Chapter Four!
Ronnie stared out the car window on the drive home. She was sitting in the backseat with Lucy as Annie was asking Simon about his day. Ronnie didn't want to turn around; she could feel Lucy staring at her, ready to ask about her outburst earlier at school. Ronnie was grateful Lucy wasn't asking her, with Annie and Simon in the car. Lucy always seemed to know to wait until they were alone to discuss serious matters; Ronnie respected that but didn't want to be asked all the same.
Annie pulled into their driveway and headed into the house with Simon following behind. Ronnie started to follow them too, but Lucy took her arm and held her back.
"So are you going to tell me what's going on?" Lucy asked as she raised her eyebrows. Ronnie casually shrugged.
"What are you talking about Lucy?" She asked, playing dumb. Lucy shook her head.
"I know you saw me when you screamed at Chad." She said. Ronnie was stuck; she had tried to get out of it, but Lucy was too smart.
"It wasn't a big deal Luce. It was just a fight. Friends fight sometimes." Ronnie said, hating that she was lying to her sister but not wanting to break a promise to Chad. Lucy crossed her arms, unsure.
"Ronnie," She said, disbelievingly.
"I'm going to do my homework in the backyard, in case Annie wonders." Ronnie walked away, wanting to avoid the subject as much as possible. Lucy watched, shaking her head. Something's up with her. It's always easy to tell with Ronnie. Lucy thought as she decided to let Ronnie be and trust that she would talk to someone if it ever became serious.
Mary came flying down the stairs an hour later, opening the refrigerator for a snack. She turned and saw Ruthie sitting at the table, doing her homework, still dressed in her school uniform.
"Hey Ruthie, how was your day?" Mary asked as she bit into an apple. Ruthie rolled her eyes with her usual attitude.
"Better than Ronnie's." She replied, getting ready to gossip. Mary puckered her brow.
"How would you know?" Mary asked suspiciously. Ruthie perked up, turning around in her chair.
"I heard Lucy talking to Simon." She said proudly.
"Ruthie! You shouldn't listen to other people's conversations." Mary said sternly.
"Why not, it's not like anyone tells me anything. How am I supposed to know what's going on unless I find my own way of figuring it out?" Ruthie said with her innocent eyes. Mary had to smile.
"Well, it's still wrong. So what's wrong with Ronnie?" Mary asked. Ruthie shrugged.
"I don't know. All I heard was Ronnie screamed in school today and then lied to Lucy. Lucy told Simon that Ronnie's not a very good liar." She said as-a-matter-of-factly.
"Well, there's nothing wrong with that." Mary said as she headed toward the back door. Ruthie got back to her homework as Mary went into the backyard. Ronnie's schoolbooks were spread out on the picnic table but Ronnie was by the basketball net, shooting hoops.
"Your lay-up is getting much better." Mary complimented. Ronnie turned, surprised. She hadn't known anybody had been watching her.
"Thanks. The coach says I need to work on it some more. I think she's just picking on me 'cause I'm the shortest one on the team." Ronnie tossed the ball and made a clean basket. Mary caught the ball and held on to it for a minute.
"So what happened at school today?" She asked after a moment's hesitation. Ronnie stopped and peered over at Mary with wide eyes.
"How did you know about that?" She asked quietly. Mary smiled a little.
"You should know by now that once Ruthie finds out about something, everybody finds out." She explained. Ronnie didn't laugh.
"Well, how did she find out?" She asked, her voice raising a bit.
"She was eavesdropping on Lucy and Simon."
"Great! So Lucy thinks she can just tell everyone about my life?" Ronnie yelled, surprising Mary, who dropped the ball. It rolled toward Ronnie, who picked it up and turned from Mary as she tried to hide the bitter tears forming in her eyes. She wasn't angry at Lucy, she was angry with herself. How could I make a promise like that? What kind of a friend am I? I can't break a promise to my best friend, but I don't want to see him in a situation like mine was. But maybe it's not as bad. Maybe it's not life and death, but how do I know? I could never forgive myself if…
"Ronnie? What's the matter?" Mary asked; she could hear Ronnie's sniffling. Ronnie wiped her misty eyes with the back of her sleeve.
"Nothing." Ronnie lied as she dropped the ball and walked over to the picnic table, sitting down to do her homework, hoping Mary would get the point and leave, but Mary didn't. She sat herself down right beside Ronnie, pulling her math textbook away from Ronnie.
"You know I'm not stupid Ronnie. I know there's something going on. You're not very good at hiding your emotions." Mary said. Ronnie just stared at Mary, wanting so desperately to tell her.
"I can't tell you Mary." She said almost in a whisper as her voice cracked. Mary puckered her brow, as she knew that something was seriously wrong. Ronnie had come a long way in dealing with her emotions in her time spent with the Camdens. She was very good at expressing her feelings by talking to the members of her family, so Mary knew it was serious when Ronnie admitted she could not talk about it.
"Ronnie, what's going on?" Mary asked, growing very serious. Ronnie's eyes remained locked on Mary's for a moment, as if considering sharing what was really going on, but she turned her face away.
"Are you in trouble?" Mary asked. Ronnie shook her head. She was silent for a moment before she turned to Mary.
"Mary, if somebody made you make a promise, but the secret they wanted you to keep was really important, and you should probably tell somebody, would you break a promise to help them?" She asked, as she began to nervously play with her hair.
"Does this have anything to do with Chad?" Mary asked.
"Would you break a promise to help somebody?" Ronnie asked again, ignoring Mary's question.
"It depends, I guess. If I thought, or knew they were in trouble in any way, yes, I would tell somebody that could help." Mary replied. Ronnie sighed and hung her head.
"Even if they might never talk to you again?" She asked.
"If it meant their safety, yeah." Mary replied. Ronnie grasped her head with her two hands, feeling torn. It was silent for a moment, before Mary spoke up again.
"If someone you know is in trouble, maybe you should talk to dad. He's good with that kind of thing." Mary was talking from experience. She stood up and walked back into the house, leaving Ronnie to try to make a decision about what to do next.