Chapter 17

 Skylee stood in front of the dark house, unsure of whether
or not she should go in or to go back.
“ Well, you’ve come this far, Skylee,” She muttered, her
voice barely audible over the gusty wind.  A stray tear
streaked her cheek, mingled with the rain, as she thought
about how many memories she had shared here and how it could
be done as quickly as it had begun.  She wiped at the tear
and looked at her watch.  3:46 am.  Walking up to the stoop,
she carefully took her key and unlocked the front door.  As
soon as she stepped inside, she regretted ever setting foot
on the plane to Seattle.  Taking a deep breathe, she quietly
walked upstairs and to her Mom’s bedroom, where the door was
open.  Peeking in, she was surprised to see the bed empty
and made.  Exhaling, she walked in and checked the bathroom. 
After looking through the house and confirmed it empty, she
took a seat on the couch and began wondering about where her
Mom could be...


					*****
				    Thursday (the next day)		
	“ Skylee?-”  Skylee jolted awake four hours later to
see elderly Mrs. Framptis peering curiously at her.  Blinded
by the sudden bright sunlight and one hell of a headache,
she sat up and rubbed her eyes.
“ Mrs. Framptis?”  
“ Yes, Dear.  What are you doing here?  I thought your
Mother said you were staying with your brother for awhile?”
“ Um, I was.  I mean, I am but I’m just visiting.  Speaking
of my mother, do you know where she is?”  
“ Why, yes.  She didn’t tell you?  She’s off on a business
trip in London for about three weeks.  That’s why I stopped
by.  I just fed the cat and watered the plants,”
“ London?”  Skylee moaned and closed her eyes again.
“ Are you Ok?” 
“ Yes, I’m fine.  Um, is Reese awake?” She asked, referring
to Mrs. Framptis’ grandson who was living with her.
“ You know how Reese is, dear.  He’s asleep and probably
will be until noon.  You’re free to go over and wake him,”
“ Ok, thanks.  I’m going to take a shower and I’ll be over
in a little while,”  Mrs.Framptis nodded and exited the
house while Skylee got on the phone and booked a flight to
New York for later that day.  She popped a couple of
aspirins in her mouth and went upstairs to take a shower.  A
half hour later, she took her bag and walked out of the
house and went next door to wake Reese up.  After Mrs.
Framptis opened the door, Skylee walked up the familiar
staircase to get to her childhood friend’s bedroom.  She
opened the door and for a second was unable to locate the
bed amidst all the junk in the room.  Reese was an artist
and had always believed that a messy surrounding was
inspiring...Or something like that.
“ Reese, get up,” Skylee tried, still gazing around the
room.  After another bout of attempts, he stirred enough so
his face was uncovered.
“ Reese Passons!  Get your ass out of bed right now!” Skylee
grumbled, pulling his blanket off and throwing it on the
floor.  
“ I’ll be up soon, Gramma,” He mumbled.  Skylee sighed and
went to the shades.  She let them snap up and Reese jumped
up when the bright sunlight shone directly in his eyes.
“ Shit!” He cursed.
“ Reese, up, now!”  He focused his bleary eyes on her.
“ Skylee?  What are you doing here?” He asked, just now
realizing who was in his room.
“ It’s about time!  I’ll explain later.  Put on some clothes
and let’s get breakfast,”
“ Sky, it’s like, what, six o’clock?  Can’t we eat later?” 
“ Look, Reese, I need your help.  I’m in a little bit of a
grind right now,”
“ Oh, great.  You ran away, right?”
“ Could we just get out of here, please?” 
“ OK, fine,”  He stood up and ducked into the bathroom with
a set of clothes.
“ Let’s go,” He said a few minutes later.  They walked out
of the house and into his car.
“ Where do you want to eat?” 
“ It doesn’t matter,” 
“ OK,” He pulled out of the driveway and nearly hit Mrs.
Framptis’ cat who was sitting at the edge. 
“ Christ!  Reese, can you not see?”  He put his hand on the
horn and the cat scampered away.  With a sheepish grin at
Skylee, he fully pulled out.
“ Sorry, I’m still a bit asleep,” He said.  
“ OK, so why are you here?” 
“ I came to visit my mom,” She replied.
“ And found out she was away and ya don’t know where to go
so you’ve decided you and I will embark on a crazy joy ride
and hold up every mini mart in the country and give all the
money to homeless people and various charity organizations?” 
She couldn’t help but smile.
“ Well, you got the ‘don’t know where to go part right,’ but
the rest sounds like fun.  I’ve booked a plane ticket to New
York to go to Harry’s,”
“ Well, sounds like you’ve got it all figured out then, Sky,
what’s the problem?”
“ I need a ride and I don’t wanna go all the way over there
alone,” She said, her turn to sound sheepish.
“ OK, so you want me to come to New York with you?”
“ Well.  Yeah,”
“ Skylee, it’s not as if I can just pack up and go any time
I feel like it,”
“ Reese, please?  And then you can come stay with us in the
tourbus for a little while so my brother doesn’t kill me. 
Kevin likes you,” She pleaded.
“ Ok, you see, I was planning on agreeing about New York but
the whole tour thing, I don’t think so,”
“ You’ll come to New York?” She squealed, throwing her arms
around his neck.
“ Whoa, I’m driving,” He chuckled.
“ What about the tour thing?  You don’t want me to come?”
“ I knew you’d never agree.  I just threw that in there,”
Skylee grinned triumphantly as they pulled into the parking
lot of a nearby coffee shop.
“ You win this time, Ms. Richardson,” He rolled his eyes
mockingly as he threw an arm around her waist...


					*****
	Meanwhile, Kevin was throwing a fit over Skylee’s
disappearance and his main target was AJ.  Since AJ made
that little comment earlier, Kevin saw him as the
influential medium for Skylee.
“ Influential what?  Kevin, listen, that girl does not need
anymore influence from anyone.  She knows what she wants and
she knows how to get it,” AJ snapped, sick of Kevin’s
badgering.
“ Kev, AJ doesn’t know anything about where Sky is.  She’ll
probably show up soon.  Maybe she got bored and went for a
walk or something,” Brian said, trying to distract Kev.
“ I still think you should call your Mom’s house,”
“ Did she tell you she was going there?”
“ I told you Kevin, She didn’t tell me anything other than
to stay the fuck out of her life,” AJ lit a cigarette and
stood up, looking for an excuse to leave.
“ Stay there, AJ,” Kevin said, picking up his phone.  He
dialed his Mom’s phone number and after getting the machine,
he dialed Mrs. Framptis’ house.
“ Mrs. Framptis?...Hi, it’s me, Kevin...Yes, good.  How are
you?...Yeah, I was wondering if you knew where my sister
would be by any chance?...Really?...With Reese?...Ok, could
you tell her to call me when you see her?...Ok, thank you. 
Bye,” Kevin looked slightly guilty when he glanced at AJ.
“ Was she there?”  AJ asked.
“ Yeah.  She’s out with Reese at the moment,” Kevin said to
AJ as if he knew or cared anymore who Reese was.  AJ stood
up and walked out, not expecting an apology from Kevin...







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