Fic: Picking Up The Pieces (Mentalist Big Bang 2011) 2/6
Written for the mentalist_bb.
( One)
Two
She arrived home from college sometime after one. The house was empty, which made sense because her brothers were supposed to be in school. It felt good to be home, if only for a weekend. She thought about all the times she had listened to Willie Shubert to remember everything she missed back home. Now she longed to listen again, to fill the silence with music. The house hadn't been that silent for so long and despite being surrounded by college freshmen she would have quite happily gone back to campus; if only to escape the uncomfortable silence now awaiting her. She ran the faucet in the kitchen and waited for the water to go cold before filling a glass with water and drinking it. The last few years had been so hectic that she hadn’t had time to think let alone deal with any of the issues surrounding her father’s death. She’d grown so used to not thinking about it that being faced with the space needed, it left her shaking.
A bang and muttered voices travelled up the hallway. Lisbon froze, her eyebrows furrowed and she ran through the self-defence steps she had learned in her first week at college. It wasn't like they had much worth stealing, but with a career goal in law enforcement she wasn’t happy to let her house be burglarised. She slipped off her shoes and tiptoed along the corridor past the bedrooms until she stopped outside the offending door. Everything they had told her about making as much noise as possible to scare the person away disappeared as her instincts took over. If she allowed them to leave, she would never know who it was. They'd have a better case to take to the cops if she caught them red handed.
She rested her hand down slowly upon the door handle to Tommy's room and quickly pushed it open. The element of surprise; only the person (or should that be persons) on the other side weren’t the only ones in shock.
'Tommy?' she screamed, closing her eyes at the sight of him naked in his bed with a half-naked cheerleader. Trust him to bed a cheerleader in the middle of the school day. Lisbon let out a long, slow breath. The urge to slap him across the head and shout at him for being irresponsible far outweighed any other way of dealing with the situation; though she stopped herself. The last thing she wanted to do was make him angry and the adrenaline that had been building up inside her body was already working its way out of her system.
'What are you even doing here?' he asked, aghast as he tried to cover himself up. The young girl in his arms was already up and dressed before she made her excuses and left. 'Call me.'
'Whatever.'
The front door slammed closed before either of them moved. Lisbon’s eyes never faltered on her younger brother’s face until he sat up shaking his head.
'What the fuck was that?' he shouted, pointing towards the doorway.
'What was what?’ she held her arms out at her sides. ‘I didn't expect anyone to be home. I thought we had a break in.'
'It’s not a break in.'
'I can see that.' Lisbon gave him a quick once over, the sheet he’d pulled across his body barely covered his groin. She closed her eyes again; the last thing she wanted to see was any more of her brother than she had to.
'Can you fuck off now?' he shouted.
'Stop cursing at me Tommy, I was worried, wasn't my fault. Besides, what are you even doing with that girl? I thought you were dating Kaitlin.'
'Who says that's not Kaitlin?'
'Is it?'
'No, it's Cherie, or Carly; something beginning with a C, or maybe it was a K.'
Lisbon rolled her eyes. 'And she is?'
'None of your damn business.'
Tommy lay down and reached towards the end of his bed where he pulled a packet of cigarettes out of his pants pocket. Lisbon reached forwards and stole the cigarette from his mouth before he had a chance to light it.
'Not inside Tommy, your room already smells like a bar.'
'If you'd let me alone I could put some clothes on and smoke in the yard.'
'I can take a hint,' said Lisbon, holding her hands up in front of her before stepping backwards into the doorway.
'Apparently you can't.'
Lisbon folded her arms across her chest and stood firm on the spot. 'Hey, don't you talk back to me Thomas; I probably did you a favour. How well do you even know that girl?'
'Well enough.'
Lisbon raised an eyebrow. 'You safe?'
'What do you mean am I safe?'
'I mean, are you using condoms?'
'Argh, Reese.’ Tommy pulled the sheet up over his head and pulled it tight around his face. ‘This is like talking about sex with your mother. We were careful, now leave me alone.'
'Alright.' Lisbon reached for the doorknob as she walked out of the room pulling the door with her. 'Hurry up and get back to school.'
'Can’t, I'm sick.'
She pushed the door back open and stood with her hand poised on the knob. 'Too sick to do math but not sick enough that you can smoke a doobie and sleep with some girl you barely know?'
He removed the sheet from his face. 'I’m offended. Who says this ain't a real smoke?'
'Is it?' she said with a raised eyebrow.
'No.'
'We've gotta talk about this Tommy.’ Lisbon pointed at him. ‘You can't be throwing your life away with that stuff.'
'Like you never get offered it now you're in big shot college.'
'Just ‘cause someone offers it doesn't mean you say yes.'
'Quit the Saint Teresa act, I know you’re not as innocent as you make out.'
‘Believe what you will, now get dressed and get out of the house.’
Without another word Lisbon pulled the door closed and leant against the wall. Coming home was supposed to be a break from her studies and a chance to enjoy some time with her brothers, instead she’d returned to the exact place she was in six months ago. Just forty-six hours until she was headed back to college.
xxx
‘Where’s Tommy?’ asked Lisbon as she helped James clear the dinner table.
‘Probably in the shed,’ he said. ‘I’m going to Simone’s, don’t wait up.’
‘Wait, what’s he doing in the shed?’
‘No idea.’ He shrugged and slung his jacket over his shoulders before walking towards the door.
‘You’re supposed to know, you’re the grown up.’
‘Laters.’
Lisbon cursed under her breath and rolled her eyes. Why did everything have to return to normal with her return? She went home to spend some time with her brothers, not be their mother again. She emptied the sink and walked out into the frozen air outside. She didn’t bother knocking, just opened the door. The element of surprise was always the best way with Tommy, though like many times before, Lisbon was as surprised as him.
‘Pot? You’re growing pot plants in our shed?’
Tommy stared at her like a rabbit in the middle of the road faced with an oncoming car. Before he could react she grabbed him by the wrist and pulled his hands behind his back. She pushed him against the wall of the shed and held him there.
‘You’re gonna make a mighty fine cop someday,’ said Tommy, mocking in his tone.
‘Shut it.’ Lisbon pushed harder against his wrists. ‘Do you know how long you can go to jail for dealing?’
‘It’s just a bit of pot, no big deal.’
‘No big deal?’ Lisbon let go and took a step back. She rubbed her temples, great, a headache. ‘Say that again in a couple of months when the cops drag your ass to jail and you’re begging me to get you out. We don’t have that kind of money Tommy.’
‘You do, going to college, what are you paying them if we don’t have that kind of money?’
‘Ever heard of financial aid? No? That’s ‘cause you never go to school.’
‘Maybe I quit.’
He tried to push past her but she held up her arms and blocked the door. She wasn’t about the let him throw his life away, regardless of how many times he made mistakes. He stared her in the eye and she stared back.
‘Maybe I’ll march your ass into that school and re-enrol you. You’re not going through life without graduating high school,’ she said.
‘Who the fuck are you to tell me what to do?’ said Tommy.
Lisbon lifted her head up and glared at him. ‘I’m the adult who’ll make sure you get a good education even if I have to move back here and walk you to class myself. Think your little girlfriend would like that?’
‘She’s not my girlfriend.’
‘Funny that because if you’re not careful she’ll be the mother of your kid.’
‘I told you already, we were safe.’
‘Destroy the plants.’
‘No.’
‘Thomas, if you don’t destroy those plants right now school won’t be the only place I’ll be marching your ass.’
‘Fine, alright, I’ll do it.’
He turned around and emptied the pot plant onto the floor before stamping on the leaves, twisting his foot into the ground. As Lisbon watched on, he pushed past her and ran towards the yard gate.
‘Where are you going?’
‘Out.’
‘Out where?’
‘Fuck off Lisbon, you’re not my mum and you’ve no right asking questions when you’re never even here.’
xxx
The hands of the clock ticked over the twelve when the front door opened. Lisbon turned off the television and listened for Tommy’s next movements. He was slow and his breath came out in loud, sharp stabs. Eventually the lounge door opened and he stumbled inside, his face covered in blood and his eyes already blackened from his misshapen nose.
‘God, Tommy,’ said Lisbon, rushing to his side and cupping his face.
‘I’m okay,’ he muttered.
‘No, you’re not.’ Lisbon lowered her hands and headed for the hallway. ‘I’m gonna call the cops.’
‘No.’ Tommy reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her still until she lifted her hands in defeat.
‘You’re bleeding Tommy,’ she said, reaching out to his face again. He winced as she poked and prodded the skin around his nose. ‘And that is definitely broken; someone needs to pay for this.’
‘You go to the cops and I’ll go down for dealing.’
‘I thought you hadn’t started yet?’
‘No.’ He lowered his gaze. ‘But I owe some people. They didn’t appreciate me destroying their plants.’
Lisbon folded her arms and glared at him. As smart as he was, he had equal amounts of stupidity for which she had no cause. Sometimes she blamed herself for not setting enough boundaries and leaving for college at the first opportunity. Other times she wondered if their dad’s alcoholism after their mum’s death was a bigger contributing factor.
‘And you want me to feel sorry for you for that?’
‘No police, alright?’
‘Alright.’ Lisbon unfolded her arms and eased her stern expression. ‘If you need a bit of money, I can get you some. I don’t have much.’
‘I don’t need you solving my problems for me Reese, go back to college and get your degree, leave the big boy jobs to Tommy.’
‘Fine. Just don’t get yourself arrested, go clean up and I’ll drive you to the hospital.’
( Three)
( Four)
( Five)
( Six)
( One)
Two
She arrived home from college sometime after one. The house was empty, which made sense because her brothers were supposed to be in school. It felt good to be home, if only for a weekend. She thought about all the times she had listened to Willie Shubert to remember everything she missed back home. Now she longed to listen again, to fill the silence with music. The house hadn't been that silent for so long and despite being surrounded by college freshmen she would have quite happily gone back to campus; if only to escape the uncomfortable silence now awaiting her. She ran the faucet in the kitchen and waited for the water to go cold before filling a glass with water and drinking it. The last few years had been so hectic that she hadn’t had time to think let alone deal with any of the issues surrounding her father’s death. She’d grown so used to not thinking about it that being faced with the space needed, it left her shaking.
A bang and muttered voices travelled up the hallway. Lisbon froze, her eyebrows furrowed and she ran through the self-defence steps she had learned in her first week at college. It wasn't like they had much worth stealing, but with a career goal in law enforcement she wasn’t happy to let her house be burglarised. She slipped off her shoes and tiptoed along the corridor past the bedrooms until she stopped outside the offending door. Everything they had told her about making as much noise as possible to scare the person away disappeared as her instincts took over. If she allowed them to leave, she would never know who it was. They'd have a better case to take to the cops if she caught them red handed.
She rested her hand down slowly upon the door handle to Tommy's room and quickly pushed it open. The element of surprise; only the person (or should that be persons) on the other side weren’t the only ones in shock.
'Tommy?' she screamed, closing her eyes at the sight of him naked in his bed with a half-naked cheerleader. Trust him to bed a cheerleader in the middle of the school day. Lisbon let out a long, slow breath. The urge to slap him across the head and shout at him for being irresponsible far outweighed any other way of dealing with the situation; though she stopped herself. The last thing she wanted to do was make him angry and the adrenaline that had been building up inside her body was already working its way out of her system.
'What are you even doing here?' he asked, aghast as he tried to cover himself up. The young girl in his arms was already up and dressed before she made her excuses and left. 'Call me.'
'Whatever.'
The front door slammed closed before either of them moved. Lisbon’s eyes never faltered on her younger brother’s face until he sat up shaking his head.
'What the fuck was that?' he shouted, pointing towards the doorway.
'What was what?’ she held her arms out at her sides. ‘I didn't expect anyone to be home. I thought we had a break in.'
'It’s not a break in.'
'I can see that.' Lisbon gave him a quick once over, the sheet he’d pulled across his body barely covered his groin. She closed her eyes again; the last thing she wanted to see was any more of her brother than she had to.
'Can you fuck off now?' he shouted.
'Stop cursing at me Tommy, I was worried, wasn't my fault. Besides, what are you even doing with that girl? I thought you were dating Kaitlin.'
'Who says that's not Kaitlin?'
'Is it?'
'No, it's Cherie, or Carly; something beginning with a C, or maybe it was a K.'
Lisbon rolled her eyes. 'And she is?'
'None of your damn business.'
Tommy lay down and reached towards the end of his bed where he pulled a packet of cigarettes out of his pants pocket. Lisbon reached forwards and stole the cigarette from his mouth before he had a chance to light it.
'Not inside Tommy, your room already smells like a bar.'
'If you'd let me alone I could put some clothes on and smoke in the yard.'
'I can take a hint,' said Lisbon, holding her hands up in front of her before stepping backwards into the doorway.
'Apparently you can't.'
Lisbon folded her arms across her chest and stood firm on the spot. 'Hey, don't you talk back to me Thomas; I probably did you a favour. How well do you even know that girl?'
'Well enough.'
Lisbon raised an eyebrow. 'You safe?'
'What do you mean am I safe?'
'I mean, are you using condoms?'
'Argh, Reese.’ Tommy pulled the sheet up over his head and pulled it tight around his face. ‘This is like talking about sex with your mother. We were careful, now leave me alone.'
'Alright.' Lisbon reached for the doorknob as she walked out of the room pulling the door with her. 'Hurry up and get back to school.'
'Can’t, I'm sick.'
She pushed the door back open and stood with her hand poised on the knob. 'Too sick to do math but not sick enough that you can smoke a doobie and sleep with some girl you barely know?'
He removed the sheet from his face. 'I’m offended. Who says this ain't a real smoke?'
'Is it?' she said with a raised eyebrow.
'No.'
'We've gotta talk about this Tommy.’ Lisbon pointed at him. ‘You can't be throwing your life away with that stuff.'
'Like you never get offered it now you're in big shot college.'
'Just ‘cause someone offers it doesn't mean you say yes.'
'Quit the Saint Teresa act, I know you’re not as innocent as you make out.'
‘Believe what you will, now get dressed and get out of the house.’
Without another word Lisbon pulled the door closed and leant against the wall. Coming home was supposed to be a break from her studies and a chance to enjoy some time with her brothers, instead she’d returned to the exact place she was in six months ago. Just forty-six hours until she was headed back to college.
xxx
‘Where’s Tommy?’ asked Lisbon as she helped James clear the dinner table.
‘Probably in the shed,’ he said. ‘I’m going to Simone’s, don’t wait up.’
‘Wait, what’s he doing in the shed?’
‘No idea.’ He shrugged and slung his jacket over his shoulders before walking towards the door.
‘You’re supposed to know, you’re the grown up.’
‘Laters.’
Lisbon cursed under her breath and rolled her eyes. Why did everything have to return to normal with her return? She went home to spend some time with her brothers, not be their mother again. She emptied the sink and walked out into the frozen air outside. She didn’t bother knocking, just opened the door. The element of surprise was always the best way with Tommy, though like many times before, Lisbon was as surprised as him.
‘Pot? You’re growing pot plants in our shed?’
Tommy stared at her like a rabbit in the middle of the road faced with an oncoming car. Before he could react she grabbed him by the wrist and pulled his hands behind his back. She pushed him against the wall of the shed and held him there.
‘You’re gonna make a mighty fine cop someday,’ said Tommy, mocking in his tone.
‘Shut it.’ Lisbon pushed harder against his wrists. ‘Do you know how long you can go to jail for dealing?’
‘It’s just a bit of pot, no big deal.’
‘No big deal?’ Lisbon let go and took a step back. She rubbed her temples, great, a headache. ‘Say that again in a couple of months when the cops drag your ass to jail and you’re begging me to get you out. We don’t have that kind of money Tommy.’
‘You do, going to college, what are you paying them if we don’t have that kind of money?’
‘Ever heard of financial aid? No? That’s ‘cause you never go to school.’
‘Maybe I quit.’
He tried to push past her but she held up her arms and blocked the door. She wasn’t about the let him throw his life away, regardless of how many times he made mistakes. He stared her in the eye and she stared back.
‘Maybe I’ll march your ass into that school and re-enrol you. You’re not going through life without graduating high school,’ she said.
‘Who the fuck are you to tell me what to do?’ said Tommy.
Lisbon lifted her head up and glared at him. ‘I’m the adult who’ll make sure you get a good education even if I have to move back here and walk you to class myself. Think your little girlfriend would like that?’
‘She’s not my girlfriend.’
‘Funny that because if you’re not careful she’ll be the mother of your kid.’
‘I told you already, we were safe.’
‘Destroy the plants.’
‘No.’
‘Thomas, if you don’t destroy those plants right now school won’t be the only place I’ll be marching your ass.’
‘Fine, alright, I’ll do it.’
He turned around and emptied the pot plant onto the floor before stamping on the leaves, twisting his foot into the ground. As Lisbon watched on, he pushed past her and ran towards the yard gate.
‘Where are you going?’
‘Out.’
‘Out where?’
‘Fuck off Lisbon, you’re not my mum and you’ve no right asking questions when you’re never even here.’
xxx
The hands of the clock ticked over the twelve when the front door opened. Lisbon turned off the television and listened for Tommy’s next movements. He was slow and his breath came out in loud, sharp stabs. Eventually the lounge door opened and he stumbled inside, his face covered in blood and his eyes already blackened from his misshapen nose.
‘God, Tommy,’ said Lisbon, rushing to his side and cupping his face.
‘I’m okay,’ he muttered.
‘No, you’re not.’ Lisbon lowered her hands and headed for the hallway. ‘I’m gonna call the cops.’
‘No.’ Tommy reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her still until she lifted her hands in defeat.
‘You’re bleeding Tommy,’ she said, reaching out to his face again. He winced as she poked and prodded the skin around his nose. ‘And that is definitely broken; someone needs to pay for this.’
‘You go to the cops and I’ll go down for dealing.’
‘I thought you hadn’t started yet?’
‘No.’ He lowered his gaze. ‘But I owe some people. They didn’t appreciate me destroying their plants.’
Lisbon folded her arms and glared at him. As smart as he was, he had equal amounts of stupidity for which she had no cause. Sometimes she blamed herself for not setting enough boundaries and leaving for college at the first opportunity. Other times she wondered if their dad’s alcoholism after their mum’s death was a bigger contributing factor.
‘And you want me to feel sorry for you for that?’
‘No police, alright?’
‘Alright.’ Lisbon unfolded her arms and eased her stern expression. ‘If you need a bit of money, I can get you some. I don’t have much.’
‘I don’t need you solving my problems for me Reese, go back to college and get your degree, leave the big boy jobs to Tommy.’
‘Fine. Just don’t get yourself arrested, go clean up and I’ll drive you to the hospital.’
( Three)
( Four)
( Five)
( Six)