Lonely Souls - Rebecca James Part One

Chapter Two

Heavy breathing.

                            Blinding light.

                                                   Deadly Silence.

     "Rebecca!" Eric yelled. My mother was on the phone talking frantically, obviously upset. Her skin had paled. She was scared. It wasn't often that that happened, so I sat up, and was concerned for her sake. Not entirely sure what had just transpired, I looked around, noting that Eric and Charles were also upset in some way or other.
     Eric helped me sit up properly, not that I felt I needed any help. Everyone was making such a fuss. While my mother was on the phone talking to my aunt probably, Charles was also on his phone talking to the hospital for an ambulance.
     "Wait, what? Why do we need an ambulance?" I asked and went to get up, but Eric kept me down. "Eric, I'm trying to get up."
     "You shouldn't, don't you know what just happened? You fainted. What day is it? What's your birthday? Do you know my name?"
     "Why no, Eric, I don't. Could you possibly tell me your name?" I said angrily, pushed him away, and got up. "It's Tuesday, and my birthday is December twelve. Anything else doctor?" I stood, and Eric sighed loudly.
     "Yeah, same Rebecca. She's okay."
     "Oh... okay, cancel the ambulance, we'll take her in ourselves," Charles said and looked at me.
     "Are you okay honey?" my mom asked, running up the stairs and gave me a hug about ten times tighter than she needed to.
     "Yes," I replied in a whisper. "Mother. Stop. You're choking me."
     "Oh, I'm so sorry!" she said quickly and let go but made sure that I was okay by looking into my face and holding my shoulders steady. "You're sure you're okay honey? How many fingers am I holding up?"
     "Two, because your thumb isn't a finger," I replied and walked past her down the stairs. Everyone looked dumbfounded. It wasn't that I was acting weird. It was the fact that I acted like nothing happened which threw everyone off. I didn't even know what happened, so how was I to help them answer something I had no answer for?
     "I suppose this is probably a bad time to ask this, but," Charles said and turned to my mom with a half smile. My eyes darted in their direction and watched Charles like a tiger ready to pounce. She looked mildly surprised by the change in topic. "I wanted to ask you both," he paused and looked at me, then back to her. "I wanted to ask if you would go to a party that's happening this weekend. It's the Gables' party just a city over and I can invite whoever I want. I figured you were both perfect candidates." My mood changed instantly, but it wasn't just that that got my attention.
     "The Gables' party? Anyone who is anyone goes to those parties! How did you get an invite?" I asked, trying to cover up my happiness with little success.
     "You'd be surprised young lady, you'd be surprised," Charles replied and Eric cleared his throat rather loudly, which Charles ignored when I looked at him. "So?"
     "Of course we'll go!" my mom said happily, knowing I would definitely say yes.
     "Right, so that gives you both almost two days to get new dresses and whatever else you think you'll need. Sound fair?"
     "Obviously," I said and opened the fridge, instantly attacking the fudge.
     My mom smiled, knowing that I was all for the parties, the glam, and the fame. The sooner I got into Hollywood and L.A. as any type of celebrity, the better- or so she thought. Honestly now I couldn't care less about any of that. Okay yeah, I liked the high-class parties, but they weren't mandatory. I wasn't even old enough to drink yet.
     Ever since I was little, I had always wanted to be famous and get a lot of attention. That was until my dad left. I kept up my play after he was gone, acting as though I was too little to realize what actually happened to my family. I knew. However, in my play of sorts, I became a famous teenager in my city. Contrary to popular belief, or what was seen of me thus far, I was interested in helping the elderly, fund raising for causes I believed in, etcetera. In my school I was the most athletic, hardest worker... most popular and talkative. I wasn't a bad person, not really.
     After going up to my room, which was after arguing with my mom and Charles about going to the hospital, Eric let in on me about the party.
     "Rebecca, don't you think it weird that Charles just suddenly asked you both to a party? Look at him, really look at him. I don't think he did it to be nice."
     I didn't reply, I just turned my laptop on and sat down in my chair. "Rebecca? Come on, listen to me."
     "Look, I don't know what's going on but if I declined and she accepted, I'd never know what happened. I mean, what if he wanted me to say no so he could propose to her and there was nothing I could do about it?"
     "Do you think that if he asks her in front of you it will make a difference? It's her choice after all, there's still nothing you can do if he does. You know that," Eric said, an annoyed look on his face. "Don't you think you're getting a little paranoid?" he asked. I stopped in the process of signing in on Messenger and turned to him.
     "I'm not paranoid, but that doesn't mean he won't," I replied and smiled. Eric rolled his eyes and walked behind my chair and put his arms around me as he rested his chin on the top of my head.
     "You know I love your stubborn nature, but I think maybe you should let it go this time, because it might not be so bad to have a guy around the house."
     "If I let him stay, be prepared to never see me again. I'll probably be shipped off to somewhere like California or Colorado, left for the animals, never to be seen by humanity again. Is that what you want?"
     "You sure have a wild imagination. Your mother wouldn't let that happen, she's not like that. Even if he is, she won't let him go through with something like that babe," Eric said and hugged me gently, kissing the top of my head. "I won't let that happen either."
     "You might have to," I whispered and clicked onto Miya's name which pulled up a conversation screen. "I need to come up with something to drive him away from here."
     "True, but don't you think you're going overboard, just a little?"
     "No, overboard is when I plan to kill him. The point of becoming psycho, is when I follow through with the plan, and believe me, I'm not that far off," I growled. I imagined Eric to be surprised, though I knew he shouldn't be. It was just like me to do this, but Karli usually had a helping hand in it. He probably guessed that a bit or a lot of Karli had seeped into my brain and was slowly making me crazy. Maybe that was true.
     "Well, I hope you can hold out a little longer," Eric said. "I don't think he'll kick you out of your own house."
     "We'll just have to see, then won't we?"
     "Eric, your father called, he said he needs you at home to help put the counter top on or something," my mom said from outside the door. My mother at least had manners in this house.
     "Um, alright," Eric said standing up and I looked at him. "See you later Rebecca," he said and kissed my cheek, then turned and walked to the door.
     "Oh, Eric," I said quickly as he opened the door and went to walk out. He turned with a raised eyebrow.
     "Yes?" he asked curiously, waiting for me to speak.
     "I... um... thank you," I said after a moment. "For everything."
     "You're welcome," he replied back and smiled. "See you soon."
     "Bye," I said, and he walked out. I waited for a moment and then almost ran to the door, looking down the stairs as he put his shoes on. He looked up as he stood and gave me a genuine smile, something he didn't do often. He opened the door and walked out, closing it softly behind him. I sighed and leaned against the door frame, waiting for the screaming to come in a few moments when Charles checked his bank account, but it never came and I slid down the wall still looking at the door in a daze.
     I'm not sure how long it took, but my mother came out of her room and saw me just sitting there staring at the door. "Rebecca, you shouldn't be sitting on the floor," she said, and I jumped. I turned to my mother and sighed. "C'mon, I'll make you a coffee."
     "Alright," I agreed and nodded. I got up, followed her downstairs and sat down at the island in the middle of the kitchen. "Are you going to have one too?" I asked and wondered where Charles was.
     She turned to me and smiled. "Yep. How strong do you want your coffee?" she asked after putting three tablespoons in it. She turned back to me with a wink. "Two more?" she asked with a devilish smile. I smiled and nodded, slightly tired even though it was only four in the afternoon. After putting the coffee on, my mom sat down beside me. "Look Rebecca, I know you don't like him, but you didn't like any of the others either. What am I supposed to do to make you happy? I don't want to stay single forever."
     "Remarry dad," I said quietly. "Please. I know you two aren't in love anymore, but please, do it for me? You can both have your own rooms. I'll take the guest room and Dad can have my room. Just don't marry Charles mom, I'd make you take back your last boyfriend if it means you won't marry him."
     "Becky, I can't do that. I love Charles now and I think he's the best to make this family work. Please like him Rebecca, he's really trying." Was there a strain to her voice, or was I imagining that?
     "No mom, I'm really trying. I want him gone. He gives me a really bad feeling when he's around. Like he wants to kill me."
     "Rebecca! He wouldn't do that!" Eileen said and shook her head. She got up and took out two coffee cups for us. Denial. "Don't even say that."
     "Mom, I think I did."
     "Don't say it again then."
     "Whatever, you just know I'm right and you're trying your best to ignore it."
     "It's not like that at all Rebecca, we're in love, and that's that. We're ending this discussion right now."
     "Whatever. Let him destroy you, just don't let him destroy us."
     "I'm warning you Rebecca James..."
     "Just remember that," I persisted. "Is the coffee ready?"
     "Yes," she said and turned to pour the steaming brew into both cups. After giving me one cup of coffee, she sat down with her own, still beside me. Once again, I was in my father's old chair. "Look, I know you don't think much of him. I'm sorry but I'm not going to listen to you this time. I've listened to you too many times already and can you see where it's gotten me? Nowhere."
     "I'm telling you he's trouble. I've never told you that about any of the others, have I?" I asked, already knowing the answer. "Where is he anyway? Thought he'd be staying tonight, like every other night this week."
     "He's not here. He went to his apartment for the night. We're only dating right now, he said he doesn't want to start staying over all the time."
     "Bull, he's stayed over the last two nights in a row."
     "Which is why he isn't here tonight. Besides, I thought we could have a good time together tonight," Eileen said with a small smile. "Sound okay?"
     "Yeah, definitely, it may be our last for a long time, so I'll embrace the chance."
     "Rebecca... stop being so negative."
     "Stop dating him."
     "No."
     "Ditto."
     "He's not going to be here tomorrow either, he has a business trip he has to go on for the day. We can take that time to go get dresses and just have a mother-daughter day, alright? I'm really sorry you don't like this idea, but I can't be without someone forever."
     "Whatever, I don't care," I said and drank my entire coffee at once, getting up and staring down at her for a moment. "Expect me to be miserable for the rest of my life. Blame yourself too, because it will be your own fault."