Prelude
June 1993
Edge lake, WI.
"We better get back, son. The sun is going down soon."
"Just a little longer? Please, dad?"
"Ten more minutes."
The young boy, not quite ten, looked up at his dad. Hope was shining in his soulful brown eyes, well, what could be seen of them anyhow. His overgrown ashy brown hair was hanging in his face as usual.
"Five minutes, son." A soft smile crossed the man's face, and his hazy blue-grey eyes were warm as he regarded the boy.
Andrew Cooper had been begging his dad, Joey, to take him fishing for weeks now. His dad had been so busy at his bar, Joey's Place; he never had the time. Finally, Joey had managed to get the bar covered and a day off so that they could have a day at the lake, just the two of them.
They'd had such a great day. Andrew had caught nearly five fish and was through the moon with excitement. Five more minutes was everything to the excited boy as he got ready to cast again. He was getting good at it and had been enjoying showing off to his dad. His dad's mobile phone rang, then and broke up the moment.
Joey frowned, looking at the mobile for a moment before answering the call.
"Valerie, I told you not to call anymore."
Valerie? Andrew wondered who that could be. His mom's name was Emma. None of the ladies that worked with his dad at the bar have that name either.
"Lizzy! What's wrong, sweetheart?" Joey was standing and quickly gathering their things. Andrew took his cue and got up to help. Although he was upset about leaving, he was curious about who his dad was talking to.
"Come along, Andy." Joey motioned for him to follow and was nearly running to the car. Andrew hated that nickname. It sounded like a little kid's name, and he was not a little kid anymore. However, he could see that it wasn't the time to argue about it.
"It's okay, sweetie. It's going to be okay. I will be there real soon." Joey was still talking to someone when they got in. He hung up before he put the keys in and started the car.
Andrew silently buckled up and glanced at his dad. His jaw was set in a tense line, and his eyes looked upset. His knuckles were white because they gripped the steering wheel so hard.
"Dad, what's going on?" Andrew asked but didn't get an answer.
They drove down Main Street, and Andrew wondered if they were going to the bar. Maybe he missed that someone who worked there was named Valerie or Lizzy. They went right past the bar, though, and down an ally. There was a small block right after the alley that Andrew hadn't seen before. It had three houses on one side of a real beat-up old road and two on the other. The sidewalks were all full of cracks and stuff.
His dad parked in front of a shabby-looking house at the end of the corner. The white paint was peeling everywhere. One of the windows was broken and had a trash bag over it. The yard was littered with toys and overgrown. Who would his dad know that he would live in a house like this?
Andrew followed Joey to the door and noticed he didn't even knock. He just walked right into the house. They walked into a kitchen, and Andrew nearly gagged. It smelled so bad. Dishes were piled high in the sink, empty beer bottles were everywhere, and the garbage overflowed. Andrew plugged his nose as he followed his dad to the next room.
His eyes widened when they walked in. A woman was lying on the floor in the middle of the room on a shaggy brown carpet. Her face was ashen, and her eyes looked weird. She was mumbling things that Andrew didn't understand. Next to her sat a teary-eyed little girl with tangled dark brown hair and a red nose from crying.
"Joey!" Hope shined in the teary blue eyes of the little girl as they walked in. She was wearing a raggedy stained pink dress and holding an equally dirty teddy bear.
Joey gave her a sympathetic look; he patted her head, gently took her arm, and moved her further away from the woman. He then leaned down over the woman and rested his hand on her cheek.
"Oh, Val. What did you take, baby?" The quiet and whispery voice didn't sound like the dad he knew. Why was he calling this woman baby?
She mumbled something and then made a raspy noise. He lifted her slightly and patted her back to help her. She let out a horrible-sounding cough, like awful. It made Andrew shudder.
"Mommy," the little girl whimpered from behind him.
Is this woman dying? If she was, this little girl shouldn't be seeing it, Andrew frowned.
"How long ago did you take them?" Joey asked the lady, and she said something Andrew couldn't hear. Joey looked happy with her answer. Or less upset, anyhow.
"Andrew, bring Elizabeth into the kitchen. She doesn't need to see this."
Andrew quickly turned towards the scared and crying little girl. She was probably just a year or two younger than him. He felt bad for her. If it were his mom lying on the floor like this, he'd feel awful too. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the kitchen, but it smelled terrible. He nearly gagged again.
"Let's go outside." He noticed she was clinging to his hand. He didn't bother to take it away. He didn't mind it. Usually, he wouldn't touch any girl, but he'd make an exception for her today.
Once they got outside, he sat down on the stoop with her. She started sobbing again, and he didn't know what to do. Finally, he started rubbing her back like his mom sometimes does when he's upset.
"I don't want my mom to die!"
"She won't! She was talking. That's a good sign." Andrew told her in a calm voice; he was being careful to keep his worries in the back of his mind.
"It is?" She looked up at him with big blue eyes that looked like the ocean. Massive tears were rolling down her reddened cheeks.
"Sure, it is." He tried his best to assure her. For some reason, he didn't like seeing her cry.
"She got sick before and got better." She wiped at her cheeks as her sobs started to settle.
"My dad will help. Don't worry, Elizabeth or Lizzy?"
"Everyone says Lizzy, but it's a baby name." She grimaced, and her button nose wrinkled up when she did; it was kind of cute.
"Don't I get that," Andrew agreed. "I'm Andrew, and everyone always calls me Andy."
"Then I'll call you Drew," she decided with a funny little expression on her face. It made him laugh.
"Okay, then my name for you is Beth," he chose.
She smiled through her teary eyes. "I like it."
The door opened, and his dad came out with the lady. He was holding her in his arms like they do in the movies. Her head was leaning on him, but she looked passed out. The whole thing felt very wrong.
"I have to take her to the hospital," Joey told Andrew. "Elizabeth's aunt is coming to get her. You can go wait for me at the bar once she gets here."
"The hospital!" Elizabeth looked like she was about to start crying again. Just when he calmed her down too.
"Shh, it's going to be okay, Lizzy," Joey soothed her.
"I'm not Lizzy!" her lip trembled, and tears started to spill down her eyes.
"Her name is Beth now." Andrew felt the need to defend her, and his dad gave him a peculiar look.
"Okay, then, Beth," Joey spoke softly. "They just need to give her some medicine and get her back on her feet."
"Please, Joey. Help my mom," she whimpered.
"I always do."
He avoided Andrew's accusatory stare as he ducked off with her to his car. He wasted little time before speeding out of there. Andrew looked over at the girl next to him, and his heart ached for her. Her earlier happiness was gone now.
He put his arm around her and comforted her as best as he could; she rested her head on his shoulder.
"You heard my dad; she'll be okay," he promised. He knew he probably shouldn't, but he wanted her to feel better.
"I hope so," she whispered.
"Does he come over here a lot?" Andrew asked nervously; he wasn't sure if he wanted the answer.
"Yeah, Joey is the best. After my dad left, he helped us move here. He said I could call anytime if she got sick." She looked down at her dirty teddy bear.
"Yeah, the best," the words felt and sounded bitter, an emotion foreign to him until that day.
"Are you okay, Drew?" Beth looked up sharply, seemingly catching the anger in his tone.
"Sorry, Beth. I'm fine. Everything's fine."
He sighed, knowing it was anything but.
*The completed version of this story can be found on amazon, kindle ebook, Kindle unlimited, paperback and even Hardcover!!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BZWYSHXJ