AN: I am so sorry this took so long. My computer's recharging mechanism-thing went 'bye-bye', and I had to order a new computer. It's not here yet, so I have to use the school computer until it arrives. Anyway, I hope this chapter makes up for the long wait.
"Maureen, come out of there," Joanne instructed. "You've been in there all day. We can't help you if you won't tell us what happened, honey." When Maureen didn't give any reply, Joanne let out a frustrated sigh, glancing over at Emily, as if hoping she'd have an idea.
The two women had been trying without success to get Maureen to say what had happened last night to get her so upset. In the end, Maureen had practically bitten their heads off for the third degree and retreated to the bedroom, in an attempt to avoid the constant questions. Since then, Emily and Joanne had been trying to coax her out. In a last ditch effort, Emily ended up taking down the old cowbell Maureen kept on a shelf.
"Hey, 'Reen!" she called while giving it a quick ring. "Elsie's here. She wants to see you! Come on out!"
"Who told you about that?" Joanne blinked in surprise. She'd never forgotten about the protest Maureen had done years back, but couldn't remember ever telling Emily about it.
"Mark told me about it ages ago. I can't say I really understand why she chose that particular nursery rhyme. And I've been wanting to ask her about that diet coke line, but could never find the right time to bring it up. Is there something wrong about drinking it?" As if hoping that question would draw Maureen out, Joanne and Emily glanced at the door, which remained closed.
"Don't you have that lock pick set, Emily?" Joanne suggested.
"In the closet back home, yeah. But if you have a bobby pin or something, I could make do with that."
"We keep some in the bathroom down the hall." Before Emily could start a search for the bobby pin, however, Maureen finally came out of the bedroom.
"Finally," Joanne sighed in relief. "Maureen, honey, please just talk to us. We only want to know what's wrong."
"Can't you just leave me alone?" Maureen groaned. "Why can't you get the message? I don't want to talk about it."
"In case you've forgotten," Emily stepped in, frowning in concern, "I'm your friend, and Joanne is your partner. We can't exactly just ignore it when you're this upset. And something must have really upset you to make you not want to talk. How can we not be concerned?"
"Because it's none of your business, okay?" Maureen snapped. "Besides, how do you expect to help when I shouldn't even be upset? I don't even care what he thinks."
"What who thinks?" Joanne persisted. "Please, honey. Just talk to me." For a moment, Maureen was silent, glaring at Joanne and Emily in turn, but then her face deflated and she sank to the floor, sitting against the wall.
"Fine," she whispered, giving in.
Emily returned to the Condo that afternoon to find Lucia playing a board game with Sammy while Rodolfo and Zack were watching some movie on TV. Penny and James were on the couch talking in low voices, but they both looked up when the door opened, and when they saw her coming in, they started walking over. Immediately, Emily noticed the expressions on their faces and knew something was up.
"What's wrong?" Emily asked, concerned by the greeting she was getting from them. She was still a little surprised by what Maureen had said earlier, so she really wasn't in the mood for possibly bad news.
"Mrs. Cohen, can we talk to you for a moment?" James asked. "I think it might be important."
"Of course. This way," Emily agreed, leading them into her bedroom so they could talk in private.
When Emily, Penny and James had left the room, Rodolfo got up from his spot in front of the television to stretch a bit.
"Hey, Zack, I gotta go to the bathroom. Tell me what I missed when I get back, okay?"
"Huh?" Zack looked up in slight confusion before his brain registered what Rodolfo had said. "Oh, yeah. Sure thing, Dolf." The fact was Zack hadn't been really paying attention to the movie. He'd been too absorbed in thinking about how distant Zoey had become. And that bruise on her arm didn't help ease his mind. He'd been trying to remember if he'd seen it earlier, but when he'd thought about it, all her clothing had left her arms completely covered, so it was impossible to see her bare arms. And that had confused him even more, since it had been rather warm the past few days. Didn't she get hot dressing like that? All of that left him completely uninterested in what was happening in the movie he and Rodolfo had been watching.
After Rodolfo had returned, Zack spent a few more moments thinking it over before abandoning the television to make his way upstairs.
"Are you sure?" Emily's eyes had grown wide with shock at what James and Penny had told her.
"Maybe it really is nothing," Penny replied. "Maybe she really did get that bruise by bumping her arm. But…I don't know. Something doesn't feel right about it."
"I know one thing," James spoke up, his eyes clouded over again. "You don't get a bruise like that from bumping into something. It was too big for that." For a time, the three of them were quiet, thinking about the same thing. But after a moment, they heard the door opening and Mark and Peter's voices, indicating they were back from the bar. They headed back into the main room of the Condo in time to see Peter asking Rodolfo where Zoey was.
"She's been in the upstairs room almost all day," Rodolfo replied.
"Thank you," Peter nodded. "I'm going to see how her needlework's coming along. She's been working on it for almost a week now." As Peter started to head upstairs, a smiling Mark turned to the three people standing by the bedroom door.
"So, you had fun?" Emily spoke, trying to keep her worry out of her voice.
"Yes, I did," Mark replied. "I haven't been able to just go out and have guy time like that since…."
Emily didn't need Mark to finish his sentence. She could see in his face he was thinking about Roger and Collins. For a brief moment, she considered keeping quiet about the bruise Penny and James found on Zoey's arm, and what Maureen had confessed hearing Peter say last night. It had been so long since Mark had had a guy friend to spend time with, and she did not want to spoil it for him. However, her indecision must have shown in her face, for Mark's mood quickly shifted.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked.
"Mark," Emily sighed before beginning. "First of all, you know I don't want to tell you what to do with your life, and I want you to enjoy time out with the guys."
"But?" Mark prompted, unsure where this was going.
"Mr. Cohen," James took over for Emily. "There's something we think you should know. This morning, when Penny and I were watching the children…" At that moment, James was cut off when a loud, angry shout rang out from the upstairs bedroom
Upstairs, Zoey was sitting on her bed, hunched up in a tight ball, occasionally rubbing at the bruise on her arm. She hated people seeing those bruises. They were like brand marks, showing all her transgressions. It was even more awkward being around Zack, Rodolfo and Lucia. Not one of them had a single bruise, which proved they were all well behaved, and did what was expected of them. How would they react if they knew the same couldn't be said for her? She was far from well behaved. Her bruises always proved that. For that reason, she didn't want them to see the bruise on her arm. She really liked being around them all, but she knew she'd loose that if they knew the truth.
Zoey's thoughts were interrupted when she sensed someone looking at her. With a jump, she turned to see Zack standing nearby.
"Um, Zoey?" Zack started a small monologue that sounded rehearsed. "I've noticed that… you've been quiet today. Well, more quiet then usual. I just want you to know… that I think I know why you're like that." Zoey's eyes widened a bit, and she instinctively stepped back ever-so-slightly. He knew? He knew why she'd gotten that bruise? She was about to give some sort of cover-up story when Zack continued quickly.
"It's okay, I understand! I get that you just want some space and all. I shouldn't have crossed the line last night. I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable or anything like that."
"What?" Zoey suddenly found herself talking, completely confused as to what Zack was saying.
"I understand you've been distant today because I made you uncomfortable last night, when I gave you that otter. I was just trying to be nice because I thought you'd like it, and…. I was hoping you'd think of it as a gift…between friends. But if you don't want to be friends, you can just say so now, and I'll leave you alone for the rest of your visit." As Zack finished, his eyes dropped to the ground, so he was focusing on his shoes. For a long time, the two were absolutely silent until Zack coughed nervously. "Well, I won't bother you any more, then. Sorry, again, Zoey." As Zack turned to leave, Zoey took a few steps forward.
"No!" she gave a soft cry, surprised by her boldness. "Zack, please. It's not… you didn't do anything. I… I really did like your gift. But I know you don't want to be around someone like me, so…."
"What are you talking about?" Zack spoke incredulously. "Why wouldn't I want to know you?"
"Because… I'm not like you, Zack. I'm not well behaved like you, or your sister and cousin. I get in trouble all the time back home, and I always do things wrong. Trust me, you don't want to be friends with someone like me." It took a while for Zack to find his voice. Those were the most words she'd spoken since she'd arrived in New York, and it left him slightly stunned.
"Zoey," Zack fought back a chuckle. "You're wrong. Rodolfo and I; we're not exactly well behaved the way you think we are. You should see some of the stuff we get up to with our friend, Alvin. Last month we had a week's detention for swapping a film strip they were going to show at a school assembly for a copy of Wayne's World. And… I don't think you're as bad as you say you are. Everyone messes up sometimes. That doesn't make you a bad person. I think you're nice. Really nice. And you know something? Aunt Joanne says that the people who really are bad usually don't think they are. Just think about all the terrible people you hear about on the news. They probably think they're in the right. So if you think you're bad, you might not be at all."
"You don't understand," Zoey looked away with downcast eyes. "If you knew….you wouldn't..."
"Why don't you try me?" Hesitating for only a moment, Zoey finally looked up at Zack. But as she opened her mouth to speak, a loud, angry shout made them both jump. Peter was standing over them in a moment, looking completely murderous.
"You little hussy," he snarled, grabbing Zoey's arm and roughly yanking her away from Zack. "I told you not to be alone with that boy! That's the second time you've disobeyed me since we got here!"
"Daddy, please stop!" Zoey begged, trying to pull away.
"Mr. Rabe, Zoey didn't do anything. I came up to talk with her. It's not her fault," Zack tried explaining. However, Peter didn't pay attention and continued yelling at Zoey.
"What's going on?" A slight distraction arrived at that moment when Mark and Emily appeared in the room, with James, Penny and Rodolfo following them.
"Peter, what are you doing?" Mark glanced between the raging man and his daughter, who looked close to tears.
"Simply teaching an disrespectful daughter to mind me," Peter growled without looking up. "This isn't the first time I caught her alone with your son. It's unacceptable. You can continue whatever it was you were doing, Mark."
"I don't think so!" Emily suddenly pushed herself past Mark to pull Zoey away from Peter. "I've had just about enough of you. Since Roger and Collins died, Mark hasn't had much chance to have a day out with the guys, and I hoped you'd be the one to change that. But lately I've been trying to push aside my doubts about you, Peter Rabe, even after Maureen told me what you said about her last night, and I even refused to jump to conclusions when Penny and James found that bruise on your daughter's arm. But now I've seen quite enough to know my fears were well founded." As Emily spoke, Peter's face grew even more red.
"Mark," Peter spat, pointing a finger at Emily. "I suggest you consider reminding your woman of her place."
"Her place?" Mark gaped, hardly believing that Peter was talking like this.
"That's right. This woman needs someone to teach her to hold her tongue. I suggest you keep her far away from that brunette wench while you're at it, since she can't seem to hold her tongue either. Small wonder where your woman's picking up such bad habits."
"Oh, I'll hold my tongue, all right," Emily replied. "When I have good reason to do so. And seeing a child being unreasonably punished when she didn't do anything is not on that list."
"Keep quiet, woman!" Peter shouted. Before anyone could react, he'd lifted and arm and took a swing, the back of his hand landing hard across Emily's face. The force of the impact, along with the surprise that came with the blow, sent her to the ground.
Without blinking or showing any regret at what he'd just done, Peter turned back to Zoey, but before he could raise a finger to the child, a fist suddenly collided with his cheek, sending him stumbling backwards to maintain his balance. With eyes wide from surprise, Peter turned to Mark. No one in the room had ever seen the filmmaker as angry as he appeared now. He was even shaking from the fury, and when he spoke, his voice was low and filled with warnings of danger.
"What are you doing?" Mark snarled, his eyes blazing.
"Okay, maybe it wasn't my place to do that," Peter admitted, rubbing his jaw. "But someone had to remind that woman of her place."
"She was in her place," Mark shouted. "Her place was right where it was, between you and your daughter. The only one out of line here is you."
"Oh, come on now Mark. You know as well as I do that she was overstepping her position as a woman. If you don't keep them in line, they'll end up running wild." Mark shot Peter an 'if-looks-could-kill' glare.
"I want you out of my house. Right now. Forget your f-cking money. If getting you to invest in my company means letting you stay in my place, then I don't want it"
"Mark, come on," Peter started laughing. "I know you don't mean that. You're not about to…"
"DO YOU SEE ME LAUGHING?" Mark screamed. "GET OUT!" Peter's smile faded and was replaced with a scowl.
"Fine. If that's the way you want it," Peter went to grab Zoey to take her, but found James blocking his way while Penny shielded the child. "You give me my daughter right now, do you hear me?"
"No chance," James refused to move.
"If you don't step aside right now, I will call the police on you," Peter warned. "I'll have you arrested for abducting my daughter. Now stand aside!" When James refused to move, Peter tried to shove him aside, only to find that he couldn't outmuscle him easily. After a struggle, Peter was knocked to the floor. As he fell, he reached out a hand behind him to stop his fall, but before he could get up again, he felt something cold and hard close around his wrist, accompanied by a low clicking sound. Looking back, he found that when he'd fallen, his hand had been brought down close to the bed leg, which enabled Rodolfo, who was crouching nearby, to fasten his wrist to the bed leg with a pair of handcuffs.
"Remove these handcuffs right now!" Peter ordered.
"Sorry, Mr. Rabe," Rodolfo frowned in strong dislike. "But I don't really know where the key to them is."
"Rodolfo, where'd you get handcuffs?" Mark's anger had disappeared, and he was now looking at his 'nephew' in surprise while bending over Emily to help her sit up.
"Um," Rodolfo suddenly looked a little embarrassed. "I found them. When I was…looking through the box of Mom and Dad's old things, when I was sick last month." In spite of the situation, those who had known Roger and Mimi found themselves smiling ever-so-slightly. But it was with a more solemn air that the Bohemian family moved downstairs, with Penny gently shepherding a shaken Zoey, in order to call the police on Peter, ignoring the handcuffed man's continued yelling.
AN: Sorry for the abrupt ending to this chapter. There wasn't much left to be said. The last chapter should be up soon.