WPFAAT, Chapter 21
So, here you go. The next chapter. I don't know how I feel about it. Part of me wants to keep fiddling with it until I like it more, but I think I'd end up doing more harm than good. There's going to be one more chapter (!) and then the epilogue, and then, guys...it'll be the end. I honestly might cry.
At around one o’clock, Bobby demanded that Jack, Ennis, Junior, and Lureen leave, at least for an hour, to get some sleep of their own. They were determined to stay; he was determined that they get some rest. Eventually he won. Jack, Ennis, and Junior got up. Lureen got a very deer-in-headlights look, and the awkwardness in the room rose a little.
“Um…” Ennis chewed a thumbnail.
“Do you, uh, want to stay with us?” Jack asked, purely to be polite.
Lureen gave him a tight smile. “No thanks.”
“Are you sure?” Jack asked at the same time Ennis fought hard to keep relief off his face. Lureen half-laughed, shaking her head incredulously.
“I’m sure. Just give him directions to the best hotel in town.”
Jack gave her directions to the only hotel in town. It would be clean, but he knew it wouldn’t fit her ritzy standards. He thought sadly of the girl who’d leapt on him in the crowded backseat. Where’d she go? She was a lot more fun than this tight-faced stranger.
Before they left, Jack unabashedly kissed Bobby’s forehead. Bobby rolled his eyes a little, because he felt like that was his role to play, but he didn’t mind. It made him feel safe. Ennis bent down and gave him a slight squeeze. Bobby watched them file out, this misfit group of people-the men who had raised him, his newly acquired sister, and his mom, who was turning out to be kind of cool. As little as two weeks ago, Bobby would never have imagined them all in the same room together. Maybe all it took was a little near-death experience. No big deal.
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Buddy barked frantically as they got out of the car, running circles around them and jumping up and down. He was wet from rummaging around in the last stubborn piles of snow. Ennis, usually a staunch opponent of treating animals “like they’re damn people,” scooped the little dog up under one arm and brought him inside.
The house had that slightly abandoned feel that houses can get when they’re left in a hurry. There was a half-eaten sandwich on the table in the midst of Bobby’s math homework. Junior’s history notes were open, next to a highlighter whose cap had fallen on the floor and rolled under the table. A lone sock sat in the middle of the living room, which Buddy immediately set upon. Jack had to wrestle it from him.
Junior disappeared to her bedroom almost immediately, her eyes struggling to stay open so she wouldn’t trip over anything. She was so exhausted. Jack and Ennis watched her go, with Buddy wagging along behind her, finding themselves suddenly alone together. Jack reached out and took Ennis’s hand and led the way up the stairs to their bedroom.
They didn’t set upon each other right away, as they might have once done. They toed off boots and slid belts from the loops and then collapsed on the bed, Ennis on top of Jack’s arm, one of Jack’s legs crossed over Ennis’s. They lied still for a moment, just breathing, before Ennis rolled over to rest on an elbow and stare down at Jack.
They didn’t talk for a beat. They were almost shy, which was absurd. Ennis opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was a rush of air. And then Jack rolled away from him, out from under the cage of his arms. And Ennis didn’t stop him. He went back onto his back, and they listened to each other breathe, confused.
“What…” Ennis started but didn’t know what else to say.
“I don’t know.” Jack answered his unasked question. “It’s just…” He hesitated. “It feels like Bobby got hurt because of us.” He said it in a small voice, like he didn’t want to be the one addressing the elephant between them on the bed.
They were both quiet again. It was unusual for them to be so silent with each other. They always had so much to say to each other that now, when they’d run out of things, they didn’t know what to do.
“It’s not our fault.” Ennis finally said, though he didn’t sound very convinced.
“Yeah.” Jack responded, sounding just as unsure. “I mean…” He trailed off.
“Yeah.”
They were quiet again. Ennis felt shaky. Jack was always the sure one. Jack always reassured him when he doubted. And now Jack was the one questioning everything and Ennis didn’t know how to make him feel better. He offered the only thing he could.
“If it matters, I…I love you.” He whispered around a hot lump in his throat. He blinked away tears, ashamed and hating himself. He was so weak. Jack smoothed a hand over Ennis’s hair (a little awkwardly, given their position, but it was nice nonetheless) and cuddled closer.
“It matters.” He whispered back. “It means the world.”
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On the way back to the hospital, everyone was quiet. Their short naps hadn’t done much to ease their fatigue. Ennis looked over at Junior, who was staring out the window with her chin on her hand.
“You alright?” He asked quietly. She jumped a little; it’d been so quiet in the cab of the truck that he’d startled her. Jack cracked a smile at that.
“I’m fine.” She answered.
“Sure?” Jack looked more closely at her, at the way her mouth was pulling tight and her eyes had deep circles under them. She just shrugged this time.
“It’s not your fault.” Ennis said, shrewdly realizing what the problem was. Junior smiled with no humor.
“Not yours either.” She murmured back.
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Kurt felt so strange, being at school while Bobby was basically fighting for his life. Sure, the doctor said he’d be okay, but Kurt kind of distrusted doctors. They weren’t always right. And sometimes they just weren’t there fast enough.
“Did you hear about Twist?” He heard someone behind him whisper to someone else. He felt himself go still. Slowly, he swiveled as little as possible to see who was talking. It was Michael Adams, a boy on the football team, talking to Sarah Hanson.
“What now?” Sarah, sounding exasperated. “Can’t people just stop talking about him?”
“I heard Jimmy Kent and his daddy beat him with a tire iron and he might die.”
Silence. And then Sarah said, “But that can’t be true…” in a weak little voice.
“Lindsay said her mom was there last night when they brought him in. Junior was covered in his blood, crying and screaming…” Michael went on, using words like fractures and concussion and internal bleeding while Sarah’s eyes filled with tears. Kurt felt like he was going to throw up. He knew all this, of course, and had first-hand knowledge that no one else, not even Lindsay (whoever that was) did. But hearing the whispers, which went on all day, was different. And it made him burn with a slow anger. People who’d been taunting Bobby for months were suddenly worried about his well being, suddenly couldn’t bear the thought of him hurt.
Kurt sat down at some random lunch table, alone. He was in a daze all day, and didn’t even notice that most of the whispers now centered around him. Louisa came and found him at one point-she usually ate in the choir room with the other choir nerds, but she’d ventured out to sit by him. They didn’t talk and they didn’t eat, but they sat quietly together.
When the bell rang, Kurt got up mechanically. Louisa grabbed his arm.
“I want to go with you later.” She told him. “I want to see Bobby.”
“No.” He thought of the bruises, the bright blood on Junior’s shirt, and the blinding white plaster of Bobby’s casts.
“Kurt, I’m going with you.” She said stubbornly.
“You want more nightmares?” He asked harshly. “You’re not coming.”
He walked away before she could argue more, already feeling guilty. She’d left her group of friends to sit with him and she hadn’t tried to make him talk, and he repaid her by yelling at her. But she couldn’t come. She just couldn’t.
At home, Kurt made sure everyone got started on homework before trying to make his escape. Louisa was waiting for him at the front door, arms crossed angrily. He made a face at her.
“I said you’re not coming.” He tried to say it gently, but he was impatient to get to the hospital. He had a silly feeling that bad things would happen if he wasn’t there to make sure they didn’t. It was stupid, but he couldn’t shake it. And besides, he wanted to be there with Junior. As hard as this was on Kurt, it was worse for her.
“And I said I am.”
“Louisa!”
“Kurt!”
“What’s going on?”
They both started. It was their mother’s voice-not quite her old, chipper voice, but not quite the new one, the scary, raspy one that sometimes made Gretty cry. It was somewhere in between.
“Um, nothing.” Kurt said quickly. “It’s okay.” He was bursting to tell his mother to make Louisa back down, but he’d long learned it wouldn’t work. And he didn’t want to upset her, not since last time.
“Kurt won’t let me go with him to the hospital.” Louisa blurted. Kurt glared.
“Why are you going to the hospital?” She almost sounded curious.
“Well…Bobby got hurt.”
“Bobby?” Mary Ellen’s brow furrowed. “Your friend Bobby?”
“Yeah. He, uh, had an accident.”
The scary look passed over her face and Kurt wished he’d kept his big mouth shut. But then…miraculously…it passed. The ghost of it was still haunting her eyes, but it was mostly gone. “And you’re going to go see him?”
“Yeah, and he thinks I can’t go with him.” Louisa wanted to sound indignant, but she was too wary. It was unusual for Mary Ellen to be out of bed at this time of the afternoon and even more unusual for her to try to intervene in an argument.
“Well, he’s Louisa’s friend, too.” Mary Ellen said sensibly, while her two oldest remaining children marveled. She was being sensible! What was going on?
“Um…” Louisa shot Kurt a look. They were suddenly on the same side, both trying hard not to let their hopes rise. “But if I go, it’ll just be you and the kids.”
“I know.” Mary Ellen sounded a little frightened. “But you should go. It’s okay.”
Louisa was torn. She wanted to go. And she wanted to believe that her mother was having some sort of miraculous breakthrough. But she didn’t want to leave and have her mother’s energy wane in twenty minutes, leaving the kids by themselves. Snappy was there, but…well, he was a dog.
Louisa and Kurt exchanged a look. Kurt shrugged helplessly. Louisa bit her lip, then sighed. She walked over the Max and G. “Guys.” She said quietly. “Kurt and I need to go…somewhere.” She didn’t want to tell them where. If she said they were going to the hospital, it’d only scare them, and if she told them Bobby was hurt, they’d insist on coming. “Mom-well, she says she can handle being here with you. But I need you guys to be good, okay? And make sure the other kids are good, too.”
Max nodded solemnly while G looked over at Mary Ellen. “She’s going to stay out here?” He asked.
“I don’t know, bud. If she does, just help her out, okay? And if she doesn’t…well, take care of the other kids, okay? Dad’ll be home soon.”
They drove the hospital in silence, both worried about leaving the little kids essentially aloe. Max was thirteen; he was still just a little boy. She hadn't really thought about that part in her haste to go with Kurt. But at least Roy would be home in an hour and a half.
When they pulled into the parking lot, Kurt turned to his sister. “Look,” he told her. “Bobby looks pretty bad. But don’t freak out, alright? He’s going to be fine.”
“Going to be fine.” Louisa echoed. “Meaning he’s not fine now.”
“Of course he’s not fine now.” Kurt looked at her like she was crazy. “Louisa, James Kent beat him with a tire iron.”
Louisa trembled a little, but she was a strong girl. She’d spent almost thirteen years of her life being the only sister. She could play in the dirt and wrestle around and she didn’t cry easily. She certainly wasn’t going to start now. She gave Kurt a brave nod and they got out of the car.
They had a little trouble with the admitting nurse-“No,” she told them, “He’s on a family-only basis right now”-but Jack came out and let them in, saying they were family. They nurse didn’t look very convinced, but she’d already learned that arguing with Jack just gave you a headache.
Bobby was awake, and even sitting up, propped up on pillows. He grinned big when he saw Kurt and Louisa. “Hey!” He shouted. It wasn’t much of a shout-not for Bobby, anyway-but it was the best he could do.
“Hey,” Kurt grinned back at him, moving forward to whack Bobby gently on the shoulder. It wasn’t a whack, really; it was a brush, but Bobby knew what he meant by it.
“Hi, Bobby.” Louisa sounded slightly pinched, because she was trying to sound cheerful and she wasn’t really a good actress. Bobby chuckled a little at her and spread his good arm out.
“See?” He asked. “I’m fine, ma’am.” He winked at her and she rolled her eyes, smiling now. Junior got up, giving Louisa a hug before settling shyly at Kurt’s side. Kurt slipped an arm around her and kept talking to Bobby.
“You know, everyone’s talking about you at school.” It was easier to be light hearted about it with Bobby right in front of his eyes.
“Oh boy, what else is new?” Bobby joked.
Jack frowned. “What’re they saying?”
“Just that Jimmy Kent’s daddy almost killed Bobby.”
Ennis made a noise between a growl and a snort. He muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “Bastard.”
Lureen spoke up for the first time. Kurt had been eyeing her curiously from the corner of his eye. Louisa hadn’t even noticed her. “But what are they saying? How do they feel about it?”
“Oh, you know, everyone’s real upset. They were all making fun of you yesterday, but today it’s just tragic.” Louisa said bitterly.
Bobby shrugged as best he could. “I don’t care.”
There was a knock on the door just then. Lureen was closest, so she opened it. The sheriff was standing there. He looked apologetic when he realized how many people were gathered around Bobby.
“Uh.” He started. “I, uh, need to talk to you, Jack. Ennis.”
Ennis tensed noticeably as he stood up and walked behind Jack out the door. The atmosphere in the room after they left was anxious, to say the least. The only reason the sheriff would want to talk to Jack and Ennis was if he had news about James Kent. They weren’t gone long.
“Well,” Jack sighed. “They picked up James Kent in Colorado. He’s in jail right now until the trial.”
“Oh.” Bobby said quietly, mulling this over. “And how…how good are the chances of him staying there?”
“Being found guilty? Pretty good, I’d say. He’s got a record for domestic violence, after all. And you and Junior will testify.”
Junior swallowed loudly. Kurt squeezed her tighter. “Testify?”
Ennis looked at her carefully. “You were a witness,” he reminded her. “If you don’t, he might get out of jail.”
“But you don’t have to.” Bobby spoke up. “Not if you don’t want to.”
Now everyone was staring at Junior. She bit her lip. Of course she wanted that evil shithead in jail. But she didn’t know if she could relive the whole thing. Watching it once had been bad enough.
“Maybe you don’t need to decide now.” Kurt said gently.
“Of course not.” Jack nodded, though he looked a little troubled.
“You’re going to?” Junior asked Bobby.
He hesitated. “Yeah. If it puts him away-then yeah.”
Junior locked eyes with Bobby. He told her silently that it was her choice and he wouldn’t hate her if she didn’t. But she looked at her feet and said, “I’ll do it.”
“You don’t have to decide now!” Bobby said.
“Well, I just did. If you can do it, I can do it.”
They shared another significant look. It was so strange, the way they could talk without speaking aloud. Junior had never experienced that before. She could understand her mother sometimes-could understand when Alma was too tired for Junior to bother her about getting new shoes or when she was mad-but it wasn’t the same thing.
“What about Jimmy?” Bobby asked then.
“What?” Jack’s eyes flitted to Ennis, and Junior saw them having their own silent conversation. Lureen narrowed her eyes at Jack. She wanted to know what was going on.
“Does Jimmy have to go to jail too? Because…well, I don’t think he should.”
“Bobby…” Ennis ran a hand through his hair. “James was alone when they picked him up.”
The room was completely silent as everyone processed this bit of information.
“But…but where was Jimmy, then?” Louisa asked in a small voice.
Jack licked his lips. “We don’t know. The police looked around, but…” He trailed off, glancing at Ennis again. There was more to the story, and it had to be bad if he didn’t want to tell them.
“But what?” Bobby demanded. “Tell me, Daddy.”
Jack sighed. “They asked Kent. He told ‘em…” Jack had to stop to take a deep breath, like he was going to be sick. Ennis laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed.
“He said,” Ennis picked up, voice simmering with anger, “that he left Jimmy at a truck stop along the way. He didn’t know where and he didn’t-he didn’t care.”
“Oh…” Louisa breathed softly, her eyes filling with tears. She had a very heightened maternal instinct for a girl her age, and she imagined one of her little brothers or Gretty left behind at a gas station, alone and afraid…
“Half a mind to drive to that jail in Colorado and beat the shit out of him myself.” Ennis muttered.
“More ‘an half.” Jack muttered back. Ennis grunted in agreement.
Bobby felt like he was going to cry. He’d never liked Jimmy Kent-had sworn more than once that he hated him, to be honest. But he would never wish that on anyone. He looked at Jack and Ennis, holding hands discreetly, and fervently thanked God or whoever it was up there that he’d been given to them.
At around one o’clock, Bobby demanded that Jack, Ennis, Junior, and Lureen leave, at least for an hour, to get some sleep of their own. They were determined to stay; he was determined that they get some rest. Eventually he won. Jack, Ennis, and Junior got up. Lureen got a very deer-in-headlights look, and the awkwardness in the room rose a little.
“Um…” Ennis chewed a thumbnail.
“Do you, uh, want to stay with us?” Jack asked, purely to be polite.
Lureen gave him a tight smile. “No thanks.”
“Are you sure?” Jack asked at the same time Ennis fought hard to keep relief off his face. Lureen half-laughed, shaking her head incredulously.
“I’m sure. Just give him directions to the best hotel in town.”
Jack gave her directions to the only hotel in town. It would be clean, but he knew it wouldn’t fit her ritzy standards. He thought sadly of the girl who’d leapt on him in the crowded backseat. Where’d she go? She was a lot more fun than this tight-faced stranger.
Before they left, Jack unabashedly kissed Bobby’s forehead. Bobby rolled his eyes a little, because he felt like that was his role to play, but he didn’t mind. It made him feel safe. Ennis bent down and gave him a slight squeeze. Bobby watched them file out, this misfit group of people-the men who had raised him, his newly acquired sister, and his mom, who was turning out to be kind of cool. As little as two weeks ago, Bobby would never have imagined them all in the same room together. Maybe all it took was a little near-death experience. No big deal.
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Buddy barked frantically as they got out of the car, running circles around them and jumping up and down. He was wet from rummaging around in the last stubborn piles of snow. Ennis, usually a staunch opponent of treating animals “like they’re damn people,” scooped the little dog up under one arm and brought him inside.
The house had that slightly abandoned feel that houses can get when they’re left in a hurry. There was a half-eaten sandwich on the table in the midst of Bobby’s math homework. Junior’s history notes were open, next to a highlighter whose cap had fallen on the floor and rolled under the table. A lone sock sat in the middle of the living room, which Buddy immediately set upon. Jack had to wrestle it from him.
Junior disappeared to her bedroom almost immediately, her eyes struggling to stay open so she wouldn’t trip over anything. She was so exhausted. Jack and Ennis watched her go, with Buddy wagging along behind her, finding themselves suddenly alone together. Jack reached out and took Ennis’s hand and led the way up the stairs to their bedroom.
They didn’t set upon each other right away, as they might have once done. They toed off boots and slid belts from the loops and then collapsed on the bed, Ennis on top of Jack’s arm, one of Jack’s legs crossed over Ennis’s. They lied still for a moment, just breathing, before Ennis rolled over to rest on an elbow and stare down at Jack.
They didn’t talk for a beat. They were almost shy, which was absurd. Ennis opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was a rush of air. And then Jack rolled away from him, out from under the cage of his arms. And Ennis didn’t stop him. He went back onto his back, and they listened to each other breathe, confused.
“What…” Ennis started but didn’t know what else to say.
“I don’t know.” Jack answered his unasked question. “It’s just…” He hesitated. “It feels like Bobby got hurt because of us.” He said it in a small voice, like he didn’t want to be the one addressing the elephant between them on the bed.
They were both quiet again. It was unusual for them to be so silent with each other. They always had so much to say to each other that now, when they’d run out of things, they didn’t know what to do.
“It’s not our fault.” Ennis finally said, though he didn’t sound very convinced.
“Yeah.” Jack responded, sounding just as unsure. “I mean…” He trailed off.
“Yeah.”
They were quiet again. Ennis felt shaky. Jack was always the sure one. Jack always reassured him when he doubted. And now Jack was the one questioning everything and Ennis didn’t know how to make him feel better. He offered the only thing he could.
“If it matters, I…I love you.” He whispered around a hot lump in his throat. He blinked away tears, ashamed and hating himself. He was so weak. Jack smoothed a hand over Ennis’s hair (a little awkwardly, given their position, but it was nice nonetheless) and cuddled closer.
“It matters.” He whispered back. “It means the world.”
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On the way back to the hospital, everyone was quiet. Their short naps hadn’t done much to ease their fatigue. Ennis looked over at Junior, who was staring out the window with her chin on her hand.
“You alright?” He asked quietly. She jumped a little; it’d been so quiet in the cab of the truck that he’d startled her. Jack cracked a smile at that.
“I’m fine.” She answered.
“Sure?” Jack looked more closely at her, at the way her mouth was pulling tight and her eyes had deep circles under them. She just shrugged this time.
“It’s not your fault.” Ennis said, shrewdly realizing what the problem was. Junior smiled with no humor.
“Not yours either.” She murmured back.
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Kurt felt so strange, being at school while Bobby was basically fighting for his life. Sure, the doctor said he’d be okay, but Kurt kind of distrusted doctors. They weren’t always right. And sometimes they just weren’t there fast enough.
“Did you hear about Twist?” He heard someone behind him whisper to someone else. He felt himself go still. Slowly, he swiveled as little as possible to see who was talking. It was Michael Adams, a boy on the football team, talking to Sarah Hanson.
“What now?” Sarah, sounding exasperated. “Can’t people just stop talking about him?”
“I heard Jimmy Kent and his daddy beat him with a tire iron and he might die.”
Silence. And then Sarah said, “But that can’t be true…” in a weak little voice.
“Lindsay said her mom was there last night when they brought him in. Junior was covered in his blood, crying and screaming…” Michael went on, using words like fractures and concussion and internal bleeding while Sarah’s eyes filled with tears. Kurt felt like he was going to throw up. He knew all this, of course, and had first-hand knowledge that no one else, not even Lindsay (whoever that was) did. But hearing the whispers, which went on all day, was different. And it made him burn with a slow anger. People who’d been taunting Bobby for months were suddenly worried about his well being, suddenly couldn’t bear the thought of him hurt.
Kurt sat down at some random lunch table, alone. He was in a daze all day, and didn’t even notice that most of the whispers now centered around him. Louisa came and found him at one point-she usually ate in the choir room with the other choir nerds, but she’d ventured out to sit by him. They didn’t talk and they didn’t eat, but they sat quietly together.
When the bell rang, Kurt got up mechanically. Louisa grabbed his arm.
“I want to go with you later.” She told him. “I want to see Bobby.”
“No.” He thought of the bruises, the bright blood on Junior’s shirt, and the blinding white plaster of Bobby’s casts.
“Kurt, I’m going with you.” She said stubbornly.
“You want more nightmares?” He asked harshly. “You’re not coming.”
He walked away before she could argue more, already feeling guilty. She’d left her group of friends to sit with him and she hadn’t tried to make him talk, and he repaid her by yelling at her. But she couldn’t come. She just couldn’t.
At home, Kurt made sure everyone got started on homework before trying to make his escape. Louisa was waiting for him at the front door, arms crossed angrily. He made a face at her.
“I said you’re not coming.” He tried to say it gently, but he was impatient to get to the hospital. He had a silly feeling that bad things would happen if he wasn’t there to make sure they didn’t. It was stupid, but he couldn’t shake it. And besides, he wanted to be there with Junior. As hard as this was on Kurt, it was worse for her.
“And I said I am.”
“Louisa!”
“Kurt!”
“What’s going on?”
They both started. It was their mother’s voice-not quite her old, chipper voice, but not quite the new one, the scary, raspy one that sometimes made Gretty cry. It was somewhere in between.
“Um, nothing.” Kurt said quickly. “It’s okay.” He was bursting to tell his mother to make Louisa back down, but he’d long learned it wouldn’t work. And he didn’t want to upset her, not since last time.
“Kurt won’t let me go with him to the hospital.” Louisa blurted. Kurt glared.
“Why are you going to the hospital?” She almost sounded curious.
“Well…Bobby got hurt.”
“Bobby?” Mary Ellen’s brow furrowed. “Your friend Bobby?”
“Yeah. He, uh, had an accident.”
The scary look passed over her face and Kurt wished he’d kept his big mouth shut. But then…miraculously…it passed. The ghost of it was still haunting her eyes, but it was mostly gone. “And you’re going to go see him?”
“Yeah, and he thinks I can’t go with him.” Louisa wanted to sound indignant, but she was too wary. It was unusual for Mary Ellen to be out of bed at this time of the afternoon and even more unusual for her to try to intervene in an argument.
“Well, he’s Louisa’s friend, too.” Mary Ellen said sensibly, while her two oldest remaining children marveled. She was being sensible! What was going on?
“Um…” Louisa shot Kurt a look. They were suddenly on the same side, both trying hard not to let their hopes rise. “But if I go, it’ll just be you and the kids.”
“I know.” Mary Ellen sounded a little frightened. “But you should go. It’s okay.”
Louisa was torn. She wanted to go. And she wanted to believe that her mother was having some sort of miraculous breakthrough. But she didn’t want to leave and have her mother’s energy wane in twenty minutes, leaving the kids by themselves. Snappy was there, but…well, he was a dog.
Louisa and Kurt exchanged a look. Kurt shrugged helplessly. Louisa bit her lip, then sighed. She walked over the Max and G. “Guys.” She said quietly. “Kurt and I need to go…somewhere.” She didn’t want to tell them where. If she said they were going to the hospital, it’d only scare them, and if she told them Bobby was hurt, they’d insist on coming. “Mom-well, she says she can handle being here with you. But I need you guys to be good, okay? And make sure the other kids are good, too.”
Max nodded solemnly while G looked over at Mary Ellen. “She’s going to stay out here?” He asked.
“I don’t know, bud. If she does, just help her out, okay? And if she doesn’t…well, take care of the other kids, okay? Dad’ll be home soon.”
They drove the hospital in silence, both worried about leaving the little kids essentially aloe. Max was thirteen; he was still just a little boy. She hadn't really thought about that part in her haste to go with Kurt. But at least Roy would be home in an hour and a half.
When they pulled into the parking lot, Kurt turned to his sister. “Look,” he told her. “Bobby looks pretty bad. But don’t freak out, alright? He’s going to be fine.”
“Going to be fine.” Louisa echoed. “Meaning he’s not fine now.”
“Of course he’s not fine now.” Kurt looked at her like she was crazy. “Louisa, James Kent beat him with a tire iron.”
Louisa trembled a little, but she was a strong girl. She’d spent almost thirteen years of her life being the only sister. She could play in the dirt and wrestle around and she didn’t cry easily. She certainly wasn’t going to start now. She gave Kurt a brave nod and they got out of the car.
They had a little trouble with the admitting nurse-“No,” she told them, “He’s on a family-only basis right now”-but Jack came out and let them in, saying they were family. They nurse didn’t look very convinced, but she’d already learned that arguing with Jack just gave you a headache.
Bobby was awake, and even sitting up, propped up on pillows. He grinned big when he saw Kurt and Louisa. “Hey!” He shouted. It wasn’t much of a shout-not for Bobby, anyway-but it was the best he could do.
“Hey,” Kurt grinned back at him, moving forward to whack Bobby gently on the shoulder. It wasn’t a whack, really; it was a brush, but Bobby knew what he meant by it.
“Hi, Bobby.” Louisa sounded slightly pinched, because she was trying to sound cheerful and she wasn’t really a good actress. Bobby chuckled a little at her and spread his good arm out.
“See?” He asked. “I’m fine, ma’am.” He winked at her and she rolled her eyes, smiling now. Junior got up, giving Louisa a hug before settling shyly at Kurt’s side. Kurt slipped an arm around her and kept talking to Bobby.
“You know, everyone’s talking about you at school.” It was easier to be light hearted about it with Bobby right in front of his eyes.
“Oh boy, what else is new?” Bobby joked.
Jack frowned. “What’re they saying?”
“Just that Jimmy Kent’s daddy almost killed Bobby.”
Ennis made a noise between a growl and a snort. He muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “Bastard.”
Lureen spoke up for the first time. Kurt had been eyeing her curiously from the corner of his eye. Louisa hadn’t even noticed her. “But what are they saying? How do they feel about it?”
“Oh, you know, everyone’s real upset. They were all making fun of you yesterday, but today it’s just tragic.” Louisa said bitterly.
Bobby shrugged as best he could. “I don’t care.”
There was a knock on the door just then. Lureen was closest, so she opened it. The sheriff was standing there. He looked apologetic when he realized how many people were gathered around Bobby.
“Uh.” He started. “I, uh, need to talk to you, Jack. Ennis.”
Ennis tensed noticeably as he stood up and walked behind Jack out the door. The atmosphere in the room after they left was anxious, to say the least. The only reason the sheriff would want to talk to Jack and Ennis was if he had news about James Kent. They weren’t gone long.
“Well,” Jack sighed. “They picked up James Kent in Colorado. He’s in jail right now until the trial.”
“Oh.” Bobby said quietly, mulling this over. “And how…how good are the chances of him staying there?”
“Being found guilty? Pretty good, I’d say. He’s got a record for domestic violence, after all. And you and Junior will testify.”
Junior swallowed loudly. Kurt squeezed her tighter. “Testify?”
Ennis looked at her carefully. “You were a witness,” he reminded her. “If you don’t, he might get out of jail.”
“But you don’t have to.” Bobby spoke up. “Not if you don’t want to.”
Now everyone was staring at Junior. She bit her lip. Of course she wanted that evil shithead in jail. But she didn’t know if she could relive the whole thing. Watching it once had been bad enough.
“Maybe you don’t need to decide now.” Kurt said gently.
“Of course not.” Jack nodded, though he looked a little troubled.
“You’re going to?” Junior asked Bobby.
He hesitated. “Yeah. If it puts him away-then yeah.”
Junior locked eyes with Bobby. He told her silently that it was her choice and he wouldn’t hate her if she didn’t. But she looked at her feet and said, “I’ll do it.”
“You don’t have to decide now!” Bobby said.
“Well, I just did. If you can do it, I can do it.”
They shared another significant look. It was so strange, the way they could talk without speaking aloud. Junior had never experienced that before. She could understand her mother sometimes-could understand when Alma was too tired for Junior to bother her about getting new shoes or when she was mad-but it wasn’t the same thing.
“What about Jimmy?” Bobby asked then.
“What?” Jack’s eyes flitted to Ennis, and Junior saw them having their own silent conversation. Lureen narrowed her eyes at Jack. She wanted to know what was going on.
“Does Jimmy have to go to jail too? Because…well, I don’t think he should.”
“Bobby…” Ennis ran a hand through his hair. “James was alone when they picked him up.”
The room was completely silent as everyone processed this bit of information.
“But…but where was Jimmy, then?” Louisa asked in a small voice.
Jack licked his lips. “We don’t know. The police looked around, but…” He trailed off, glancing at Ennis again. There was more to the story, and it had to be bad if he didn’t want to tell them.
“But what?” Bobby demanded. “Tell me, Daddy.”
Jack sighed. “They asked Kent. He told ‘em…” Jack had to stop to take a deep breath, like he was going to be sick. Ennis laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed.
“He said,” Ennis picked up, voice simmering with anger, “that he left Jimmy at a truck stop along the way. He didn’t know where and he didn’t-he didn’t care.”
“Oh…” Louisa breathed softly, her eyes filling with tears. She had a very heightened maternal instinct for a girl her age, and she imagined one of her little brothers or Gretty left behind at a gas station, alone and afraid…
“Half a mind to drive to that jail in Colorado and beat the shit out of him myself.” Ennis muttered.
“More ‘an half.” Jack muttered back. Ennis grunted in agreement.
Bobby felt like he was going to cry. He’d never liked Jimmy Kent-had sworn more than once that he hated him, to be honest. But he would never wish that on anyone. He looked at Jack and Ennis, holding hands discreetly, and fervently thanked God or whoever it was up there that he’d been given to them.