Hi, guys! This is it; the very last chapter.
I just want to thank everyone who reviewed, followed, favourited, and just plain read it! Your support means everything to me, and I'm so appreciative of all of you :)
A Cry in the Park
Chapter 16
Nineteen-year-old Louise lay on her bed, her laptop resting on her raised knees.
It was a Saturday night, and her parents were curled up on the sofa, watching the season premiere of "Winthorpe Manor," which so needed to die already. Bob had said he was just keeping Linda company, but Louise knew that he would soon be singing the theme tune just as loudly as his wife.
Gene, as per usual, was down at the Wharf Arts Centre, where he did part time temp work, hoping to get a foot in the door, and Tina was in Baltimore, studying creative writing and journalism at college. She actually had a job at the Baltimore Sun newspaper, and spent her free evenings working on her debut novel, hoping to get it published. Louise had to admit, she was impressed; Tina was getting paid to do what she loved.
Louise, still short at 5'3, and still so skinny, no matter what she ate (a trait inherited from her aunt Vanessa, according to Linda), smiled indulgently as her parents' enthusiastic, off-key singing permeated the small apartment. Soon, they would be doing what they thought was rapping and beat-boxing.
Just as she predicted, it came like clockwork, and Louise didn't cover her ears like she usually did. Instead, her smile grew a little bit wider. Sure, they were dorks, but she loved them anyway.
Physically, she hadn't changed much over the years. Her hair had grown to past her shoulders, and she'd replaced her childhood green dress with jeans and colourful T-shirts, leggings and casual button-up shirts. Even now, she couldn't find the time to care about her appearance. Occasionally, when she felt like shocking people, she would get dressed up, and wear some nice clothes, but it was very rare.
She only wore makeup on special occasions, and even then it was powder and mascara. Nothing fancy. She didn't need designer clothes and tonnes of makeup to impress people; she was impressive enough on her own.
Of course, at that moment, she was wearing her bunny ears. Four-year-old Louise had sworn to never take them off, but she was mature now, an adult. Admittedly, she had believed that she would wear them forever, and here she was, slowly weaning herself off them, with a pink beanie that was large enough to cover her ears made of the same material, which was what she had worn during her last year of school. It was getting easier, but she still wasn't ready to go completely bare-headed.
She hated to admit it, but people took her seriously when she didn't have her ears on. If wearing a beanie was what it took to get people to listen to her (brilliant) ideas, then so be it.
Last year, when Tina left, Louise had moved into her room; she loved the space, but it felt a bit weird. She still hadn't gotten used to not seeing it covered in horse posters, and Louise had painted over that awful pink as soon as she could. The walls were now a light green; it looked quite looked quite nice with her yellow furniture. It felt even more weird not having Tina there; it was her room; she should be in it.
Having no desire to watch the latest snore-inducing, contrived plot twist of "Winthorpe Manor," Louise absent-mindedly scrolled through Facebook. She knew it was for old people, and she rarely, if ever, posted, but it was one of the few social media accounts that her sister had. For some strange reason, Tina posted on Facebook the most, with Twitter a close second. Of course, Louise knew why; Facebook had a higher word count for posts. Tina was too eloquent (on the page) to write short, simple statuses.
Louise frowned slightly; first, Tina had abandoned her and Gene by moving up to Huxley High. Then, Gene had followed suite, leaving Louise alone. She'd spent her last couple of years at school feeling a bit lost. Not lonely, and she definitely didn't miss hanging out with them everyday, no sir. Well...
She'd never admit it out loud, but it had felt like a part of her was missing.
Now, Tina was away at college, and her new job, (Louise hadn't seen her since Christmas) and Gene was spending most of his free time at the stupid theatre.
Not that she cared. No. Not at all. All she was waiting for was her dad to officially hand her the keys to the restaurant, and she would turn that place into Seymour's Bay's most popular eatery.
Louise couldn't help but be proud of herself; she'd graduated from Huxley High with good grades, surprising pretty much every around her. She kind of wanted to go to college, but also, she didn't. One the one hand, what could college really teach her? She was taking over the restaurant, and had been learning the books for more than a year and a half now, so she was prepared.
On the other hand, maybe learning, actually learning some marketing skills could be good? Louise couldn't decide, and so she was on a sort of gap year, in which she unofficially officially ran the restaurant, getting a proper feel for it. It really was the best kind of work experience. She needed time to see if the cost of going to college was justifiable, especially as all of her compensation money was long gone. Hey, prosthetics were expensive; not to mention the fact she had to replace them as she grew. She knew that her parents had dipped into their savings more than once.
Louise was confident she could run the restaurant. She knew what she was doing; she cooked the food, she cleaned, she bussed tables, and washed dishes; she ordered food, wheedling her way into a small discount from the suppliers. She could run that place in her sleep, and she was able to handle the rushes, especially now that business had picked up. She felt confident that the restaurant would soon earn its' well deserved reputation as the best diner in Seymour's Bay, especially with her as the boss. Why, she might even make enough money to send her parents to one of the nice retirement homes.
A notification drew her from her thoughts; it was a comment on the official "Bob's Burgers" Facebook page, and she clicked on it. A user had left a comment on a picture of that morning's "Burger of the Day", the Billie Beans is Not My Guava burger (came with green beans and guava) that she had uploaded earlier.
"Tried this today; it was delicious! Hope they bring it back!" Quickly changing her profile to the page's owner, she liked and replied to the comment, before continuing to scroll through her timeline.
It was Louise who had decided to create their online presence; she'd made social media accounts for the restaurant on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and she posted every day, keeping their business on people's minds. It was a brilliant idea; more and more people had come than ever before.
A slight frown crossed her face as she spotted a post from the official Seymour's Bay Channel 6 News page. It was one of those annoying "on this day" posts, and she instantly recognised a certain photo of her nine-year-old self. Her mouth twisting, Louise clicked on the photo. She was never going to be allowed to forget this, was she?
'On this week in 2019, 9-year-old Louise Belcher was rescued from an abandoned water well, where she had been trapped for 5 days.' the caption read.
Before she knew what she was doing, she had clicked on the comments, and began to read them, if only to see, once again, how many people cried when she was saved.
A fond smile crossed her face as she read.
"Not ashamed to admit that I sobbed like a baby when they brought her up."
"I had a daughter the same age, and so I was watching this every day."
"I was only a kid when this happened! I remember watching her dad freak out."
"I remember thanking God when they got her out. It was a miracle that she survived for that long"
One particular comment caught her eye, a response to Maria Nolan's "the boy who pushed her in was sentenced to 5 years in prison, as well."and the comment that interested her was "5 years? Just for pushing someone down a well? That seems harsh?"
Louise was pleased to note that most of the reactions were angry ones, and she clicked on the replies.
"It's not just for pushing her down a well. It was because he'd been bullying her, he tried to hurt her. She was stuck in there for 5 days. She had so many injuries that she was in hospital for 2 months. When you realise all she went through, and the fact that he still tried to hurt her after she came home (her dad had to get a restraining order) then 5 years seems fair!" which was posted by a Gina Berfield.
She never knew what had become of Logan. He'd been released when he was 21, but that was all she knew.
The entire Bush family appeared to have disappeared. They had more than likely moved, but Louise preferred to imagine that that they had been run out of town. It just made sense; he was a dangerous, violent criminal, and she was a narcissistic enabler. Of course the good people of Seymour's Bay wouldn't want them around; they wouldn't want Logan terrorising their children every day. It really was better for everyone that they were gone.
The most embarrassing part about that was that she had gone through her life with people thinking that she was some sort of victim. Which she wasn't; she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Whether her restraining order still stood, she didn't know, but as long as he kept away from her, and didn't try to contact her in any way, then she really didn't care enough to find out.
Immediately eating her words, Louise was on Google, trying to find out. Hey, she was curious, that was all. She was allowed to be curious.
Soon enough, an article caught her eye, and she began to read.
"5 years after her dramatic rescue from an abandoned water well, Louise Belcher still walks with a slight limp.
The limp is the result of the badly broken ankle she sustained after being pushed into the 14-inch wide well.
Louise, now a vivacious 14-year-old 9th grader, gave a rare, brief interview, along with her parents, Bob and Linda.
"She's just a normal girl," said Bob. "You know, she likes puppies, and going to the movies, and stuff like that." Linda keeps scrapbooks of news clippings from their daughter's rescue, but they don't speak of the incident unless Louise brings it up.
"I don't need to speak about it," says Louise. "They know what happened." The ordeal seems to have affected the parents more than Louise, who grows bored when the rescue is brought up.
Linda, however, fights back tears as she recalls the moment she found out her then 9-year-old daughter was trapped in a well.
"It was the worst feeling ever," she reveals, tears in her eyes. "I was so scared."
The Belcher parents allowed Louise to make her own decisions on speaking to the press, and this will mark her fourth time speaking to reporters.
"We didn't want to force her," said Bob.
Louise, by no means shy, and very comfortable in front of the camera, doesn't see the point.
"People already know what happened, so there's no need to keep bringing it up," she shrugs. However, she agreed to this interview because, "it's been 5 years; sometimes, it doesn't seem real." She shrugs again, the ears of her pink bunny hat jolting.
It was that very hat that inadvertently caused her to end up in the well. In 2019, Louise was 9 years old when she first met Logan Bush, a 15 year old, who was in therapy for anger problems.
"Blah, blah, blah," Louise muttered to herself, skimming the article, looking for any clues.
After 114 hours, Louise emerged in the arms of a paramedic, dehydrated, bruised, and clinging to life.
She spent 2 months in hospital, recovering from blood poisoning, circulation problems, and kidney failure. Louise underwent multiple surgeries, including skin grafts and fasciotomies.
When their daughter had been discharged, Bob and Linda pressed charges against Logan. He was eventually sentenced to 5 years in prison for aggravated assault and battery, and was ordered to pay $10,000 compensation.
Louise is not worried about his release.
"He won't come near me." The restraining order Bob got to protect his daughter is still valid. Bob then revealed that he would continue to get it renewed whenever it runs out, stating that his child's safety comes first.
"I did what I had to do; nothing is more important than keeping my kids' safe." "
She nodded in satisfaction. So, at least if Logan decided to come back, she would be okay. She really did hope he would stay away; nothing good ever happened around him. He even haunted her nightmares; although she had not had a "well" nightmare for a few years, on the occasion she did, Logan Bush was sure to feature in it.
A kind of compulsion overtaking her, Louise exited the page, and went back on Google. She was confronted with photos, videos, and articles, all dedicated to her, and a "10 years later" blog post caught her eye. She hadn't spoken to the press since she was fourteen, and so her curiosity was piqued. Even though a ten-year anniversary, especially the anniversary of her rescue, was a big deal, she'd not given any interviews. Louise felt that she had spoken about it enough times, and there were plenty of other people that reporters could talk to if they were so desperate for a story.
She clicked on it, and began reading.
"10 years ago, an event mesmerised the country, and brought out some of the best in human kindness. A nine-year-old girl, Louise Belcher, became trapped in an abandoned well, 80 feet underground. It captivated the nation, with reporters from all over New Jersey scrambling to the scene.
Why was this story so publicised? Children, unfortunately, fall into wells more often than they should, so what made this particular story so riveting?
The simple fact is because the accident was not Louise's fault. She was pushed into the well by a teenage boy. It sent shock waves through Louise's home town of Seymour's Bay, just outside of Bog Harbour, because people just couldn't believe what had happened, and what had been happening.
Logan Bush, a fifteen-year-old, who was in counselling for anger issues, had been bullying Louise for around a year. In the months before the push that changed her life, he'd twice tried to physically hurt her; wanting to do a wrestling move on her, and trying to throw ice-filled snowballs in her face.
When Logan bumped into Louise on February 22nd, 2019, he pushed her, and Louise fell into the uncovered well, where she would remain for the next 5 days, buried chest-deep in rubble, before being rescued.
The reason this story resonated with so many people, was because of the realisation that it could have been anyone's kid. If Logan hadn't targeted Louise, he would have picked on some other child, and they might not have been as lucky as she was.
Louise was pulled from the well after 114 hours, to the cheers of the more than 200 volunteers who worked to get her out. She spent two months in hospital. Her ankle was broken, her tail bone was fractured, her limbs were black with lack of blood flow. She was so dehydrated her kidneys were shutting down, and she had hypothermia, and blood poisoning. She was, at least for a while, the most famous person in New Jersey.
Many viewers looked upon Louise as their own child, and it was easy for them to imagine their own kid in that dangerous situation. That's why so many took this to heart.
I wasn't able to find out much about Louise after the rescue; the family kept very quiet (as is their right), but I did find out that Logan was charged with assault, and jailed for 5 years, and that Louise recovered from her injuries, and returned to school, graduating a few months before she turned 18." Louise frowned; how did they know that? This level of snooping wasn't acceptable, unless it was by her. "But she has lived a quiet life, and doesn't wish to be known as the girl in the well. Fair play to her. It does make you think, though; in just a few seconds, her life changed in an instant. One little push, and her life was never the same again."
Louise closed the laptop. One push changed her life. But it hadn't, though, really, had it? She'd lived a normal life; she'd done everything she used to before the incident. Nothing had changed; she went to school, she worked, she played with her friends.
Louise tapped a little tune on the laptop, looking around her room. Okay, her life had changed, but had it changed?
If she'd never gotten pushed, would she still be the same person? How would her life have been different?
Louise could now admit that she'd spent most of her pre-teen and teenage years in a state of almost perpetual rage. In and out of therapy, feeling like she was constantly switching medications, she'd been angry at everything and everyone. Terrible mood swings, lashing out at people (sometimes physically), withdrawing from everyone; now that she was a grown-up, she felt bad for her family during those times. She would punch walls, throw things, lock herself in her room for hours on end. At her worst, she'd smashed a few of Linda's Porcelain Babies, and she'd been overwhelmed by rage-filled crying fits.
She'd hated Logan for pushing her in. She'd hated the police for lying to her, and she'd hated the rescue workers for taking so long. She'd hated her father for sending her out. She'd hated herself for not reacting sooner.
It wasn't until she was about fifteen that she'd learned to get rid of all the rage and hatred inside of her. Well, most of it. It took her therapist (her fifth or sixth one) being blunt to her.
"Well, they could have gone faster!" she snapped, throwing the book across the room. "They could have; we all know it! If they hadn't been so stupid, I might have been okay! No amputations or stuff!"
"Louise -"
"They were useless!" she screeched.
"Louise," her therapist said firmly. "If they had gone quicker, or dug the tunnel closer, you would have died. There would have been another cave-in, and you would have been buried alive, and suffocated. It took a while, but they got you out." And something seemed to click in her brain, and Louise finally understood. And she was alive.
She had spent these last few years feeling much better than she had since she was nine. It had been a long, arduous process, but she'd managed it. Louise had even apologised to her family, sincerely. It had been difficult, one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do, but it had needed to be done. As such, they'd been a closer family unit, not unlike they were when she was younger.
Louise still had bad days; sometimes bad weeks, but she'd already hit rock bottom, and was determined not to go back there again.
She could even remember the first time she made a joke about the whole thing.
"Ooh, I wanna see this movie!" Linda gasped, pointing excitedly at the television, where an advert for a murder mystery was showing. "They're saying it'll really keep you on your toes."
"Wow, insensitive, Mom," Louise said lightly, her eyebrows raised a bit. Linda looked at her daughter in shock, but she saw the faint smile on Louise's face.
"Good one!" she laughed, and they all ended up having a good laugh.
She'd come to terms with her amputations; she didn't love them, but she'd long accepted them. And that was good enough. She was incredibly lucky; she knew that now. She could have lost her feet, or her legs. Or even her fingers, or hands. Louise had had to give her therapist credit; Anne knew how to make her think, and how to help Louise accept herself.
All things considering, Louise now knew that to have gone through what she did, and only have her toes amputated (scars notwithstanding), was nothing short of remarkable. And her learning to accept her new body, had helped to improve her mental health tremendously.
But apart from that, her life had been pretty normal. She did everything she had done before, even competing in the mandatory mile run when she was twelve. Okay, she jogged half, and walked the rest, but still, it was a great achievement for her, and should be celebrated as such.
Still, Louise had to wonder if she would have become a more social person were it not for the incident (which was how she referred to it). Sure, she went to parties, but she didn't really enjoy them; full of people she didn't like dancing badly to terrible music. The same reason she chose not to go to her prom. But she'd never really liked parties, even as a child. The forced socialising drove her crazy; the only thing good about parties was the free food.
But still, when she didn't feel like working, she would go to parties, and have one or two drinks, but wouldn't get drunk; even now, she was the same. She preferred to be in control of herself. Plus, drunk people were easier to manipulate.
Occasionally, she would have moments of self-loathing, of hating her scars, her feet, but they were becoming few and far between. She had only recently, a few years ago, gotten up the courage to walk around barefoot, with just her prosthetics on. Only at home, though; she still wasn't ready to reveal them to anyone else.
The scars on her arms and legs had faded so much that they were practically invisible, leaving Louise ecstatic. No more long sleeves! No more make up! They could only really be seen if you looked carefully.
But in each life, a little rain must fall. The scars on her back were still very much visible, along with the ones on her thighs, bottom and stomach.
Unfortunately, this meant no halter necks or crop tops, and only tankinis with shorts at the beach. Flip-flops were a no-go, as was swimming, at least until she got some pool shoes.
Louise wondered if, subconsciously, this was the reason that she didn't allow anyone to get close to her. She'd gone on dates, and kissed boys, but that was it; she never went any further. She didn't really see the point of the whole thing.
She wasn't vain; Louise just knew she wasn't prepared to see their disgusted looks when they saw her scars. Teens were cruel; she'd had some experience with that, and she just didn't want everyone to know that she still had scars. And what was wrong with that?
Mostly, people left her alone, which she was glad of. The people who knew her, who had gone through school with her, had the sense to not bring it up. And those that didn't know, quickly learned. As she grew up, strangers gradually began recognising her less and less, despite the bunny ears, and now, she only got attention when the anniversary rolled around.
Still, people were supportive. Especially Regular sized Rudy, who she had gone on a couple of not-dates with, out of convenience. What could she say? She liked being around him, though she never told him that. But he treated her normally, as she did him. They had a mutual understanding. Besides, it was a way to get people off their backs in school, as apparently, if you didn't date, then there must be something wrong with you. So, she and Rudy had come to the agreement together to pretend-date, just so that people would leave them alone, and they would have peace of mind. It wasn't all bad; all they did was hold hands (which made her stomach feel floaty) while walking down the corridors, and they ate lunch together. Nothing special, but it was enough to placate others.
She was still annoyed that he had grown four inches taller than her. It was bad enough being the shortest person in her class, but how dare Rudy have the audacity to carry on growing after she had finished? Honestly, it was just rude.
When Louise had turned sixteen, she'd gotten a letter from a local doctor, who had offered to cover up her scars for free, and she hadn't been too sure how to feel about that. On the one hand, yes please; she would finally look normal.
On the other hand, she'd spent longer with these scars than she had without them, which was weird to think about. Even now, she couldn't decide whether to go through with it or not. She still had the letter, tucked safely somewhere only she knew.
Some days, she would look at her scars, and realise they were signs that she survived. Other days.. well, she was grateful that they were easy to conceal.
She'd adjusted to her hearing loss. Louise had refused any kind of hearing aids, and now whatever she heard was normal to her. She couldn't tell anyone what it was like to be partially deaf, because she could barely remember how she used to hear.
She didn't feel partially deaf unless someone mumbled, or if it was noisy and they weren't facing her. Louise would not hesitate to loudly remind those people that it was just good manners to look at someone when you're talking to them. One thing that couldn't be helped was the not-being-able-to-tell-which-direction-sounds-came-from thing, and that was just something she had to live with. Louise was adamant that hearing aids would not help with that.
All in all, Louise thought she had turned out pretty well. She had definitely subverted expectations; her grades were good, and she'd been knuckling down and learning the books, so when the time came for her to take over the restaurant, she would be ready. She had a decent amount of savings, and had learnt how to budget. She was so ready to take on the world.
A wry smile crossed her face; she knew most people had expected her to be some kind of train wreck. Grandma Gloria had more than once said that Louise was going to be one of those people; pregnant at fourteen, on drugs at fifteen, and in jail at sixteen. And there was very few things Louise enjoyed more than proving someone wrong.
Louise put the laptop aside, and sat up, looking about her room. All of the gifts she had received from her rescuers, she had kept. The toys were in a storage box under her bed. Except for Kuchi Kopi, who still remained on her night stand, and she smiled at the little night light.
She was proud of herself. Like, really proud. Louise had healed enough to the point where she wasn't embarrassed about what had happened to her. She had healed enough where she could say, "yes, it was terrifying. Yes, I was afraid for my life. Yes, I'll always remember it." It was a part of her; she understood that now.
It was one of the reasons she still had Kuchi Kopi. She could now admit that her time in the well had left her with a fear of the dark. It hadn't been too bad before that, but once she had been freed, she soon found that she couldn't stand the dark, and had needed it on every night.
Gradually, as the years went by, even just having Kuchi Kopi nearby helped enormously, and now Louise only switched the night light on when she had one of her rare nightmares.
Even so, she would never get rid of Kuchi Kopi, the greatest Japanese character ever. He wasn't just part of her childhood; he was part of her. She still had the Kuchi Kopi book series, and DVD's of the anime that had premiered the year she was freed. Louise could still remember how excited she had been for that, and it had lived up to all of her expectations.
The enormous card Patrick and Simon had given her now hung on her wall, and her Courage and Bravery plaque was mounted next to it. Of course, Louise made sure these weren't overshadowed by her "Jaws" and Sleater-Kinney posters, which took centre stage. She'd missed them last time they were in Bog Harbour, and she was determined not to let that happen again.
One item from her past that was not prominently displayed was her very first set of prosthetics. Louise kept those in the back of her wardrobe. Even now, she didn't really understand why she'd held onto them all these years. Perhaps for the museum that would be dedicated to her after she'd finished her time ruling the world. Visitors would surely want to see them.
Stretching, Louise rose from the bed, pausing to admire the framed photo of her, Koji, and Yuki on the red carpet in Tokyo, which rested on her night stand. Another indulgent smile crossed her face; she'd also kept the dress she wore to the premiere. Even with her petite frame, she couldn't hope of fitting into it any more, but it was another item for The Amazing Louise Belcher and the Extraordinary Life She Lived Museum. That dress had travelled to Japan, the greatest country in the world, and had posed with the two greatest actors of all time. That was something else that people would definitely want to see.
In the little space behind her headboard was where Louise kept her notepads. Much as she loved her mother, Linda couldn't help but snoop around, and Louise didn't want her finding them.
Louise still wrote; not only did she enjoy it (who would have ever thought that she, Louise Belcher, would enjoy writing?) but it still helped her in little ways. If she was having a bad day, then she could look back through her notes, sometimes from nearly a decade ago, and she could see how far she'd come. It was especially helpful when she would sometimes think that she'd made little to no progress. These words, these paragraphs, the prose, the little stories, had all grown more coherent over the years. It was proof of her improvement.
Lately, she'd been writing down her experience of the incident from beginning to end, almost like a story. Her own private joke was that if she was ever in need of money, then she could always sell it as a memoir. It amused her to think that she was literally sitting on a gold mine, because it would definitely be a best seller. Of course it would; she wrote it.
At that moment, she was feeling good. Really good; she now relished the feeling, when for so long she had felt nothing. Being able to feel happy was something she never thought she would appreciate, but now, when the happiness came, Louise did her best to hold onto it. Most of the time, it worked.
Yes, her life had changed; maybe for the better, maybe for the worse. But it had changed, and she couldn't deny it. Some parts of her were now fundamentally different, both physically and mentally, but she'd gotten through it.
She would always be the little girl who was stuck in the well; she'd accepted that. Right now, she was okay with it.
She was alive; she was healthy, and she was awesome. If she ever had a bad day, she would remind herself of these facts. She was here, and she could have very easily been not here, and that was the most important thing.
Louise placed her laptop on her desk, smiling, before deciding to head into the living-room to watch "Winthorpe Manor" with her parents.
No matter what, she was still Louise Belcher, and nothing would ever change that.
~ X ~
Done! Got to admit, it feels weird saying goodbye to this. What did you think? Originally, it was going to end with a reveal that Louise had written the entire thing, but I wasn't sure, so I scrapped it.
One thing I noticed when looking back through the story, is that some parts felt rushed to me, so I've gone back and expanded them, and added additional "scenes," in most every chapter.
I'm going to take a little publishing break, and work on some other Bob's fan fiction, which are:
The Origin of the Ears: a story about how Louise got her bunny ears. I'm almost done with that, but I'm not sure when I will start uploading.
Learning to Live Without You: an alternate version of this where Louise dies in the well. I have no idea how long I want that to be, so I'll need to work on that.
I also have a WIP for something out of my comfort zone. It's in the early stages, and I hope I'm able to write it.