When To Put Trust On The Line

Part 26

The next morning, I was up before my alarm went off, my eyes feeling puffy from lack of sleep. I had tossed and turned all hours of the night, Adele and Bobby on my mind. Adele's odd behaviour had been unexpected and sudden. Mostly worrying, especially after she admitted to taking a, or multiple pills - something I had believed she was done with. Then, there was Bobby and the fact that no one had a clue where he was. What terrified me the most was that, every time I thought of the little cabin Derrick had shown me, I'd think of Bobby. All night, images of Bobby being trapped in the room that supposedly held "dead fish" formulated in my head. I knew it had to be my anxious brain creating scenarios to scare me.

I tried to temporarily take everything out of my sleepy head, and instinctively got up to go check on Adele. I silently peeked into her room. Like I expected, she was still sleeping. Very peacefully in fact. I left her room and curiously went to check Mom and Dad's bedroom. Empty. Also like I had expected. I headed to the bathroom to prepare for school.

After getting ready, I went down to the kitchen and found a surprise. Mom was by the sink preparing something. "Mom?" I said. "You're still here?"

She lifted her head and looked at me. "Oh, hey sweetie." She went back to what she was doing – which, from what I could see, was cutting fruits. "Um, yeah. I called my job and told them I'd be in at ten."

I frowned and headed to the fridge. "Why?"

"Um, just so I could be with your sister for a little bit. Your dad will be coming home earlier from work also, just to keep an eye on her."

I grabbed a bottle of milkshake out of the fridge and gave Mom a concerned stare. "What's the matter? I saw you and Dad were up late last night."

Mom seemed surprised. "You were up?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I talked to Adele."

Mom stopped cutting the fruits. "Did she say anything?"

"About what?"

"Her whereabouts? Who she was with?"

"Um..." I licked my lips, recalling everything Adele had told me. "She went to see someone near her school. Some guy named Matt. Why? What did she tell you guys?"

Mom ignored my questions. "Is Matt like Jas? Is he into wild things like drugs and stuff?"

I stepped forward. "Mom, what's going on?"

"Your sister came home last night acting strange."

"I noticed she was," I admitted.

"What did her and Matt do all day?" Mom asked slowly.

I swallowed, knowing how serious this was. "Hung out, and... Addie mentioned taking a light pill."

The disappointment on Mom's face broke my heart. She let out a gentle sigh. "I had a feeling," she whispered.

I searched for something to say. "That situation with the gun really rattled her. I think that-"

Mom shook her head lightly and gave me a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry sweetie. You don't have to find excuses for your sister. Let me and your father figure it out." She glanced at the time on the oven. "You can't be late for school." She grabbed an apple and tossed it my way. I caught it. "I'm leaving a smoothie for Adele. Feel free to take some if you're hungry after school. You have money for lunch?" I stared at her and nodded, knowing I had fifteen dollars in my wallet. "Okay." She came over to me, her eyes gentle. "Please have a good day. I promise we'll sit down and talk about this issue all together as a family. Till the time comes, don't put too much stress on your shoulders." She reached over and squeezed one of my shoulders. I tried to give her a reassuring smile and let her kiss me on the cheek before heading out the front door. *