Chapter 7

"Why?"

"Because you have school Monday, that's why!" LeeAnn said as she loaded the dishes in the dishwasher.

"So? I'll just go to school with Spinner on Monday!" Ty argued. He'd been arguing with his parents about spending the night with Spinner the next night. They didn't want him to because it was a school night, but he didn't see what the big deal was. It wasn't like he wasn't going to go to school on Monday. Besides, Spinner had to go to school, too!

"Ty!" Mike warned as he helped his wife with the dishes. "No!"

"You guys are being so unfair!" Ty yelled as he stormed off. He walked out of the apartment. He needed to take a walk.

Ty slammed the door as he left. As he was walking down the hall, he ran into Wheels, who was carrying a basket of freshly washed, dried and folded laundry back to his apartment.

"Hey!" Wheels said as they approached each other. Ty rolled his eyes and kept walking past him.

"Uh. . .OK. Did I do something?"

Ty turned around. "Sorry." He said. "It's just my dumb parents! They treat me like I'm a kid, and it's so unfair!"

"C'mon." Wheels said as he nodded toward his apartment. The two of them walked together.

"All I want to do is spend the night at Spinner's house tomorrow, and they're telling me I can't because I have school on Monday! I don't see what the big deal is! Spinner has to go to school on Monday, too! It's not like I wouldn't go to school!"

Wheels sat the basket down on the floor and unlocked the door. He vividly remembered the days of when he thought his parents were unfair and how he used to fight with them.

"Well," he said, "I see their point. It is a Sunday night, a time when you should be studying and doing homework. . ."

"I don't believe this!" Ty said, throwing his arms up in the air. "You're siding with them!"

"What? No! I see their point, and I see your point, too! But, in all honesty do you think that if you spent the night at his house that any homework or studying would get done?"

"Who cares if it does! Ya know, sometimes I wish I just didn't have to deal with them!" Ty started to walk out of the apartment.

Wheels sat the basket of clothes down on the couch. He remembered thinking like that before his parents died, and to hear Ty say that made him shudder.

"Ty," He started. "You don't mean that!"

"Yes I do!"

"No you don't! They're not trying to be the bad guys! They do all the stuff they do because they love you, not because they're unfair people!"

Ty stopped and looked at him.

"Just be careful what you wish for, OK? Trust me!"

With that, walked out.

***

"Man, that's so uncool!" Spinner said as he handed Ty a plate of french fries and a strawberry milkshake. Ty ended up going to The Dot, where Spinner was working that day.

"Well I don't care!" Ty said as he ate a french fry. "I'm sneaking out tomorrow and coming over! They've gotta stop treating me like I'm a little kid! It's fine if they want to do that kind of stuff with Maddie, but she's a KID!"

"You gotta stand up to them and not let them push you around! If ya don't they're just gonna walk all over you for the rest of your life!"

Ty took a drink of his shake.

"They're not telling me what to do anymore!" He said. "I'm done!"

***

"So, I hear you've found yourself a girlfriend!" Emma said as she sat down in the easy chair in Wheels' living room. She'd been asked by Snake to return some stuff he'd borrowed from him before she went for her babysitting job.

"What else have you heard?" Wheels asked her from the bathroom, where he was getting ready for yet another date with Heather.

"Nothing!" She said. "Are you in love with her?"

"Yeah," Wheels replied. "I think I am! I really like her, Em, and it's been a long time since I've felt this way about anyone. It's a great feeling!"

He stepped out of the bathroom.

"How do I look?"

Emma studied him. He'd chosen a dark blue t-shirt and a pair of stone-washed blue jeans to wear for his date. He'd taken a shower, shaved, and even brushed his teeth. Everything was in a place.

"Look out, Heather!" She said, giving him a thumbs up.

"Thanks!" He said. There was a knock at the door. "That's her!" He said as headed to the door to answer it.

"Hi!" Heather said after he opened the door. She leaned in for a quick kiss.

"Come on in!" Wheels said as he motioned for Heather to come in. "I just have to go get my shoes, but Emma's here!"

Heather walked in.

"Hi, Emma!" She said when she saw Emma sitting in the chair. "What are you doing here?"

"I had to drop off some stuff Snake borrowed and I have a babysitting job next door again."

"I met that little girl you've been babysitting for the other day!" Heather said. "She's sooo adorable!"

"Yeah, she's cute! I love babysitting for her! We have a lot of fun! The pay's not bad, either!"

Heather laughed.

"You ready?" Wheels asked Heather as he walked out into the living room.

"Sure!"

Emma picked up her bag of games and toys. It was such a big hit with Maddie the week before that she had to do it again.

"I gotta get going, too." She said. "You guys have fun tonight!" She said as she walked past them to leave.

"See ya, Em!" Wheels said as he took Heather's hand in his.

"I think having fun sounds like an excellent plan!" Heather said, smiling at Wheels. The two of them walked out together.

***

"Oops! Sorry!" Emma whispered to Maddie as she carried Maddie to her room to put her to sleep. In an attempt to get a better grip on her, Emma almost dropped her.

"Uhmm. . . " A sleepy Maddie moaned as she put her head on Emma's shoulder. Emma carried her into her room, lied her on her bed and pulled the covers up over her.

Emma headed back out to the living room to watch some TV. She heard sirens wailing outside. She knew there must've been a terrible accident somewhere, and there was no doubt that someone was hurt.

She'd been watching a special on polar bears for about fifteen minutes when the show cut to a commercial break. Getting hungry, she used that time to go to the kitchen and look for a snack. She settled on an apple and a glass of water.

As she headed back into the living room to finish watching her show, there was a knock at the door. Emma looked through the peephole in the door to see who it was. Outside the door stood two police officers. She opened the door to them.

"Is this the Hoeklinson residence?" One of the officers asked.

"Uh huh." Emma said, her voice panic stricken. She was getting worried. "What are the police doing here?" She thought. "My name is Emma Nelson. I'm babysitting here tonight. Can I help you?"

The other officer had a very grim look on her face. "I'm afraid we have some very bad news, Miss Nelson." She said.

Now Emma was really scared. What was going on?