Chapter 4
"Sarai. Come on, Honey. It's time to get up." Cindy said as she gently shook Sarai's shoulder.
"Uumm." Sarai mumbled as she snuggled up under the covers and clutched her pillow.
"I take it you slept well last night?" Cindy asked.
Sarai opened her left eye but kept her right eye closed and looked up at Cindy.
"Um hmm." She said as she nodded her head yes and stretched her arms.
"Well, you have to get up. It's already 6:30 and you've got stuff to do today. You have to call the police and have one of them come and pick you up so you can go get your stuff. You've already got a call from school and they said the police have notified them of your situation and that you'll be staying here until further notice and they said you don't have to come back to school until you feel ready for it. They want to allow you some time to get through all of this mess. Your mom also called. She wants to meet you for lunch at Diane's Deli so she can talk to you." Cindy said. She then got up off of the bed and walked out of the room.
Sarai sat up. She could already hear Brenda and Brandon across the hall arguing over who was going to use the bathroom first.
"You used it first yesterday!" Brenda said.
"But you got to it first every day last week!" Brandon argued. "Now it's my turn!" Brandon then walked into the bathroom and closed and locked the door behind him.
"Uhh! Mom!" Brenda yelled.
Sarai smiled. It was the infamous "Who Gets to Use the Bathroom First" argument. She used to get in those arguments all the time with Matt when he was living at home. She remembered all of the stupid things they used to fight over. Her favorite memory was when she was 8 and 11 and they had an actual brawl in the living room over who was going to watch TV and what they were going to watch. Sarai, who'd always been the stronger of the two, actually won the fight but when they got caught neither one of them got to watch TV for the rest of the day. She thought it was such a stupid thing to fight over now, but she wished everything was as good now as it was then. Everyone was happy.
Sarai put her old clothes from the day before on in her room and then went downstairs to the kitchen.
"Good morning Sarai." Jim greeted her as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
"Good morning." Sarai answered, then sat down at the kitchen table.
"Hey Sarai." Brandon said as he walked through the kitchen. "You hungry?"
"Whaddaya got ?" Sarai asked.
Brandon walked over to the cabinet where the cereal was kept.
"For your fine dining pleasure today's specials are Lucky Charms, Cheerios, Rice Krispies, Frosted Flakes and Raisin Bran." He said as he read the cereal boxes to her.
Sarai smiled a little smile.
"Lucky Charms." She answered.
"Wait! Was that a smile?" Brandon asked. "Did I make you smile?"
"A little." Sarai answered. "Don't let it boost your ego, though. It's already big enough."
Brandon got out two bowls and opened the box.
"What ego?" He asked as he threw a clover marshmallow at her.
Sarai threw the marshmallow back. It landed in his hair.
"Alright, children, that's enough!" Cindy said as she walked into the kitchen. "I swear teenagers can sometimes be worse than children."
"So, Sarai. Brenda and I have agreed to pick up your homework for you so you won't fall behind. If you need help understanding how to do any of it, just ask." Brandon said as he set her bowl of cereal down in front of her and then took a seat across from her.
The phone started ringing.
"I'll get it." Jim said as he set his coffee down on the table. "Hello?" He spoke into the phone. "Oh yeah, hi. Yeah, she's right here. Just a minute." He told the person on the other line. "Sarai, it's for you." He said as he handed the phone to Sarai.
"Hello?" Sarai greeted the person on the other end of line.
"Hello. Is this Sarai Greenly?" The other person asked.
"Yes. I'm Sarai."
"Sarai, this is Robert Casaluce. I work for the City of Beverly Hills as an attorney for children or people who are low-income. How are you?"
"Honestly, I think I could be doing a little better." Sarai answered.
"I was referred to your case this morning." Robert said. I'd like to meet with you and Brandon Walsh to ask you some questions about your father this afternoon. I assume that you already know that your home at 504 West Beverly Court is being searched by investigators today for evidence that he may have sexually assaulted you."
"Yeah. They told me that was going to happen last night at the police station." Sarai answered.
"Sarai, I need to be honest with you." Robert said. "It appears that there could be a very good chance that your father may do some time in a state penitentiary if enough evidence is found. Therefore, you need to be prepared to go to trial. The same goes for Mr. Walsh, as he was a witness to this and he is a very crucial party in this case. This is why I need to speak to the both you this afternoon. Any particular time you'd like to meet?"
"Could you please hold on for just a minute?" Sarai asked. "Brandon, you don't have to work this afternoon, do you?" She asked.
"No." Brandon replied in between bites of cereal.
"Good. There's an attorney by they name of Robert Casaluce that wants to talk to us about my dad this afternoon. He needs some more information about him."
"Are you still there?" Sarai asked Robert.
"Yeah, I'm here." Robert replied.
"Is 4 o'clock a problem?" Sarai asked.
"No, 4 o'clock is fine." Robert said.
"OK. We're at 784 Wildwood Circle." Sarai said.
"784 Wildwood Circle?" Robert repeated.
"Yes." Sarai answered.
"Great. I'll see you at 4 PM." Robert said, then hung up the phone.
"What was that all about?" Brenda asked as she walked into the kitchen.
"That was Robert Casaluce. He's an attorney with the City of Beverly Hills. He represents children or low-income people." Sarai answered as she started eating her cereal. "He's coming over this afternoon to ask me and Brandon some questions about my dad."
"Ooh, good luck with that!" Brenda said as she poured herself a bowl of Frosted Flakes.
"He said there's a very good chance that my dad could do some time in prison if he's found guilty. Brandon, he wants you and me to be prepared to go to trial. You might need to testify, since you were a witness to what happened last night."
"If that's the case, I'm here for ya." Brandon said, flashing a smile at Sarai. "Whoa, Bren, we gotta go!" He said as he looked at his watch and then jumped up from his chair. Brenda finished her last spoonful of cereal and was right behind him.
"See you guys later." Brenda said as she followed Brandon out the backdoor to the car.
Jim then looked down at his watch.
"I should also hit the road." He said. He gave Cindy a quick kiss on the lips, picked up his briefcase and headed to the door.
"See you later, Sarai." He said as he waved at her.
"Bye, Honey." Cindy called out behind him.
"So, what do you do here all by yourself during the day?" Sarai asked Cindy as she helped her clear the dishes off of the table and load them into the dishwasher.
"Cleaning, reading, gardening, whatever." Cindy said. "I was thinking," she said as she turned and faced Sarai. "That after you go back home and get your stuff and meet your mom for lunch that you and I should go to the mall. Kinda "hang out" a little this afternoon."
"Really?" Sarai asked.
"Yeah. Whaddaya think?"
"It sounds great!" Sarai exclaimed. "I haven't been to any of the malls around here yet.
"OK. We'll go after you get back from lunch. Sarai, I'm so glad you decided to stay here." Cindy said as she hugged her. "You're a good kid."
"Thanks." Sarai replied. "It's been awhile since I've heard that."
Sarai called the police and had someone come to pick her up and take her back to her house so she could get her stuff. She managed to get all of her clothes, tapes and CDs, some books, her make up and her personal hygiene items from the bathroom. She'd taken it back to the Walsh's and was now waiting for her mother. She'd called her mom at work and they agreed to meet at The Peach Pit for lunch, which was where she now was.
Sarai sat at the counter and watched the door. She finally saw her mom come in.
"Hi, Mom. Over here." She waved.
Mrs. Greenly came over and took the seat next to her.
"What can I get you ladies?" The waiter asked.
"I'll have the Steak Fajitas with a Diet Pepsi." Mrs. Greenly said as she glanced at the menu.
"Just a Grilled Cheese and a Diet Pepsi for me, please." Sarai ordered.
"Nat, I have two Steak Fajitas and one Grilled Cheese!" The waiter called out to Nat, who was making the orders. He then hung up the order slip on a strip for Nat.
"So how are you?" Mrs. Greenly asked as she took a sip from her Diet Pepsi, which the waiter had just sat down in front of her.
"I'm OK." Sarai answered. "You?"
"I'm alright."
"Good." Sarai said. Her relationship with her mom wasn't the best, either.
"Are you happy now, Sarai?" Mrs. Greenly asked.
The waiter set their food down in front of them.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sarai asked as she took a drink from her pop.
"Well isn't this what you wanted? To get out of our house and family?"
"What!" Sarai asked. "I can't believe you! This was NEVER about me, you, dad and Matt! It's always been about ME and Dad! Mom, he molested and raped me! When I tried to tell you what was going on, you completely ignored me. You were too busy selling your 300,000 homes and pretending to be the "all-around perfect mom" back in Minneapolis, when you weren't even close to it! You've always been so busy with your work that most of the time it didn't even feel like Matt and I even had a mom. Well I'm sorry, but we're not in Minneapolis anymore and I still need a mom!"
"Well I'm sorry for trying to provide you with the best of everything!" Mrs. Greenly said.
"Oh please! That's a bunch of bull!" Sarai said as tears started trickling down her cheeks.
"Well you have June Cleaver now. Maybe she's the perfect mom for you."
"Yeah, well at least Mrs. Walsh cares enough to listen to her kids." Sarai said as she stood up. "Excuse me, but can I please get a box?" She asked the waiter. "I want to take this home. Here's the money to cover the cost of my food. Keep the rest as a tip." Sarai said as she threw a 10 bill down on the table, packed up her food and left.
"Thanks for buying me these outfits." Sarai said as she and Cindy walked into the house. "They're great."
"Yeah, well I thought you might like to look a little more "Beverly Hills" and a lot less "Minneapolis."" Cindy said as she hung her purse up in the hall closet. "So where did you go to school in Minneapolis?" She asked as she joined Sarai, who was sitting on the couch.
"I went to Edison High." Sarai replied.
"Brenda and Brandon went to Washburn High."
Sarai looked away from Cindy, then looked down at the floor. She was thinking of the confrontation she'd had with her mom earlier.
"Honey, are you alright?" Cindy asked Sarai, sounding concerned.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Sarai said, shifting her attention back to Cindy. "When I met my mom this afternoon, it didn't go well. She accused me of trying to break her and my dad up."
"Oh, Honey! I'm sorry." Cindy said.
"Don't be. I got a lot of stuff off my chest and I feel better now."
A door slammed in the kitchen. Brenda and Brandon walked into the living room.
"Hi guys." Brandon said. "What's up, Sarai?"
"How'd your meeting with your mom go?" Brenda asked as she took off her shoes.
"Let's just say that things were said and she'll probably never speak to me again." Sarai answered.
"So, Brandon, what exactly happened Sarai escaped? Robert asked. He, Brandon and Sarai were sitting in the living room.
"He returned with a handgun and threatened to kill me for coming to help Sarai. I tried to get him to put the gun down and then he pulled the trigger. I tried to move out of the way of the bullet, but it got me here in the arm." Brandon said as he showed Robert his arm.
"Interesting." Robert said as he studied Brandon's arm. "Sarai, you said earlier that you wanted to press charges. You need to know that enough evidence has been gathered so far to create a good case for you, and if you really want to win we should be prepared to put together the best case possible. Was Brandon the only one who witnessed what was happening to you, Sarai?"
"Yes." Sarai replied, sitting up on the couch.
"Then he'll need to be prepared to tell the judge just exactly what he saw and heard last night. He's very important to your case." Robert replied.
Brandon shook his head in agreement.
"Well I need to go now, but I'll start on your paperwork and get those papers served for you and we'll keep in contact." Robert said as he headed to the front door. Sarai and Brandon got up from the couch and walked over to the door and shook his hand.
"You kids try to stay out of trouble and call me if you need anything." He said as he opened the front door and left.
"We will." Sarai said. "Thank you."
"When did you decide you wanted to press charges?" Brandon asked Sarai.
"After I talked to Mom this afternoon. We got into an argument. But it's OK, though. I got a lot of stuff off of my chest."
Brenda walked into the living followed by Dylan.
"So?" She asked.
"I'm pressing charges." Sarai said as she turned to Brenda.
"Who's this?" Dylan asked.
"You know, I'm so glad you asked!" Brenda said. "Dylan, this is Sarai. Sarai, this is Dylan McKay, my boyfriend and Brandon's best friend. Sarai just moved here from Minneapolis."
"Another Minneapolis beauty. Hi, Sarai." Dylan said, smiling at her. "I hope you don't mind, but Brenda told me all about why you're here. She thinks you and I could become good friends."
"You told!" Sarai asked Brenda, mortified that one of her best friends would do that to her.
"It's OK." Dylan said, trying to calm her down. "Your secret's safe with me. I don't have the best relationship with my parents, either. My parents are divorced. My mom abandoned me when I was younger to go live in Hawaii and my dad is in jail."
"I'm sorry." Sarai said. Maybe this would be a new friend, someone she could actually talk to.
"C'mon, Bren. Let's go so they can talk." Brandon said as he put his arm around Brenda. The two of them walked upstairs.
"I'm sorry he did that to you, Sarai." Dylan said.
"You ever feel like your whole world is crashing down on you and no matter what you try to do to escape it you just can't?" Sarai asked, pacing the room.
"I know that feeling very well." Dylan replied. "You feel like the people who said they loved you have completely turned their backs on you, shut you out their lives and completely betrayed you."
"So you start to shut other people out of your life because you're afraid of being hurt again if you let anyone else get close to you." Sarai said.
Dylan nodded in understanding.
"I didn't have any other friends in Minneapolis. When I moved here, I didn't want any friends here, either. But I met Brandon on my first day at West Beverly, and despite the fact that I didn't want any friends, he kept insisting on talking to me. Frankly, it bugged the hell out of me." Sarai said.
Dylan let out a little laugh. "Yeah, he has a way of doing that, doesn't he?"
"Now I'm glad that he did that. I've actually become good friends with the Walshes and I actually feel more closer to them than I do my own family." Sarai said.
"You're with a good family, Sarai." Dylan said. "They've been like a family to me, too. And you'll be alright. From what Brenda's told me, it sounds like you have a lot of spunk."
"Thanks." Sarai replied. "I think you're pretty cool and I think we'll be great friends."
"Me too." Dylan said, smiling at Sarai.
