Zeus's Fault

The room exposed from the elevator was more like a living room than a group home for children with parents either gone or deemed “inadequate”. It was as small as the lobby below, but it was crowded with a couch and bright rugs instead of suited men and women. Two people were laying on the furniture and floor, engrossed in a cartoon show on the television in the corner. Ms. McCrae took no notice and stepped out. She gestured for Lili to follow.

“This is the lounge,” she said. “You are permitted to spend any free time here, assuming you finish your homework and or whatever chores you are assigned.” Ms. McCrae pointed at a hallway going the opposite way they were headed. “Kitchen is down there. You are not allowed to use the oven or stove. Safety reasons, you know? There is always a bowl of fruit and yogurt if you need a snack. Let me show you your room.”

They passed three people in the small corridor leading to all the bedrooms. Most were kids about fifteen or sixteen, Lili’s age. She was struck by how many were in a situation like her’s. She shook her head violently, trying to rid herself of the idea. No. She wasn’t like them. She was different from these people. All those kids had no family, or if they did their family didn’t love them. She was nothing like them.

They were not like her.

***

“Here it is. I know this is probably not what you are used to, but hopefully you’ll be out of here and with family in no time.” Ms. McCrae stood aside to let Lili into a small, bare room. She stepped inside and surveyed the surroundings. The walls were white, not unlike her own bedroom, but they were void of any sort of posters or pictures that held substance. There were two beds, each identically ugly. Nothing else in the room. Not even a potted plant.

“We are not full at the moment, so you won’t have to share. Is there anything you’d like to ask, or should I leave you to get settled?”

Lili hoisted her backpack farther up her shoulders, unsure of what Ms. McCrae wanted her to say. She didn’t have anything to settle. She had about a million questions, but those were all for the police, the people that bring her parents and sister home.

“Um, I guess when can I get my stuff?” Lili asked lamely. “You know, from home.”

Ms. McCrae didn’t answer, so Lili stammered on.

“Like my clothes and toothbrush and stuff.”

The silence between them was deafening. Lili hugged herself and swayed side to side, trying to shake the awkward feeling. For a second, the social worker looked confused, or maybe it was just uncertainty.

“I’m sure you will be permitted to go get your things after we’ve moved you to a sufficient home. You do realize that this place is for temporary stays only? I can only keep you here for up to three days. After that, you have to move in with a relative or to a licensed home.”

Lili sat down hard on one of the beds. She’d barely thought about the fact of giving to live with someone else. It was a foreign idea, one that made very little sense to her muddled mind.

“But I don’t have other family.” She looked up at Ms. McCrae. “My parents always said that Kendall and I didn’t need anyone but them.”

Ms. McCrae pursed her lips then forced them into a well rehearsed smile.

“Well that’s okay sweetie. I’ll find someone, don’t worry. I’ll leave you to wander a bit, become more familiar with your surroundings. There are extra toothbrushes for new arrivals in the bathroom at the end of the hall. Just remember not to go downstairs.”

She left. The room felt empty, quiet without her. Somehow though, it was better. There was no longer a crushing presence. Lili stared out the window above the other bed. The rain had stopped, but there was still no sun. The day itself had gotten darker. Lili couldn’t wrap her mind around the 180 her life had done in a matter of just two hours. She closed her eyes. Calm began to wash over her when a buzz made her jump. It was her phone. An alert to check her favorite game. The idea sparked in her head, like a firework. Call. She had a phone. Call her parents. Lili grabbed for the device and dialled quickly with shaking fingers. She listened to it ring.

Mom, she thought to herself, pick up pick up. A minute ticked by, the rings growing steadily more disheartening. It ended with voicemail, which Lili clucked her tongue at and redialled her father’s number. He didn’t answer either. She pressed the phone to her chest, eyes wet.

“Breathe,” she whispered to herself. “Review and Relax.”

Review and Relax was something her dad always said. He was a bank’s event coordinator - always flying off somewhere across the Atlantic to organize some sort of meeting. Whenever he was stressed out at home from work, he’d sit in his desk chair and go over all the details he’d figured out so far. Then he would take a break and do something fun, like going for a walk with Lili, or out to dinner with her mother. Using her dad’s favorite stress technique made him feel closer.

Lili thought about what had happened that day. The morning was normal enough; up at five, out the door with running gear by five twenty and back at six thirty. She’d showered, combed her hair and shoved a bag of dry cereal in her backpack to eat on the bus. Thinking about it, it was a little strange she didn’t see Kendall that morning. Usually she was hogging the bathroom when Lili got home. It had been such a relief that morning though to be able to use it right away that Lili hadn’t spared a second thought about her sister’s absence. Lili squeezed her eyes shut tighter.

“Why did they leave, what happened,” she murmured to herself over and over. It was no use. She simply could not think of a reason for them to have gone missing. She opened her eyes and jumped at the sight in front of her.

Standing in the door jamb was a boy. He wasn’t saying anything, just staring at her with wide eyes. He leaned casually against the wood frame.

“Do you need something?” Lili asked, tone icy. Who was this kid, and who was he to be watching her?

“No,” the boy said. Lili looked him up and down, taking in his appearance.

He wasn’t very tall, maybe only an inch taller than her. His hair looked like someone had bleached it with an entire bottle of peroxide, and it lay in shaggy waves. His skin was pale, almost too pale for a living person it seemed and his mouth was open slightly, giving him the faintest look of innocence. The jeans and orange t-shirt he was wearing were both faded, the left pant leg ripped at the ankle and spattered with what looked like mud stains. Lili peered around him, then to the floor and finally back up at his face.

“Okay. How come you were watching me? You know it’s creepy.” She stood up and took off her backpack.

“I was listening. Wasn’t trying to be creepy. You’re new.” The boy took another step into the room, eyes following Lili’s every move.

“Listening, watching, whatever it is, it’s creepy to spy on people. So either ask me what you want to ask or leave me alone.” She wasn’t in the mood to play games. Talking to orphaned kids that had nothing in common with her didn’t seem like a very productive way to spend the rest of the afternoon. The boy grinned slyly and walked boldly up to the bed where her backpack was. He fingered at the zipper, like he was contemplating opening it. Lili crossed her arms.

“Stop it,” she said. He rolled his eyes but stopped touching her things.

“Fine,” he said. “You know, usually people like it when I grace them with a visit. I guess you will have to endure without my company. I hate being treated badly.”

Lili barely could contain a string of colorful, offensive words from leaping out of her mouth and attacking him. Who did this kid think he was? God’s gift to mankind? She jerked her chin towards the hallway pointedly. He seemed to get the hint and went to leave. Halfway out the door though he stopped and called over his shoulder, “I’ll save you a seat for dinner. A few other girls have fought over sitting next to me for the last few meals, but I’ll tell them the seat is for a new friend.”

He said friend like it was a privilege. Lili leaned against the wall to watch his retreating figure. She had a feeling that he was going to make her stay her even more unbearable. She wished she could go home to tell her mother about this seemingly haughty boy. They’d always had a few laughs over Lili’s more annoying classmates. She could have called Morris to tell him about the encounter, but that seemed less than important at the moment.

Bored with her room, Lili wandered down the hallway. Sounds from the television were still playing, but she had no interest in going to watch. She wasn’t ready to approach the other kids.

Now that she was really looking at the floor, Lili could see why it was only a temporary home rather than a long term place. It was tiny. She ran her hand across one of the walls as she walked. Once Lili reached the end of the corridor, she sank down against the wall and hugged her knees. She couldn’t stop thinking about how if her mom and dad came home safely, she would confess everything that happened last week. They had to know something was up with her - she’d barely said two words to them since.

“Mom,” she muttered into her knees. “Dad. I really am sorry. Please come home.”

She didn’t want to face the police’s idea of what happened. Lili could tell that they thought her parents had taken Kendall and left by themselves. After all, nothing else made sense. Who kidnapped two grown adults in their forties? Lili supposed it was possible. Maybe her mother and father had gone for a drive last night and gotten lost. She gripped her hands together tighter. What if they crashed? What if they were in a ditch somewhere, waiting for help? She shut her eyes shut so that salty tears wouldn’t drip down.

“I want you to come home. I miss you. I know you didn’t leave me. You wouldn’t do that.”

“I bet they would.”

Lili opened her eyes to look for the source of a new voice. It was that boy again, walking down the hallway and smiling that pompous grin.

“What do you want?” Her words came out harsher than intended. The kid sat down next to her.

“Nothing, honest. I wasn’t seeking you out. You’re sitting in front of my door. And by the way, in my experience, when someone’s parents just disappear, it’s usually because they left.”

Lili glanced up at the wall she was leaning on. It was indeed an oak door, closed and previously unnoticed.

“My mom and dad wouldn’t leave me. And neither would my sister. They love me.”

“If they left then they probably didn’t,” he said.
“Yes they do! What is your problem? Trying to make me feel bad because your parents don’t love you? I can see why - you’re an a*s!” Lili spat out at him and looked forward instead of at him, back rigid with anger. He laughed.

“Love isn’t my issue. Never really had parents you see.”

Lili felt her shoulders relax a little. She hadn’t been expecting that - although why else would he be in a group home? She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. His head was cast down, shaggy blonde hair falling across his face.

“It’s okay you know. I got real used to people asking me what happened with them. I dunno. Just kicked me out when I was a baby.” He blew out a great deal of air and leaned back, head bumping the door with a thump.

Lili chewed her lip and said, “is that why you act so annoying? You’re trying to come off as tough? That’s stupid.”

“That’s not what I’m doing, and it isn’t stupid! I was just telling you because you clearly wanted to know. I know how people, especially girls like you, think.”

“Girls like me? What’s that supposed to mean?” As the boy opened his mouth to answer, Lili shook her head and stood up. Gone was her feeling of pity. “Never mind actually. My parents won’t be very happy if they come back and find out I hit someone. You can get into your stupid room now.” She crossed her arms and began down the hallway. She could feel his accomplished smile burning into her back. Fury and loathing rose up hot in her cheeks. She’d never hated someone more.

“I didn’t get your name,” he hollered after her. “You know, so I can avoid and not piss you off again! It’s always good to know the name of a testy girl.” He sounded amused now.

“It’s Lilian. Stop talking to me!”

“Lilian? Lilian. Ah Jesus. Just my luck.”

Lili had had enough with this guy. She spun around her heel to find him standing up, rubbing the back of his neck with one pale hand. She stomped back to him, face warm with anger, irateness brimming.

“Why,” she practically shouted in his face. “Why is it just your luck? You approached me! You bothered me!”
“It’s just my luck, Lilian, because I’m supposed to be your guide.” He nodded up at the sky. “It’s all Zeus’s fault.”

Author's Note

How’s the dialogue? Let me know if it feels boring, predictable or passive. Thanks!