Girl in the Shadows (Shadows 2)

"Ain't anyone on my side anymore?" she moaned, and signed to Echo.

Echo went to her and hugged her.

Mrs. Westington looked at me. "Better tell Tyler about this. I guess it's more important than ever she go into that school now. I kept her under my wing as long as I could, but the feathers are getting too thin."

"Now you gain' to start that gloom and doom talk again?" Trevor asked.

She narrowed her eyes when she looked at him. "Are you going to stand there and tell me you haven't seen any sins that concern you. Trevor Washington?"

He glanced at me and she caught it. She was just as keen as ever. I thought happily.

"Go on, tell me what you've been doing. Burning candles, throwing salt? What are you doing to remedy this situation?" she demanded,

"None of your business." he told her, and she laughed.

The nurse entered. "The doctor wanted us to keep her visiting hours restricted for the first few days," she said.

"Days?" Mrs. Westington cried. "I'm not here for days."

"We have to go anyway," I said. "We have lots to do."

"You don't worry none," Trevor said.

"Oh, no. I'll just lay here hunky-dory. The cook puts glue in the mash potatoes and the meat they expect you to eat must first be beaten for hours on a rock."

"I'll bring you something," I said.

"She has to watch her salt intake," the nurse said. "That's very important right now."

"Sneak it in." Mrs. Westington said loud enough for the nurse to hear. She turned to Echo and told her to be a good girl while she was away and listen to both Trevor and me. They kissed good night. I put my arm around Echo and we all left the room. Trevor's face made me nervous. He looked so worried.

"She'll be all right," I said, trying to reassure myself as much as him.

"For now." he said. "But there comes a time when time ain't on your side no more. You start to hate clocks and calendars and the only birthdays you like are the birthdays other people have. My mama used to say you can dam up water, you can shut out the wind, and you could get out of the rain, but you can't hold back that minute hand. No. sir. Don't try. Just hang on and hope for the best.

"Now you got me doin' it." he said. laughing. "You got me talkie' doom and gloom."

He joked about it. but I was beginning to believe that was all I was capable of doing.

"Let's treat Echo to an ice cream," he suggested. "Get her mind off doom and gloom."

"Okay. but I'm not having any." I said firmly.

Later. when we drove up the driveway, we were surprised to see two other cars beside the ugly van in front of the house.

"What's this now?" Trevor wondered aloud.

When we stopped and got out, we could hear loud music coming from the house.

"I don't like the sound of this," Trevor said. "I'll go in with you two."

When we entered, we realized all the noise was coming from the living room. There were five other people there, all drinking and smoking. I recognized cocaine on the coffee table. A short, dark-haired woman was just about to snort it when we appeared. Rhona was sprawled on the sofa, her head against Skeeter. who had a bottle of whiskey in his hand. There was another young woman on the other side of him, her blouse open down to her navel and her breasts quite visible. She was smoking a joint. Two men, one with hair as long as Skeeter's. were sprawled on the floor. A rather heavy balding man was in Mrs. Westington's chair, his bare feet on the side of the coffee table. There were open beer bottles, glasses, pizza boxes with pieces still in them, and a container of melting ice cream that was leaking off the table and onto the floor. No one seemed to notice or care.

"Well, look who's here, everyone, the Lonely Ranger and her trusty companion. Trevor. Trevor's been here since the first gape was discovered," Rhona said. The fat balding man laughed, but the others just held their smiles.

Skeeter kept his eyes fixed on Trevor as if he was anxious to see exactly what he would do.

"These happen to be some of my old friends,'" Rhona added. "Maybe you remember Billy Roche and Gretta Lockheart, Trevor. They were often here.'"