Bab 2: Coming Home
Becky was in her 2000 Ford Contour on her way home after being gone for over five years, the drive was long and hot. She knew she should stop and rest a while but the thought of home was keeping her on the road. She told her mom on the phone that she would get there about supper time but when she got to her resting stop instead of resting for eight hours, she decided to drive on through the night. After what she had been through the past few months, and the last five years, she just wanted to go somewhere that felt like she belonged. She was almost there just 100 more miles and she would be home.
The radio seemed to play songs of home and love. She wondered if she would ever find love. She knew one thing that she would never trust her judgment when it comes to men again. When she left Oklahoma five years ago she thought she was in love. If that was love she never wanted to be in love again. She knew that with the many songs that played on the radio she still needed to find love. She still hoped that she would someday find someone to love and this time to love her back. With that thought she turned up the radio and started sing to pass the time and the miles.
With the passing of the last hour it seemed that the last few miles flew by quickly. She wondered how many things had changed. She hoped not much because she really wanted to go back and start her life all over again. If starting over was even possible. What was that old saying 'You can't go home' she hopes that was not true.
Becky pulled up outside to a little yellow house on Elm street. The yard was well kept; her father's pride and joy. She missed the birdbaths and the lawn gnomes. Her' farther worked hard to have the best place in the neighborhood.
Owning Henry's Hardware he was expected to have a great place. It did not feel like it had been five years since she had laid eyes on the place. The scene in her mind was as clear as if it were yesterday. She was 19 and yelling at her dad as she walked out the door...
'I am leaving and nothing you can say will stop me. I have to live my life, my way. I love Lance and we will be married.' Becky yelled as she took her bags to the car.
'Elizabeth Rebecca Jones if you walk out now you are no longer a daughter of mine. That Lance is nothing but a low life user and you will only get a broken heart if you leave here.' her father sounded like the world was coming to an end.
'Henry, you don't mean that. Becky, please stop and think about this', her mom pleaded with tears in her eyes.
'Bye mom, I'll call when we get settled' Becky kissed her mom on the cheek.
'Don't bother, we won't take the call, you are no longer a part of this family.' her dad then went in slamming the door.
With her mother crying Becky got into Lance's car and when they hit Vegas she became Mrs. Lance Highland.
Now here she is in fount of the house she grew up in and looking at the world in a different light. How she wished she would have listened to her mom and dad. If she had stayed would her life been different? Well she would not have meet Lonnie or even become a teacher.
No one was home when she walked in but everything looked as if she had stepped back in time. There were a few more pictures on the wall. There was Jason the day he married Sue. They look like a happy couple. She always like Sue and had hope that they would get married. She had hoped to be there but they had no money at that time. Looking back she did not think Lance would of let her come even if they had the money.
The next one was of Jason and his daughter. She wished she could have been there but Lance had said no to her visit at that time. It caused the only ER trip she had in LA. Lance had broken her arm because she said she did not need his permission to go home for a visit. She rubbed her arm and then continued looking at the photos.
There was Jenny in her cap and gown. Jenny with her mom and dad on her wedding day, she was beautiful. The young man must be her new brother-in-law. Jenny could always be found with the most handsome guys around. She had always been jealous of her sister. She always had a date with one boy or another.
She noticed that the picture of her and Lance on their wedding day was not there. She was relieved of that, but also it hurt a little. She had mailed it to her mom the day after they got married.
There was a few of a man and little girl that she did not recognize. She was mesmerized by his eyes. She wondered who he was and why his picture hung on the wall.
As she turned down the hall she found the graduation pictures and to her surprise she found the picture of her and Lonnie on the day they graduated from Collage. Her mom did frame it and it hung on the wall. Becky took it down to look at it closer. She started crying as she look and the picture; Lonnie was her best friend and would be the only thing she missed about LA. How would she get through life without her. Lonnie was her rock. She was the only one who knew the whole truth of the past 5 years.
She missed out on a lot of family time. She took her bags down the hall to what use to be her room. She wondered how much it had changed and to her surprise it looked just as she had left it with the exception of no clothes on the floor. Her mother had kept her room for her return. She picked up her Rag doll off the bed. Her Mom made her this when she was 10; she lifted the dress ERJ was in the heart; her mom's way of making it special. She put the doll down and walked over to her dressing table opened up the little box filled with beads. She was 14 when her dad and Jason made this. It was an ugly little thing but she missed it.
She walked around the room taking in all the things she left behind. There were still some cloths in the closet and dresser that she was sure would no longer fit. She would go through them and donate them to the church.
She ran her fingers over her books on her shelf. How great it felt to be home. She came to her copy of the Wizard of OZ; Dorothy was right there is no place like home.
Her life had been like another world starting with that first meeting of the young blond boy that makes her feel she is the most beautiful girl in the world. She tried to spend most of her time with him going over lines. He was a small time actor in the local theater. The first time I brought him home She thought her dad would explode. He wore torn jeans and long hair with an earring in his ear. After that, the fights got worse. Every time she would say she was seeing him.
She was ready for a new start and would not let anything or anyone stand in her way and she also knew she did not need a man in her life to make her complete.
"Well first thing first" she said to herself. She unpacked her bag leaving a fresh set of cloths to change into. She was hot from the long drive. She took a nice long shower and lay down on her bed.
She missed the little things. She took a deep breath. The smell of lavender was on the sheets. In LA she could never get her thing to smell like her mom did.
She was looking out the window at some birds playing in the birdbath when a voice startled her saying, "Your early, Mary said you would arrive here tonight."
Becky did not recognized the voice she looked around and there at her door was a tall man, about 6 foot 9, wavy dark brown hair, and when she looked into his gorgeous brown eyes she became lost, he was the one from the photos in the living room, it took her a moment to catch her breath before she said, "Who are you?"
He just wink and said "Name is Jake, I live across the hall. And as lovely as you look right now I think it would be better if you put some clothes on." She had not realized that she was lying there half dressed in just a tee-shirt and underwear. She grabbed for the blanket at the end of her bed. Jake closed the door and walked down the hall.
'She is better looking than her picture led me to believe.' Jake thought to himself. 'So that is the black sheep of the family. How am I going to live across the hall from something like that and be able to sleep too?'
All he could think about was her beautiful California tan and long gorgeous legs. Her golden brown hair looked like it had sunshine in it. She almost looks like she stepped out of a magazine. He would love to spend time touching that lovely body and getting to know every inch of it. He also was wondering if she tasted as sweet as she looked.
He hoped that Mary would get back soon. He had spent the last two days setting up his class room for when school starts next week. So he couldn't go back there. He was stuck. It was almost noon and he would normally wait for Mary to have lunch but he needed some food right now. He went to the kitchen to fix himself a sandwich. He had forgotten why he even went down the hall in the first place.
Who the hell was that, Becky was in a daze. Did he say he lived across the hall in Jason's room?
Things around here have changed. She wondered if she dare step out of her room and find out who this new family member was. She put on her shorts and stepped into the hall.
Her mom said one time that they were going to rent a room to a local school teacher. When I called and told her about what I had decided to become. She said I would like him and we could meet someday. I thought it was just her way of trying to get me to come home.
She paused at Jason door. She quietly opened it and looked in. This was no longer her brother's room. No bunk beds or posters of half naked women on the wall. No sweaty guy smell. Instead she took a deep breath; the smell was calming and erotic at the same time. It had a full size bed decorated in modern black and white. There was a desk and tall dresser on one wall. A few pictures hung on the wall. She closed the door and walked down the hall. She then opened her sister's door. Had it changed too? No it was the same but a little empty. Jenny must have taken most of her stuff with her.
As she came around the corner she could only see the back of him sitting at the table making a sandwich. How she would like to put her arms around those broad shoulders and run her fingers threw his hair. 'Stop it' she thought to herself 'get yourself under control' maybe she has been reading way too many romance novels. That did not change the fact that she wanted to taste his lips and feel his skin next to her skin.
She must have made a slight sound because he turned around and spoke to her. "Hungry, want something to eat?"
Lost in her own thought she did not hear him.
"Earth to Elizabeth, are you hungry."
The Sound of her name brought her to her senses. Hearing him say Elizabeth somehow made her mad. "Why did you call me that? No one calls me that except my father." She really did not understand why it upset her but it did.
"Sorry, that is what Henry and Mary call you." he said but was puzzled about the look on her face. What had he said wrong?
"My mom does not, she calls me Becky." fire seemed to blaze from her eyes. "Everyone calls me Becky."
This was strange when ever Mary would bring up Becky, Henry would just say she is dead and he did not want to talk about it. Still puzzled on what was going on, he continued "Don't know if I should tell you this but Henry said Becky died five years ago. It always upset him but then they never really talked about Elizabeth either. I assumed that is why you left because your sister died or something. Sorry I did not know you were the same person."
Who did he think he was? She gritted her teeth, "No, I am Becky and everyone in my family calls me that, but my Dad. I don't know who you think you are but no one thought I was dead."
"Sorry, all I know is that for the past two years Henry told me when ever your name came up that their Daughter Becky was dead. It's only been the last year that he started talking about his daughter Elizabeth as if you were different people."
The look on her face just dropped. Was she really dead in her father's eyes? "How could he tell anyone I was dead?" Just then she realized how much she really hurt her parents.
Just then Mary walked in with a hand full of grocery. "Elizabeth dear, your here early, I was not expecting you for a few more hours." She smiled and Jake took the bags from her and she went to hug her daughter. "How was the drive?"
Becky just sat their 'she did just call me Elizabeth'
"Are you okay dear? Is anything wrong?" her mom could always read her face.
"Apparently I have come back from the grave or least Elizabeth has, Becky still is dead."
Becky took a deep breath. "You never called me Elizabeth unless you were mad at me. What is going on?" Becky wanted to cry, run away, or just scream at the top of her lungs.
"Sorry dear, after you left your father would not let us even speak your name in the house. It was just the past year that he started talking about his Elizabeth and how she needed to come home now."
Jake could see the pain in her eyes and he wanted to wrap his arms around her. He wished he knew the whole story on this little black sheep.
Becky just sat there shocked and upset. "Why did he want me to come home if he hated me enough to kill me?" she asked in a quiet voice.
"Jake, could you go get the rest of the bags out of the car please, I need to talk to my daughter?" Mary said turning to Jake with a smile. He really wanted to hear the story but knew that it was really none of his business so he nodded his head and went out to the car leaving the two talks.
Mary turned to her daughter, "Honey, your farther loves you, and he does not hate you. What you don't understand is how much you hurt your father when you left. He was always upset when you called me and would not even let us say anything about you. It was not until about a year ago when a friend of yours called and said we needed to help you. She thought that Lance was going to kill you someday with all the beatings you were getting. She told us of your life with Lance and how you would get bruises all the time. She told us about your broken arm and how she thought the next time it might be your life."
"Your Dad hired a PI to follow you and Lance. He wanted to find out the whole story. When the PI came back he confirmed the abuse and said Lance had left you for another woman to live on the other side of the US. Your Dad then started to talk about you. His Elizabeth was the strong one that would not let anything happen to her and it was time for her to come home, but he knew it had to be on your terms. So he just waited hoping for you to call me. He knew that on my birthday you would call. That's why he answered the phone and told you to come home. He loves you very much. Dear please understand that the only thing he ever wanted was for you to be happy."
Becky listened to her mom, she understood the reasoning behind it, but it still hurt. She had hoped that she could just come home and everything would be the same, but she knew that nothing would ever be the same again. Tears formed in her eyes she thought no one would ever know of the abuse she went through. She should be mad at Lottie but could not.
She turned to her Mom, "I understand, I think, I am just tired from the long drive I did not stop in Colorado and rest I kept driving. Can I go lay down till dinner?"
"Sure, we are going to have meatloaf. I'll wake you up at 5, okay?" Her mom smiled at her as Jake walked in with the rest of the bags. He had missed everything. Though he noticed the look of hurt and sadness in her eyes was still there and he wished he could take it all away.
"Okay" Becky walk out of the dinning room and down the hall to her bed room. She must have been tired because she fell right to sleep with out another thought of her Dad or the new guy across the hall.
Becky slept what felt like a life time but it was only four hours. She had awakened and was watching the birds out her window. She remembered watching them when she was a child and wishing she had wings and could fly away. Funny after all these years that feeling never changes. She wished the very same thing right now. As she watched, one of the birds flew up to a tree; there came a knock on her door. The same voice she heard a few hours ago came through the door.
"Your Mom sent me to wake you. It's Time for dinner, you up?"
She somehow took comfort in his voice. "Yes, I'm up" she said sitting up in her bed.
"Can I come in?" He cracked open the door.
"Yes, it is safe this time," she laughed.
The door came all the way open and in stepped Jake. Once again he took her breath away. "I just wanted to see if you are all right."
"Yes, I am fine now, thank you. Can I ask you something?" she smiled at him.
"Shoot." 'There is nothing right now I would not do for you,' Jake thought to himself.
"Who are you?" Beth asked.
He laughed and she saw a twinkle in his eye. He sat down on the end of her twin bed. "Guess I really did not get a chance today to tell you who I am, I'm Jake Freeland. I teach 2nd grade at Wilson. I have lived here for two years now. I met Mary through the school. She offered me room and board. I am not married anymore been divorce for 3 years now. That one is a long story. I have a 6 year old daughter Kayla. I hope you can meet her soon." Then thinking to himself 'and I think you are breathtaking'
Becky got excited. "Oh I almost forgot you were a teacher; do you know of any opening at the school, I taught school in LA and would love to teach here, I know I have to get my license changed but that would take no time to do."
He smiled at her enthusiasm. It reminded him of the way he thought about teaching. His Ex had never understood his feeling. "As a matter of a fact there is one in the 3rd grade. Ms Williams just retired and they are still looking for a teacher to feel in her spot."
He smiled at her and touched her leg. As soon as his flesh touched hers there was an electrical intensity that went through his body but he did not want to remove his hand. In fact what he wanted to do is move up her leg to her body. The sound of her voice brought him back to earth.
"Do you know who I need to talk to?" she asked.
With his hand still on her leg and wanting to touch more and knowing he shouldn't he said, "Tomorrow I will take you down to meet Mr. Alexander the school Supernatant. He is a friend of mine and we will see what we could do."
Josh Alexander is his friend and the reason he came to teach in New Part, Oklahoma. Jake hoped that Josh would hire her so she would stay. He removed his hand, patting her leg once and continued, "We had better go eat before your mom comes looking for us." he said standing up and then walked out the door and down the hall.
When Becky came around the corner she spotted her Dad sitting in his recliner, watching TV. Her heart dropped again as she watched him. He had changed a lot. Hair was gray now. It looks good on him, made him look wiser. Though for some reason she felt ashamed to see him. How much did he really know of the past five years? And why did he kill my name if he loved me so much.
"There's my Elizabeth. You look good Honey." Here farther got up and hugged her. "Ready for some meatloaf, it sure smells good". With that he made his way to the table. Becky was right behind him to stunned to say much because she thought she might start crying if she did.
Dinner was just small talk taking as if she knew what had gone on here for the past few years. Mostly they talked about the Hardware store and some new paint that he had ordered that had not come in yet.
Jake talked of his classroom and how he was excited to get back to work after having the summer off. She sat there taking in all the conversation. Many nights she ate alone, it was nice to sit and eat with other.
After dinner her Mom and Dad went for their nightly walk and she was left alone with the brown eyed stranger.
"Want to go out in the yard and sit?" He asked. As he opened the door she followed him out. "So, if you don't mind me asking you a question, what is your story?" He asked sitting on the glider and patting the seat next him. She felt safe with him. She sat down and told him about the past few years in California.
She left out the part of the abuse. She did not want anyone to know about that. It was hard enough knowing that her parents knew about it.
It was easy talking to him. Maybe it was because he was a stranger but then she had always been a private person so she did not know why it was so easy to talk to him. They sit there for a long time. She told him about Lonnie and the kids she taught last year. He told her about his daughter and how he came to teach in this small town. Before they knew it was after one and they both said good night and headed to their rooms.
She was glad he did not ask about Lance and why she got divorced but was a little courteous why he got divorced because she could not understand why any women would let a guy like this walk away.
She laid there in bed. She could still smell his scent in the air. She was tired but could not sleep. She wondered what it would have felt like to curl up in bed with him. Her twin bed was feeling like a baby bed. In LA she had a king size bed and that always felt too big.
She decided to go and take a shower. So she got a towel out of the hall closet and opened that bathroom door. To her surprise there stood Jake naked from head to toe. He had just stepped out of the shower. She was stunned for a second then turning three shades of red she said "Sorry" and shut the door quickly. She ran back to her room. His body was as gorgeous and fit as she had imaged, her body was aching for him now. What had she done?
Status Power Mingguan
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