Well, here is the next chapter. It is written by one of my friends because we thought it might be fun to start writing together. Hope you all enjoy it! Just letting you know, I will be writing the next chapter.
The next morning, Sharon and Rusty are startled out of their sleep by the doorbell. Neither of them had woken up that night to make their way to their beds, so their bodies are aching from the rather uncomfortable sleeping positions. The doorbell rings again. Rusty, being Rusty, offers to answer the door so Sharon has more time to regain some strength. When he opens the door, he sees a distressed young woman, eyes swollen and red, probably from crying a lot. It is Katie, Sharon's daughter, he recognizes her from the pictures in Sharon's bedroom.
She looks at Rusty, confused for a second about who he is and what he is doing here, and then rushes past him into the apartment looking for her mother, who has just gotten up from the couch and is now standing in the middle of the living room.
"Mom!" Katie exclaims as she drops her bags and rushes to give her a long embrace, almost knocking her mom over from the impact. She starts sobbing again against her mother's shoulder.
"Katie bug, what are you doing here?" Sharon asks, stunned from the unexpected arrival of her daughter.
"I took the first flight I could get. After we finished talking on the phone last night, I called my dance instructor and told him I had to leave town for a while. I just had to see you and be with you. You can't go through this all on your own."
Rusty, who was taken aback by the sudden appearance of Katie, feels a burst of anger and jealousy go through him. Sharon must see it because she quickly moves out of Katie's arms and says, "Oh Katie bug, I'm not alone. Rusty has been an incredible support for me over the past few weeks. Come come, I want to properly introduce you two."
After wiping Katie's tears off of her cheeks, Sharon takes her hand and leads her back to the couch while she motions Rusty to sit with them. All three are sitting down, Sharon and Katie on the couch and Rusty next to them on the armchair.
"Katie, honey, this is Rusty Beck, my foster son. Rusty, this is my beautiful and talented daughter Katherine, but we all call her Katie."
"It is so nice to finally meet you, Rusty. I have heard all about you," Katie says, now with a little smile on her face.
"Yeah, I have heard all about you too," Rusty says rather matter-of-factly. Then there is a short, awkward silence between them.
Sharon finally breaks the silence by saying, "Oh, I wish you two had met under better circumstances. I really wanted this to be a happy moment. Well, luckily today is Sunday and Lieutenant Provenza hasn't called me into the office yet, so let's go out and do something fun. But first we should get some breakfast, what do you think?"
"That sounds like a great idea, Mom. I am starving!"
"Are you sure you feel up to it, Sharon?" Rusty asks worriedly.
"Oh Rusty, I will be fine," Sharon reassures him, "Don't worry!" She smiles at him and then announces, "Alright everyone, get ready to go. Katie bug, you probably want to freshen up a bit and change. Come with me. The guest room belongs to Rusty now."
Katie is watching the interaction between her mother and Rusty. She sees the way she smiles at him. Suddenly she remembers all the times her mother has told her about Rusty, remembers how proud and happy she sounded every time. Now it is Katie's turn to feel a sudden burst of jealousy rising within her, but she tries not to let anyone see it. She can feel someone taking her hand, pulling her out of her deep thoughts. It is Sharon, gently pulling her towards the bedroom.
Thirty minutes later, everyone is ready to go. Rusty has been waiting in the living room for the past ten minutes, listening to the giggles and laughter coming from Sharon's bedroom. It bothered him and he didn't know why. He could feel the burst of jealousy rising up inside of him again, but he tried to suppress it.
They are driving to Sharon's favorite place in Pacific Palisades, a nice little restaurant called Café Vida, which has delicious and healthy food, just the way Sharon likes it. Rusty is having the 'Morning Wrap', Katie the 'Balance Breakfast Bowl', and Sharon the 'Egg White Veggie Scramble'. Throughout their breakfast, there is this awkward silence again Sharon had hoped to avoid.
Once they are finished with breakfast, they decide to go to the Westside Pavilion mall. Sharon needs some new clothes since she has lost a fair amount of weight since she started with chemotherapy, and she had promised Rusty a new computer game. Together, they are strolling through the mall for a while until they decide to break up. Sharon knows that Rusty is probably not too keen about shopping with two women and that he would rather spend some time in the Arcade.
"Alright, Rusty, here is $50 for the new video game I promised you and an extra $20 for the Arcade. We will meet again right here by the escalator in two hours. Sound good?"
"Yeah, thank you, Sharon! And I guess I know how to kill two hours in the Arcade," he says, smirking. Sharon is happy to finally see a smile on his face for the first time today.
"You got your phone with you, right? In case something unexpected happens?"
"I sure do," Rusty confirms. "But let's just hope nothing unexpected is going to happen."
Finally, a real smile on Rusty's face lifting Sharon's mood even more. Then they part into different directions.
One hour later, Rusty's phone is ringing. It is Sharon's number so he quickly picks up the phone. "Hey Sharon, is everything alright?"
"Rusty, hey, it's Katie. Mom isn't feeling all too well. She says she feels dizzy and nauseous so I am taking her home, but you should stay and enjoy your time at the Arcade."
"Ah no, it's okay, I can come home with you now. Where should I meet you? Same location we parted or do you need me to help you walk her to the car?"
"No no, we'll be fine, Rusty. I am fully able to take care of her myself. I insist that you stay and have a good time at the Arcade. Do you have enough money for the bus home?"
There it is again, that awkward silence. Rusty can feel another burst of anger and jealousy rise within him. He feels unwanted, although he is sure that this is not what Katie intended for him to feel. She surely means well.
"Rusty? Are you there?" Katie asks concerned.
He snaps out of his deep thoughts. "Oh sorry, uh, yeah, no worries, I am all covered. Are you sure you don't want me to come and help?"
"Positive! You have a good time and I will see you later at home. Bye!" She hangs up.
She means well, I am certain of it. I mean, she is Sharon's daughter after all. She raised her well. But I just can't shake this feeling and I don't know what it is. Anger? Jealousy? Worry? Fear?
Rusty's feelings are all over the place. He tries to focus on his game for a little longer but then gives up. It's no use. He is worried about Sharon. He feels unwanted by Katie. He is afraid he is suddenly not needed any more. Panic starts to spread through him. He feels like he is experiencing déjà-vu. This has happened to him before. He has to sit down, to calm himself down as he starts to feel tears welling up in his eyes.
At first there was just mom and me, boyfriends coming and going. No one we could really rely on to care for us, love us. I loved my mom, unconditionally. I cared for her, even though I was the child, but she was the one who was sick, she was the one who needed help. I missed a lot of school to stay home with her and make sure she was alright. And then this guy came along. Suddenly he was the man of the house, providing her with more drugs and alcohol; beating me every other day when I tried to hide the bottles and drugs from my mom to protect her. All those years that I loved her and took care of her, and as a thank you she abandoned me, left me behind in a zoo to please the guy she depended so much upon. What followed was months filled with the fear of whether I could survive on my own or not. I had to survive, even if it meant that I had to do all those horrible things. And during all of this, when I should have worried most about myself, who I worried about most, was my mom. Was she alright? Was she alive?
Then Sharon came into my life, and she took me into her home, into her life, and eventually into her heart. I didn't like her at first, which I clearly showed her, but she never once stopped caring for me. She became everything my mom should have been: the person who loves me, cares for me, supports me and keeps me safe! And in return, I love her, care for her, support her, and kept her safe when this maniac of a letter writer tried to shoot her. Sharon is nothing like my mom! I feel safe with her and I believe in her promise that she will never leave me alone again, that she loves me and always will.
So why am I feeling so agitated since Katie arrived? She is a nice person and maybe the sister I never had but secretly wanted. She was just being nice when she wanted me to have fun…
Rusty suddenly snaps out of his thoughts. Someone had bumped into him. It was two kids playing tag. He looks at his watch, eyes widening when he realizes that two hours had passed. It is time to take the bus back home, but all this thinking and remembering has made him hungry, so he decides to get some pizza first.
Two hours later, Rusty finally arrives back home. He is tired but decides to check in on Sharon before he goes to bed. He sees a light coming from under her bedroom door and hears Sharon and Katie talking. He gently knocks on the door.
"Come in!" Sharon calls from inside her bedroom and Rusty enters.
"Hi, I just got home and wanted to check on you before I am off to bed. Are you feeling any better?"
"Yes, thank you, Rusty," Sharon says, her voice still a little frail. "I am so sorry the day didn't go as planned. I really wanted to spend the day with the both of you together."
"Its okay mom, I am sure Rusty understands."
"Yeah, don't worry, Sharon! I'm glad you're feeling better," Rusty says as he walks out of the bedroom again. "Oh, uhm, your next appointment is tomorrow at 9am, isn't it?"
Just when Sharon wants to reply, Katie cuts in, "Yes it is, Rusty, but there is no need for you to miss any of your classes. I am here now, so I will go with her to the appointment. Good night!" She has a warm smile on her lips. Nevertheless, Rusty can't help but feel somewhat taken aback. He had always accompanied Sharon to her appointments over these last couple of weeks. He feels pushed away, again. He looks at Sharon, hoping she will tell him that he could still come along, not breaking the routine they had established.
"Rusty, Katie is right, as long as she is here she can take care of me and you can focus on your school. It will be good for you to take a little break from worrying," Sharon says with an assuring smile. "Good night, honey!"
"Yeah, maybe. I don't know! I will never stop worrying about you while you are sick though, because I love you. Good night!"
With that statement, Rusty leaves Sharon's bedroom and walks over to his own, getting ready for bed. Even though he is extremely tired, he can't sleep. He is tossing and turning for hours, trying to go to sleep.
Hope you all enjoyed it! Once again, reviews are appreciated!