Runaway Home: Chapter 6

Chapter 6

         Troy awoke and immediately realized he was still in a totally irritable mood, that his father was dead, and that the girl from under the bridge was still firmly embedded in his brain. He was going to have to find her. Or at least find out if she had gone through with her plan. But he had other things to take care of first.

         It was nearly 3 p.m., so Troy hurriedly dressed and went to find his mother. He found her dozing on the couch and tried not to disturb her, but mothers just seem to have radar when it comes to their children. She was lying on her back with her arm across her eyes and without moving she said,

         "I'm not asleep...you don't have to be so quiet."

         "Oh. Sorry. I didn't want to disturb you. You okay?"

         "Yes, but we do need to go down to the funeral home. I called your grandmother. She'll be here tomorrow. I tried to call your Uncle Joseph, but he must be at work. Grandma said she'd get a hold of him. I don't know if he'll come or not. He and your father hadn't spoken in years. Anyway, I hope you got a good nap."

         "I did, thank you. I'm ready to go whenever you are," he said from the kitchen. He heard her pick up the phone and call Mrs. McAllister as he made himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. As he got the jelly from the fridge, the sight of the untouched beer bottles made him sad and angry. He couldn't help but wonder what would happen now. Would they stay there? Would they move somewhere nicer? What about his mother? Would she really be okay? If he had to be honest, he'd say they were much better off. His father hadn't worked in years, but did draw a small disability check once a month. He usually drank that away though, so Troy figured it wouldn't be missed.

         Before he realized what he was doing, he began taking beer bottles out one by one, opening them and pouring them down the drain. His mother never had been a drinker and right now, he had no taste for alcohol. He wondered if he ever would again. He knew he never wanted to become his father.

         His mother came into the kitchen and standing beside him, put her hand lightly on his shoulder.

         "You don't have to do that right now," she said softly.

         "I know," he replied. "It just seemed like the thing to do."

         He dropped his head and for a moment, thought that finally the tears would come. But they didn't. Couldn't. He didn't know if they ever would.

         "Troy, I know you've had it rough and that I'm partly to blame. I should've taken you and run years ago, but I didn't. I'm sorry for that. But there's nothing I can do about it now. You're old enough to understand that now."

         She paused, and then went on to tell him;

         "You need to know something else too. I'm sure you're worried about me and how things will go now. I can see it in your eyes. I loved your father, but I have to admit that it's a relief now that he's gone. He had life insurance Troy. I worked very hard to keep it paid up."

         Troy lifted his head and looked at his mother in surprise.

         "Can I ask how much?"

         "$250,000. After the funeral expenses are taken care of and the bills paid off, half of it will be yours. You deserve it for all you've had to live with. It'll be roughly $100,000."

         Troy didn't know what to say. He would never have believed that his father would turn out to actually be able to help him in some way.

         "Troy, that's a lot of money for a 20 year old to be responsible for. Please promise me you'll be smart. You could at least get a decent vehicle, and possibly buy a house. Or you could go to school. You're starting your new job next week, right?"

         Troy nodded, still too dumbfounded to speak.

         "Promise me, Troy."

         "I promise Mom," Troy replied.

         Just then there was a knock at the door. Mrs. McAllister was there to take them to the funeral home. His mother kissed him on the cheek and went to get the door. Once at the funeral home, the decision was made to cremate his father. There would be very few people for a memorial service, so they decided to forgo that as well. His grandmother would most likely take the ashes home to Illinois with her. Troy's uncle wasn't even coming. William Maris had not been a well-liked man, but he had done it to himself with his own mean drunkenness.

         The next few days had passed in a blur. Riley and his girlfriend Emily came to visit serveral times, Riley finally feeling comfortable and safe enough to actually step foot inside the trailer. He had always liked Troy's mom. She was the kind of mom that treated every kid as her own.

         At one point, Riley and Troy had a few moments alone and Riley asked him what his plans were. Troy had told him of the insurance money.

         "Well, I guess my first move is to get my car running so I can start work. They pushed my start date back a week because of what happened. Then I guess I'll look for a new vehicle."

         "I might be able to get you a deal on a Lexus..." Riley offered.

         "Shoot... you know that ain't me. I'll probably look at trucks," Troy replied.

         Riley grinned broadly.

         "You gonna trade the Chevelle?"

         "Nope. I'm gonna keep her. I figure now she can be my project car. A little time and a few more bucks and she'll be show condition," Troy said, picturing the possibilities in his mind.

         Riley smoked his cigarette and looked at the ground, a pensive look on his face.

         "What?" Troy asked.

         "Nothin'," Riley replied.

         "Come on...I know you better than that. Spit it out boy."

         Riley hesitated and then said,

         "Ever find anything out about that girl?"

         Troy shook his head. He had thought about her a lot over the past few days, but hadn't had time to do anything about finding her.

         "It's still bugging you huh?" Riley said, noting the far-off look Troy's eyes had gotten when he'd brought the subject up. Troy stared at Riley for a moment. It was that direct stare again that Riley hated. Very intimidating.

         "Yep. Still buggin' me. I just haven't had time to do anything about it," Troy said.

         Riley said nothing. He felt kind of bad for having brought it up and was afraid he'd ruined Troy's mood. As it turned out though, it hadn't. Troy was quiet, but didn't seem to be in a foul mood. Emily had come into the room at that point, so it was not brought up again. Neither of them had spoken to anyone else about it.

         The rest of the week had passed quietly and Troy had begun his new job. His Chevelle had been fixed and was running great. He'd gone car shopping a couple of times and as he'd told Riley he would do, ended up buying a slightly used truck. It was a 1999 Ford F250, extended cab, 4x4, with all the extras. He had gone ahead and bought it on credit, planning to pay it off when he got the insurance money. He and his mother had decided to stay in the trailer for the time being, but it was staying much cleaner, brighter and cheerier these days. Troy spent more time at home and went out of his way to do nice things for his mother. She was still working at both of her jobs, but was planning on quitting when she got some things paid off.

         Troy realized just how depressing and oppressing it had been when his father had been alive. It was almost strange to be able to sit at the table and talk out loud without fear of disturbing his Father. He and his mother had some long, deep conversations lately and things were great between them. Troy was enjoying his new job, and new truck, and time moved on.

         He never forgot the girl under the bridge though, always keeping an eye out anytime he traveled I-480 or the Turnpike. For some reason, he felt he would see her again; sometime; somewhere.