Never Come Back

Chapter Fifty-eight

I woke up in the chair. The sun was down, the house quiet. I had fallen asleep without any lights on, and the whole place was dark. Only an ambient glow leaked through the windows from the streetlights.

I listened. I didn’t hear anything. I reached up and turned on the lamp next to me. My back and neck were stiff from the awkward sleeping position. I was hungry too.

I walked down the hallway, stopping at the door to Ronnie’s room. I saw no signs of light or life. The door remained ajar, just as I had left it. I gently pushed it open. Ronnie was still in bed, the covers pulled up to his chin. His chest rose and fell. He was worn out. I looked at the large digital clock by his bedside. It was almost seven. I’d slept for an hour and a half.

Wasn’t Beth supposed to be at the house?

I walked back out to the living room and found my phone. I sent her a text.

Hey. Are you going to be able to stop by? No big deal if you can’t.

I turned on some lights in the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. Nothing there. Mom was long gone, the house long empty. I needed to go to the store, and find out what Ronnie wanted. I’d deal with it when he woke up. I looked through the cabinets, which were pretty well stocked. I found a can of Dinty Moore Beef Stew. Mom usually cooked, but every once in a while she’d take the night off and serve us something like that. I could picture her in the kitchen, working the manual can opener, peeling back the lid, and dumping the contents into a pan. How fascinated Ronnie and I could be just watching her live her routine life.

I did the same thing Mom would have done. I heated the beef stew, then sat at the table spooning it into my mouth. It always tasted better when Mom made it. Even from a can. I checked the phone again. Still no sign of Beth. Maybe her plans had changed. Or maybe…

I tried not to let doubts cloud my mind. I knew Paul and the cops were being cautious. Too much crazy stuff had happened not to be. But I meant what I had told Paul. I wanted to do what Mom would have wanted. I wanted to try to be some kind of family.

The phone buzzed. A text from Beth: B there soon.

I cleaned up the kitchen, then walked down the hallway to Ronnie’s room again and went all the way inside. I gently touched his arm.

“Ronnie?” I whispered.

He opened his eyes. He looked at me for a moment as though he didn’t recognize me.

“Do you know where you are?” I asked.

“Home,” he said, his voice confident.

“That’s right. Do you want to get up? Beth is coming over. She wants to see you.”

He groaned and yawned. “I’m tired.”

“I know. Do you just want to stay in bed? I can tell her you’re resting.”

He groaned again. “I’ll get up. In a minute.”

“Whatever you want.”

I knew he’d get up soon enough. He wouldn’t want to miss seeing Beth. He wouldn’t want to be left out of anything. He hated that.

It wasn’t long before the doorbell rang.

“She’s here, Ronnie,” I called out as I went to the door and opened it.

There was Beth. Eyes red rimmed, her face streaked with tears. She’d been crying. She looked like hell.

“What is it, Beth?” I asked.

I stepped back and she came in past me.

And then Gordon Baxter emerged from the shadows, following her. He stepped right into the house and closed the door behind him.