re leaving us in a tight spot.
 I can’t get this shift filled with this short notice.”

Katelyn apologized and stored her conscience
safely away while he dealt out his disappointment.  

She waited a moment after hanging up and
tried Tim again.

His line picked up.  Katelyn’s momentary
surprise changed into shock when a girl’s voice asked, “Hello?”

Katelyn couldn’t immediately answer.
 

The voice began again.  “Hello?  Is
this Kate-lyn?  The same Kate-lyn who keeps harassing Tim?”
 

“Who is this?”  Katelyn’s anger flared.
 “Where’s Tim?”

“Don’t you worry about who this is, unless
you keep callin’.  Then you better worry ‘cause I’m gonna have
to take care of your ass.”

“Where’s Tim?”  Katelyn didn’t let the
threat throw her off.  

“He doesn’t want to talk to you.  What
part of that don’t you get.  You’re history and it’s time for
you to leave him alone.  He’s left you behind.  Move
on.”

Anger and confusion struggled against each
other.  “Who the hell is this?  Tim is my boyfriend.
 I don’t know who you think you are, but you better get the
hell away from him.  Put him on the phone.”

“Listen, Bitch.  Move off.  Tim’s
tired of you harassing him.  I seen it.  I seen him not
answer your calls, and you don’t stop calling.  Get it through
your skull.  He left you.”

Katelyn didn’t want to believe what she was
hearing, but before she could respond, the girl found a way to make
it hurt.  “He don’t care about your damn car and your
problems.  Hell, your calls woke us up this morning.
 Looks like I’ll just have to get him into bed early tonight.”
  A cruel laugh followed her words.  “Now don’t
fuckin’ call him again!”  The call was over.

“Okay, girl.  I’m off.”  Angel had
just come out of the novelty t-shirt and gift store at the mall.
 The assistant manager pulled down the chained metal gate
after her.  “Stupid prick,” she muttered.  “He checks my
bag every night to make sure I’m not takin’ anything.”  She
threw her head back at the trend store.  “Like I want any of
that shit.”  

Katelyn had been standing outside of the
store for close to an hour.  Angel grabbed her arm to pull her
away from the store.  They walked around the corner to the
closest mall exit and Angel stopped to dig into an inner pocket of
her bag.  She pulled out some stud piercing jewelry and smiled
wickedly at Katelyn.  “They’re my bonus for working so hard.
 Pick one.  Try something other than that ball.”
 She referred to Katelyn’s tongue piercing.  

Katelyn looked at the four studs she held out
and picked out a black rubber pointed spade.  “Thanks,” she
said unenthusiastically.  They walked and Katelyn could see
that it had rained since she came into the mall over an hour ago.
 When Ashley had returned, Jen convinced her to take her back
to Ames.  Katelyn rode along and walked the rest of the way to
the mall from Jodi’s apartment.   Katelyn needed a
friend, and Angel told her to meet her after work.  Katelyn
hoped Angel would have some answers.

Angel and Katelyn ran to Angel’s car.
 She hopped into the passenger seat as soon as Angel leaned
over and unlocked the door for her.  

After she started the car and lit a
cigarette, Angel turned to Katelyn.  “So,” she started,
already looking uncomfortable.  “Yeah, like, I don’t know how
to talk about this.  Tim’s definitely wronged you and, like,
I’m not gonna say you don’t have every right to be pissed and all.
 But, I like him, too, ya know?”

“Angel, I’m not asking you to take sides.
 I just got to know what you know.  None of this,” she
threw her hands up, “makes sense.”

Angel took a drag before she began.
 “Well, like, I’m guessing the girl is Mona Adams.  She
went to the Academy, I guess, before I started—didn’t finish,
though.  She’s way into crank and can’t think right anymore.
 But, like, she’s still friends with Tori who still goes to
the Academy with me.  Anyways, a couple weeks ago she said she
was at a party with Travis and saw Tim there.” Angel took another
drag before she continued.  “Hell, I thought it was kinda
weird.  I assumed you were with him and that’s weird, right,
because you don’t like him running with those crankers.  But,
honest, I didn’t think too much into it.  

“Anyways, this week Tori was asking about you
and how long you and Tim were together.  Stuff like that.
 But, like, she was talking like you were his ex.  So, I
asked her and she said Mona was going out with him now.”

Katelyn’s jaw pushed out in anger and she
shook her head in disbelief.  Suddenly she was very warm.

Angel jumped a little in her seat and put one
hand on Katelyn’s top arm, which was crossed firmly over her chest.
 “Hey, hey, I didn’t know it was a lie.  I haven’t talked
to you in a couple weeks and all and, when Tori said that, I
thought you were just, ya know, depressed or not talking to anyone.
 I don’t know.  I thought maybe you were mad at me.”

Katelyn turned.  “Mad at you?”

Angel shrugged and blew smoke out the cracked
window space.  “Yeah, well, that party Tori was talking about?
 It’s one of Christian’s old friends.”

Katelyn couldn’t worry about Angel’s
misconceptions.  She was burning inside.  “Do you know
where Mona lives?”  Katelyn’s voice was cold and hard.
 

Angel threw her cigarette butt out the window
and turned to face Katelyn.  Her face held the answer, but
also a question.  “Yeah, but, Kate, girl, you don’t want to
mess with her.  She’s straight up mean and usually fucked up.
 Ya know, you got to stay away from them.  Ya never know
what people will do when they’re on that shit.”  Her voice
took on a personal softness of a secret memory.  “They’re on
top of the world with you one minute and throwing it at you the
next.”  Angel grew quiet.

“Take me there.”  Angel turned to
object, but Katelyn cut her off.  “Angel, please, do this for
me.  Take me there.  You don’t have to go in with me.
 I just have to.  Please, Angel, please.  If you’re
my friend, take me there.”

Angel stayed frozen for a moment and then
shut her mouth again.  She settled herself in to drive and put
the Caprice in motion.

Less than 15 minutes later, Angel pulled up
to an apartment building on the far west side of Ames.  They
had passed nicer, newer complexes a few blocks back, but this
building was smaller, a four-plex in bad condition.  The paint
was peeled in places and a ripped screen dangled down from a second
story frame like a black flag.  

“This one?” Katelyn asked.  

“Yeah, the one on the lower left.”

“Thanks,” and Katelyn started to reach for
the door.  

Angel grabbed her other arm.  “I’m not
leaving, okay.  I’m gonna stay out here until you either call
or say what you’re gonna say and get out of there.” She grew
quieter.  “I can’t go in there, Katelyn.  I’m in the
right now.  I’m getting my diploma in two months.  I
can’t be around them no more, ya know?  I’m my only hope.
 They’re going nowhere, and I ain’t going with them.  Ya
know?”

Katelyn had never seen Angel ever look this
way before.  It took a minute for her to realize that Angel
wasn’t just sad.  The look she saw in Angel’s face was fear.
 Katelyn gripped Angel’s hand, which still rested on her arm,
and squeezed.  “I know.”  She let a moment pass and
opened the door.  “I won’t be long, and, Angel?” she paused
and looked back at her friend.  “Thanks.”

The rain had made the walkway wet and a few
patches of leftover snow never shoveled had turned to slush.
 Katelyn took small steps in order to not slip and to delay
whatever was coming next.  If Tim was back on meth, she had to
try stop him.  He promised Katelyn he was done.  Her jaw
was still clenched and sore from a day’s worth of growing anger.
 But, who else would try stop him?  Who else loved him?
 Who else did he really love?  He’d snap out of it for
her, she thought.

Katelyn dug into her jacket and toyed with
the circle pendant at her neck.  Her fingers were cold against
the flesh-warmed silver.  She shivered.  She reached the
outer glass door that led into the building’s entryway.  A
cheap light fixture lit the landing and stairs.  Katelyn
looked back to the street where the exhaust from Angel’s car made
temporary clouds against the falling snow.  Katelyn opened the
building’s door and stepped in.  

Sounds of TV’s and music escaped both of the
first floor apartments.  Katelyn took a step closer to the one
on the left that Mona supposedly rented.  Incense wafted up
from a stick someone had jammed into a crack in the floorboard
around the entryway.  Remnants of spent incense sticks made a
small pile on the floor underneath it.  Katelyn took a deeper
inhale and found the weed smell it was intended to cover up.
 I can handle weed, she thought.  

At the door, she paused.  She could hear
the booming base from a high definition TV system past the door.
 A car’s revving and screeching sound effects followed.
 Katelyn heard a male voice make a comment and then Tim’s
laugh in response.  No other voices or words followed for what
felt like a few minutes.