Chapter Twelve!
Chad Delano was outside of the Glen Oak Youth Home for Boys the next morning, throwing a baseball back and forth with another boy who lived there, Adam. Alice had brought Chad straight here after he was taken away from his father, and he had been adjusting as best he could, under the sudden circumstances. He had been told that in a few weeks, he would move in with a foster family, but Chad didn't know much about who they were. They were arranged to meet each other the following week, and in the meantime, Chad tried to make himself as much at home at the Youth Home as was possible. He did feel more safe, knowing he wouldn't get beat up for anything he did wrong. He had wanted so badly to call Ronnie, but he wasn't quite sure what he would say to her. Part of him wanted to thank her, but another part of him felt guilty for being that happy about being away from his father. He figured he would give it another couple of days. It couldn't hurt.
"Come on Chad, are you gonna play or what?" Adam called as he raised his glove in the air. Chad had been distracted, thinking about Ronnie.
"Sorry man, just thinking." Chad hurled the ball into Adam's ready hand, who caught it readily.
"Come on, you can do better than that." Adam threw the ball back and Chad shrugged with a hint of a smile. As he was about to chuck the ball back to Adam, one of the social workers walked outside, Jim. He was pretty cool, Chad thought, but noticed Jim looked serious about something.
"Chad, I need to talk to you. Can you come with me, please?" Jim motioned toward to the door. Chad hesitated, as he dropped the forgotten baseball on the ground, following Jim slowly. What if something had gone wrong? What if they were going to make him go back to his father? It had been hard adjusting to a new place, but he knew he didn't want to go back; not after being away for a few days. He must be so angry right now. The last thing I want is to be around him right now.
Chad followed Jim down to his office, and when the two of them entered, Chad recognized three figures. The first one was Alice, the social worker who took him to this place, and had tried to talk to him on the drive there, to reassure him that things were going to be okay. The second figure was Officer Matthews, the cop who had told his father that he was being charged with child abuse, Officer Matthews, and the third figure was easy to remember. It was Reverend Camden; Ronnie's adopted dad. Chad smiled when he saw Reverend Camden, hoping Ronnie might have come with him to visit, but he felt uneasy when he didn't see Ronnie. Something was going on, their faces said it all.
"Hi Chad." Eric said with a small hint of a smile.
"You're going to make me go back, aren't you?" Chad asked, skipping all the pleasantries; they weren't important. The same people who had taken him away from his father were all gathered in the same room again; that meant something had gone wrong.
"No Chad, but we do need your help. You might want to sit down." Chad reluctantly found the chair behind him and lowered himself in, feeling frightened. He didn't like the look on Eric's face, and Alice was fidgeting with her hands, and Officer Matthews wouldn't look up at anybody. Eric leaned forward.
"Listen Chad, I don't know if you're going to like what you hear, but we really need your help. Ronnie's gone. She's been…she's been kidnapped." Eric managed to say and he watched as Chad's eyes widened.
"What? Where is she? Who took her? What happened? Is she okay?" Chad's questions exploded out of him, demanding answers. The fear was overwhelming; his best friend was missing. He wanted answers.
"Listen Chad, this is going to be hard to hear. Your dad…your dad took her. He called us last night to tell us he had her." Eric explained, obviously distraught about his daughter missing. Chad's stomach dropped, and his heart leaped into his throat as he wondered if he heard right. His own father kidnapped his best friend.
"Why?" Was the only word Chad managed to let escape from his mouth, as he could feel his whole body shaking now.
"Well, we won't go into details Chad. You don't need to know everything, but listen, this is where we need your help. Your dad has told Eric that he'll let Ronnie come home if we hand you over to him. He wants you back, and that's when he'll hand Ronnie over." Officer Matthews explained.
"You just said you weren't going to let me go back to him!" Chad yelled out, furious about the whole situation. His best friend was in the hands of his father, who was a madman, and the only way she would get away from him was if he went back with his father. The whole thing seemed unfair. If he stayed at the Youth Home, he would be safe, but Ronnie wouldn't be. But if he went back to his father, Ronnie would be safe, and he wouldn't be.
"We're not, Chad, but listen; we're going to pretend like you are. It's the only way. We're going to have cops hiding out around the area and we're going to send you forward, to make it look like we're giving you back. Once we have a clear path, we're going to come out and arrest him. But we can't do it without you Chad. I promise you that with your help, both you and Ronnie will be safe." Officer Matthews managed a small smile as Chad looked over to Eric, who seemed as though he were desperately pleading with Chad to help him get his daughter back.
Chad sighed, he felt so scared, but knowing what he had to do. Ronnie had unknowingly risked her safety when she told Eric all about Chad's abuse at home; she had only been trying to help him, and now, his father had gone after her. Chad knew what his father was capable of; violence, for one thing, but he knew the way he looked at other girls, and especially the way he was looking at Ronnie only a few days ago. He had that same, familiar look on his face as the times he had brought strange women home. Chad knew what he had to do. Ronnie had done her best to help him, and now it was his turn.
"Okay. I'll help. I just want Ronnie to be safe." Chad said, as his voice shook slightly. He looked up and saw a smile from Eric, and he nodded his thanks.
Chad just hoped whatever they wanted him to do, that it would be enough to get Ronnie away from that monster.