Chapter Nine

        “They’re taking me away!  They’re swarming around me!  Don’t let them take me to their home!  I don’t want to go!”  called a shriek that I easily identified.

        “Mom?  Mom!  What is it?  What’s wrong?”  I ran out of Mrs. Sylvia’s apartment and down the hall to my own, finding my mother crouching in the kitchen, clutching her head and screaming at the top of her lungs.

        I walked over to her and rubbed her back.  “Mom.  Mom.  What is it?  What’s wrong?”

        “The ants.  They’re going to take me to their home and roast me over a fire,” she explained, sobbing.

        Looking around the kitchen, I found the culprit for the terror.  The little black bug was scurrying around by the wast basket, and I took a Kleenex and squashed it.  “Look, Mom.  It’s gone.  The ant is gone.  It can’t take you to its home anymore.”

        Looking around the kitchen, I found the culprit of for the terror.  The little black bug was scurrying around by the waste basket, and I took a Kleenex and squashed it.  “Look, Mom.  It’s gone.  The ant is gone.  It can’t take you to its home anymore.”

        “So it’s safe?” she asked, her nose running.  I nodded and she looked more than relieved.  Almost relaxed.

        But then there was a knock on the door. “Mrs. Hyland, open up. It’s the paramedics.”

        I crossed the kitchen to the door and opened it. “We don’t need the paramedics.”

        “We were called. Miss Hyland, we’re taking your mother to the hospital for evaluation.” The doctor person looked serious and ill humored.

        Mrs. Sylvia came into my view then. “Just let him take your mother, Kathryn. It isn’t safe for her here.”

        “She’s perfectly safe. I take good care of her.”

        Mrs. Sylvia gave me a pained look. “It should be the other way around, Kathryn. She needs help, more help than a girl going into her sophomore year can give her.”

        I frowned, but I knew that I wasn’t going to win. I could have argued, yelled at the paramedics and demanding that they go away, but I didn’t. I just stood and watched as my mom argued and trashed and fought to stay home. Mrs. Sylvia was right. This was what was best for her.

        If only we could afford it.

        “Do you have anyone at home with you while your mom is at the hospital?” the paramedic asked before he left.

        “Yes, my dad. But he probably wants to be alone, so I’ll be staying at a friend’s house,” I replied. He nodded and drove away. I wasn’t invited to come with, but it didn’t matter. I lived three blocks away from the hospital anyway.

        Going back into the apartment building, I saw Mrs. Sylvia waiting for me. She had tears in her eyes as she explained, “I had to call them. Your mother has been a danger and a source of stress to you, and so is your father. It’s only a pity that he isn’t here or he would have been taken into custody. She needs help, your mother does. I did what was best for my neighbor.”

        I nodded but didn’t reply any further. Walking past her and into my apartment, I packed up my things and called Kayla.

        “What is it? Did something happen with that global warming guy?” was her first question.

        “We finished, but that’s not why I called. I need to stay at your place for a while. Something happened at home.”

        I heard her inhale sharply. “I’ll be right over.” She disconnected, and I walked down the stairs to the front door of the building and waited for her car to appear.

        When it did I threw my duffel bag in the back seat and prepared for the worst. But it didn’t come.

        “So I guess something bad happened and you don’t want to talk about it,” she guessed as she pulled away from the curb.

        “Yep.”

        “So we won’t talk about it. We’re just going to tell my parents that we want to hang out for the rest of the summer and your parents were kind enough to let us,” Kayla decided.

        I smiled weakly. “Thank you. You don’t have to do this.”

        Kayla laughed. “I do, though. You’re my best friend, and if you don’t want people to know about your home life, you don’t have to. I don’t even have to know. So you don’t have to answer any of my questions if you don’t want to.”

        I sighed. “I don’t, Kayla. I really don’t. You understand that, right?”

        “Of course.” I didn’t really understand where she was coming from, but I appreciated that she was doing this for me.

        Staying at her house was, despite all of its benefits, awkward. She knew I was hiding something from her. I didn’t know how she would react if I told her the truth. So I just stayed silent.

        Two nights after I got there I got a call on my cell phone. It was Henry. “Hello? Henry?”

        “Oh, Kathryn. I just heard about your mother. Why didn’t you tell me that your home life was that terrible?”

        I sighed. “It just wasn’t something I wanted to talk about.”

        “Yes, but I wouldn’t have called you to help me so often. You probably have to work to the bone doing all these things to help your parents out and pay medical bills-”

        I had to stop him. “We didn’t have to pay medical bills. She was never on any medications.”

        “Still, to get to the point, I wanted to know if you wanted me to adopt you.”

        Shocked, I asked, “What?”

        “Adopt you, Kathryn. I want to adopt you. A child shouldn’t be in a situation like that. It isn’t right. And seeing as we’ve gotten so close over the six months we’ve known each other, I thought that I should adopt you.”

        Shaking my head, I looked around the room to see if anyone was watching. No one was, so I replied, “Henry, I can’t let you do that. You’re old, you have bad arthritis, and you live in a nursing home.”

        “My daughter could take care of you-”

        “No, Henry. I’m doing fine by myself. So please, can we stop talking about this?” Despite my best efforts, I was close to tears.

        He sighed, causing static in the phone. “Oh, all right. Just know that the offer will always be up.”

        “Yes, sir. I have things that need to be done. I’m staying at a friend’s house. Call me again when the dates are set.”

        “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. I called them and they told us to record it, so come to Bennett Park again say the day before Labor Day at three and we can record it. Savvy?”

        I smiled at his choice of words. “Savvy. See you then.” Hanging up I saw Kayla standing at the door.

        “He offered to adopt you,” she said. I nodded. “And your mom is supposed to be on medicines?” Again, I nodded. “How much are you not telling me?”

        “A lot. But I’m not ready. Henry knows next to nothing, and the only stuff he does know is because he goes to the hospital a lot because of his arthritis. Please, please don’t ask. I promise I’ll tell you soon,” I pleaded, very close to tears.

        Seeing this, Kayla nodded and hugged me. “Oh, don’t cry, dear. It’s fine now. I won’t ask any more questions.” I nodded, silently crying and ruining her sweater with the non-waterproof eyeliner that I had borrowed from her. 

Author's Note

Not entirely sure if this is the best way to deal with the situation I put my characters in, but please enjoy!