Judith opens her bedroom door and notices the orange light pouring out of her bathroom. She doesn't recall leaving it open or any lights on, so with a concentrated stare and cautious steps, she stalks the carpet around the end of her bed.
A skeletal, feminine body lay on its side between the tub and sink; its back facing her and its afro visibly damp. Judy stops on the threshold and places her right hand on the side of the frame.
"Hey, who are you," she asks the unconscious person, but her voice sounds warbled, tickling her throat, which she lifts her hands to caress. Her eyebrows push together and lower as her eyes dart from one tile to another.
"Judy?" Before she can turn to the sound of her younger brother's voice, she feels a swift tug at her navel. The motion sends chills rushing up and down her body as she staggers to her feet. "Oh, my God, Judy!"
She clenches her eyes shut as Stevie sprints toward the person— herself. When she reopens them, she watches Stevie standing over herself with his trembling hands over his quivering lips.
"Stevie," she softly calls for him, squeezing the side of the arch for support. He steps across her body, then kneels in front of her, and Judith takes a deep breath. "Stevie, I'm right here."
"No. No, no, no, please, Judy, don't be dead." Tears trickle off his lashes as he looks at her from her mess of hair to her bare feet. He hesitantly reaches his left hand toward her face, and as his thumb strokes her cheek, more tears fall.
"Stevie." Judith pushes herself off the door sill, ready to step closer, but she slams into an invisible barrier. It sends her to the floor, and as she grips her forehead, she glares around the space between her, her brother, and her body.
Stevie plunges forward and sinks his face into the crook of her neck, his shoulders thrashing back and forth. He wails into her flesh, leaving his sadness in his wake.
Judith directs her attention to her bare feet, and her hands grasp the floor before her. She pushes herself upright, and when she looks up, she gasps. Stevie's gone and where he once crouched is where Vera's standing.
***
Judith's eyes flutter open, greeted by the blurry image of Jerome and Kacey standing at the foot of her bed talking to her doctor; a dark-haired and hazel-eyed man with smooth mahogany skin.
"There has to be another way for her to get help," Jerome says, his deep voice soft and forlorn. "Believe me, I think an asylum would do her some good, but if she's running away at the mention of Red Cave, then don't you think there might be something wrong with that place?"
"I'm sorry, but there aren't any beds available in other nearby facilities." Kacey folds her arms and emits a weary sigh, her head hung. She's donning a long-sleeved striped shirt and coffee-brown gaucho pants. "I think we should be appreciative of the one she'll get now because I'm told it's the last one."
"I would think so. It seems like everyone and their mommas are going batshit lately," Kacey says after scoffing. Judith glances at the leather belt around her right wrist, and her eyes widen before darting onto her other forearm.
"Jerome?" The trio looks at her, and he exhales from relief when he sees that she's awake. He rushes to her side, and as he raises his hand to the top of her aching head, Kacey and the doctor look at each other. Her voice cracks as she says, "I'm so sorry. I should've listened to you."
"Could you give us a moment alone with her? I think I should explain – well, everything." Kacey sighs, and the doctor nods, his lips in a straight line while he watches Judith's eyes fill with tears as she stares at Jerome.
Kacey waits for him to leave the room, and when he shuts the door behind himself, she turns her body to them. Jerome caresses her coarse hair above her forehead with his meaty thumb.
"Hey, it's okay. Don't cry and don't apologize," he says, his voice warm and comforting. He bears a closed-mouth grin with his eyebrows creased, and she notices its disingenuity.
"Yeah, this isn't your fault. They're supposed to look after you, and there's no way you should've been able to just leave on a whim." Judith licks her lips, tucking her lower one between her teeth as she averts her attention to his chest. "I spoke to my Dad about this, and he says our lawyers could help you sue this place."
"No," she blurts out, her eyes wider. Kacey raises a brow and meets Jerome's equally confused gaze.
"No," Kacey repeats questioningly. She chuckles dryly, and it resembles a scoff. "Judy, you could've been hurt. I mean, Thank God you came back because who knows if they would've found you."
Kacey turns at her hips, then motions her left hand toward the door. When Judith looks at the hump near the end of her bed— her feet — Jerome glances at Kacey. She shrugs at him after facing the bed, then folds her arms as he averts his pitiful gaze to Judith.
"Judy," he pauses, and she shuts her eyes when he calls for her. He takes a deep breath, then asks, "Where'd you go last night? Eric came by my house and said he talked to you at Joyce's, but after he paid for his food, he left. Did you just – come back here?"
"I met up with David." Jerome's expression sinks, and Kacey darts her confused eyes from left to right before settling them on Judith. Jerome stands up straight, drawing his arm to his side.
"Who's David," she asks when he doesn't respond, and he scoffs at her question.
"Her ex-boyfriend. The piece of crap who was putting his hands on her." He looks at Kacey as he speaks, then follows her gaze to Judy. Her jaw is dropped, and her wide eyes are full of disbelief, but Judith refuses to look at either of them. "I'm done. When you get better, lose my number, and don't come by my mom's house."
"Okay, let's take a step back." She sits her hands on her hips as she speaks to Jerome, then she stares at Judy. "Jefferson, why the hell are you still giving that guy the time of day?"
"Because she doesn't have a shred of self-respect left," Jerome mumbles, and as he folds his arms, Kacey whips her head to him, practically melting the left side of his face with her red-hot glare. Judy narrows her eyes at him.
"Hey, I asked," she starts to respond, but Judy interrupts, her fingers twitching within the leather confines.
"So we talk on and off, and now you think you know everything there is about me, huh?" Kacey licks her lips before pulling them into a straight line, and Jerome raises an eyebrow.
"I know enough to know that you two are chaotic. He beats you, you excuse his behavior, then not long after, you're crying about him hurting you, and when I think I've fixed you, you go right back to him." Kacey nods, relating to his sentiment. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Hey! Okay, knock it off." Kacey lowers her arms before walking around the bed, approaching his left side. Judith curls her fingers to form fists which they don't notice. "She's suffered enough."
"Suffered enough? I don't think so at all. She got a free meal, a knife, and would've gotten a bike if she hadn't pushed me away." Jerome looks at the short-haired girl as he rants, then follows her focus to Judy.
Judith parts her lips, and with her eyes squinted from disbelief, she shakes her head. Her tone matches her expression when she asks, "You're really using all of that against me? Jerome, I didn't want a fucking bike, a knife, or anything from you, and if paying for my small ass salad was such a big deal, then I'll pay you back the measly two dollars and seventy-five cents I owe you."
"Don't do that because you know it's not about the money; It's the principle," he clarifies.
"I mean, I get it if three dollars is an issue; no one has money to blow like that – thanks to President Carter." They shoot Kacey a dark look, and she instantly purses her lips, turning her attention to the door.
"If you don't want anything from me, give me the knife back," he demands, his jaw stiffening and his teeth clenching with every two words.
"Oh, gladly! It's cheap, weak, and doesn't do shit for me when I need it. Oh, wait that sounds like someone I know." He blinks at her as Kacey veers her wide eyes to the scene. "Also, give me my painting back. I don't even know why I gave it to you, to begin with."
"Will do. It'll be in a garbage bag on your porch as soon as I get home," he forces a chuckle as he finishes speaking, suppressing bitterness.
"Okay, enough! You two are unbelievably childish and annoying." They don't break away from each other to look at her, so she continues, "Jerome, I need to talk to her, and I think it's best if you stepped out. Go get some air or something."
"If I step out of this room, I'm going home." He glances at her out of his peripheral and she emits a heavy sigh.
"Jerome." Kacey gives him a serious stare, tilting her head to add emphasis.
"No, let him go. Leaving is what he's so good at." Judith forces a closed-lip grin, but with her eyes larger than usual, she appears more unstable than she is.
"I'm done." He throws his hands up, surrendering himself to the realization that he's unable to coax her into seeing her actions the way he does. Jerome walks toward the door, but Kacey calls for him before he turns the knob.
"Wait." He stops with his fingers around the metal, peering over his shoulder at Kacey, whose eyes bare solace. "I drove, remember?"
Jerome glances at Judy, and she immediately lowers her gaze to the hump where her feet are. He mumbles, "Whatever. I'm gonna catch my breath in the lobby."
He continues out of the room, and when the door bangs after him, Kacey takes a deep breath in and out of her nose with her eyes shut. When she reopens them, she and Judith are looking at each other. Finally, she says, "Tell me why you went back to your ex."
I don't know.
"I don't know," she lies. Licking her lips with her head bowed, Kacey takes a moment to listen to her gut, and it's seeing through her facade.
"Judy, please be honest with me. I won't pass judgment." She places her right hand over the center of her chest. "And I know I can't because I've gone back to Rodney maybe three or four times. What's this guy got that's worth a few punches? 'Cause I've seen my fair share of snakes, and his can't be that big."
"His snake doesn't draw me in. It's the fact that he was there for me all these years." Judith shuts her eyes as her thoughts grow louder.
She remembers the poems he'd recite to her over the phone when she was in Red Cave, the songs he'd sing and play for her. His sweet voice kept happy tears reddening her face, dampening the microphone for the next person in line.
Kacey brings her lips together as a look of confusion draws across her face. She sits on the edge with her hand on her lap.
"When I was away at Red Cave, he called me almost every day. Sometimes he'd go three straight days of not talking to me, but because I didn't have anyone, it meant a lot to me to hear his voice. I mean, those walls — they have a way of making you go insane." Judith licks her lips, and as she takes a deep breath, lifting her chest, her mouth quivers. "After I got out – well, sometime after – my Dad's Mom died, and David went with me to the funeral. I wasn't close with her but seeing her in that big casket – I just – I couldn't be like her. That's when I started eating less and when I found out she died from heart failure, I took a bottle of Ipecac and drank a little."
"Jesus, I'm sorry, Judy," she mumbles. When Judith lowers her dark browns onto her hexagon glasses on the nearby stand, she follows her gaze.
Kacey leans in and pulls the rose gold thin frames away from the surface. She brings them up to Judy's face, tucking the temples over her ears and the bridge above her nose. Judy can see the pitiful expression on her peer's brown sugar face through the clear lenses.
"I'm fine. I guess I see that now — I mean, after hurting Vera the same way I hurt Stevie, I think I need help." Kacey nods as she flashes her a grin.
"And I'll help you get it. Away from Red Cave." Judith darts her eyes onto the clock above the door. Its arms aren't moving, it's silent, and to her, time stood still.
"I need to be there." She returns her gaze to her and when she notices her confusion, she says, "I dreamt of my brother and sister last night; the twins. When Stevie found me — I didn't think fully about how it affected him. He's usually stoic and I'm realizing it's because he doesn't wanna talk about it. Kacey, I scarred them. I can't imagine how Vera felt after seeing me, and I don't wanna die – not like this; not like Ja'liyah."
"Who's Ja'liyah?" Kacey furrows her eyebrows as she asks.
"She was my cousin," Judith answers, pausing to take a shaky breath. "She died maybe a week ago from the same problem as me, I think, but worse. I hurt thinking about her, and I just — I can't let that be me."
"Okay." Kacey inhales, straightening her posture while her palms slowly knead the top of her thighs. She exhales, then asks, "So how long do you think you should be there?"
I don't know, for the rest of my life?
"However long it takes me to get better. I found out last night I don't have smallpox – just a rash, so I should be okay." Kacey nods, veering her head to glance at the door. "Well, I may need dialysis, but other than that, Red Cave would be a perfect fit."
"Yeah," she agrees though her tone is melancholic. They lock eyes. "I guess if you wanna go, I'll support you. I suppose it'll be nice to have you there to look after Juniper."
And somehow Xavius and Stevie.
"It'll hopefully put Jenny's mind at ease. She should be there right now, too. I think it was three days ago when she was picked up by the sheriff." Judy knits her brows.
"Wait, what? Juniper's at the asylum already?" Kacey nods with her lips pursed, and Judith exhales, sinking into her pillow while blankly staring at Kacey's arm. "That means that Stevie's gone too."
"Yeah, the other rooms are cleared." Judy closes her eyes tight, taking in the given information. "Well, all but three, including yours. Didn't your mom tell you?
"She didn't tell me anything because she hadn't come by to see me." Kacey blinks once from surprise, and Judith exhales, shaking her head. "I don't know why I'm surprised; this isn't the first time she abandoned me when I went away. The first time I was locked in a hospital waiting to go to Red Cave, she never visited me. She never called me, wouldn't send me any clothes. It's like I was an orphan."
"But she wouldn't do that now – right?" She meets Kacey's eyes for a moment before directing hers toward the door. "Right? I mean, you're dealing with enough as it is."
"I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if she washed her hands of me." Kacey looks forward and stares at the wall, allowing her thoughts to pull her away from the conversation. "I would be worse off if that were the case; at least before I had David, now, I'm not talking to him, and Jerome hates me."
"Wait, why aren't you talking to David? I thought you went to see him last night," Kacey reminds her. Judith scoffs, her eyes shut during that swift reaction.
"He forced himself on me last night – in his car." Kacey jolts off the bed, then switches around to face her. Wrath and disgust taint her usually snarky face, and she takes a breath to begin speaking, but Judy interrupts, "Before you lecture me, I know. I'm gonna report him after all of this is done."
"No, we're doing it now, and I'm not arguing with you about it," she sternly tells her. As she walks to the door with her back turned to Judith, she adds, "He needs to go to jail, and I'm sure Jerome agrees."
Before Kacey twists the knob, Judy says, "Don't tell Jerome. I don't know how he'll react, and I don't want his sympathy."
"Judy," she begins, looking at her over her shoulder. "No one feels sorry for you. Well, maybe, apart from me. You knew how fucked up he was, but you went back to him and got hurt. I'm just glad you're coming to your senses now."
Silence falls upon the room, and after a moment of staring at each other, Kacey opens the door, and Judy shuts her eyes. The door slams behind her, and Judith stares at where she once stood.