Growing Up Chase

By Rebel Yell

Part Seven (Age 15)

"Liz, time to get up, it's nearly- Oh God!" Liz woke up suddenly, at her sister's near screech. Kate all-but slammed the door, shutting it behind her quickly. "What on God's Earth are you thinking? Mum and Dad are going to kill you both!"
" Kate, what're you doing in my room?"
" Waking you up for lunch - and be glad it's not Mum! Robbie, what're you doing here?"
" I was sleeping." He grumbled, but he was already putting his jeans back on, then his shirt.

" Kate? Liz? Something wrong?"
" You had to shout." Liz complained in a whisper, as their mother's voice came clearly through the door.

" You two are in so much trouble."
"Liz? What's going on in - oh dear Lord. Oh Lord. Kate, go get your father. Now."
" Mum, it's not like that." Liz jumped in, trying to placate her mother quickly. "He stayed on the floor all night, I swear."
" Elizabeth Mary Hughes, if I were you I'd be just as silent as I could be. Once your father gets upstairs, we'll have plenty of talking."
" What's going on? Kate's just run downstairs like the hounds are after her." Liz noticed that Robbie cringed at her father's voice, but stood up to face him as he entered the room. Her dad was a big man, and Robbie wasn't very big, even for fifteen. "What is going on in here?"
" Elizabeth was just going to explain, as soon as you arrived."
" Uhm…Robbie came over, late. He was just sleeping! I promise. He was never even on the bed!"
" He came in the window then?"
" Yes." Liz replied ashamedly. She hated sneaking Robbie in, she always felt like she was lying to her parents. He always left the same way - hoping to avoid just this sort of problem.

" You let him in?"
" He didn't break in! I couldn't let him stay outside all night, could I?"
" We've allowed a lot of things between you two, that clearly we shouldn't have." Her Dad had that deep, angry tone that she hated. It meant she was in serious trouble. Like grounded for the rest of her life, trouble. "I wish I felt I could trust your word about what's going on, Elizabeth, but since you've been lying to us all this time, I can't believe you."
" We didn't do anything wrong!"
" Sir, honestly, it's my fault." Rob stepped between her Dad, and her, clearly seeing that he was crossing the small room towards her bed.

" Oh, of that I am very certain, Robert. Every time Elizabeth has been in trouble since the age of eleven it's been something you've led her in to. It's finally come to it, we've been putting this off for years - far too long apparently. Robert, I don't want you around my house, or around my daughter. Am I clear?"
" Please, Dad! We didn't do anything! He was just sleeping!"
" You mean…never?" Rob had been banned from coming round before - a couple weeks here and there when she was grounded - but he'd never dreamt of being told he couldn't ever see her again.

" Not even at school if you can help it. If I hear otherwise, I'll be calling both your parents, the school, whomever I need to, right up to the police, to keep you away from her. You've brought more trouble to this house - and to Elizabeth - in the last few years, Robert, than Mrs. Hughes and I had any reason to tolerate. Clearly, we can't trust either of you to stay within bounds, so that's it. I don't want you around my daughter."

" Not ever? You never want to see me again?" Robbie sounded like he was going to cry, and Liz wanted to give him a hug desperately. Her parents would calm down in a few days, and believe her about him just sleeping. But if Robbie left thinking he'd finally been bad enough to get kicked out of another family -- after the whole mess with his own parents -- he'd probably go and get into even stupider trouble than he had been before.

" Robbie, they don't mean it, it won't be forever--"
" Oh, I can promise you we do, young lady." Her mum cut in, moving behind her dad so she could come around to grab Robbie's arm. "Once upon a time you were a sweet boy, Robert Chase. I don't know where that good boy went, but he's not here in this room. You've brought nothing but trouble to us for ages. No more."
" I promise it won't-" Liz nearly fell backwards in surprise when her mother slapped Robbie across the face, cutting off whatever he was trying to promise. Now he was definitely crying, and Liz was reminded of his tears last night, when he appeared at her window, barefoot and soaked to the bone from the rain.

" Annie!" Robbie actually ducked when her dad pulled him away from her mum - and Lizzie knew that wasn't a good sign. He'd been refusing to talk to her and Danny about much of anything for months. They were both worried, but he'd seemed so responsible this year, he'd even quit all his sport so he could concentrate on his studies. His marks were nearly perfect. He went straight home from school nearly every day, and never got kept after. He didn't even go to the beach or to the park or anything on the weekends. He'd learned how to do his own laundry even, and cook too. It was only in the last couple weeks that he'd been routinely coming by her or Danny's house in the middle of the night. Until then, they'd hoped he was getting over the mess his parents had made of his life.

" It's all right, sir. I think I deserved that."
" I'm sorry, Robert. I shouldn't have done that. But if you and Lizzie have…if you've…do you know how much trouble you've put her in?"
" We didn't do anything! I'd never do that, not with Robbie!"
" I'm sorry, Elizabeth. We just can't trust you right now. And I especially have trouble trusting Robert. Let's go. I'll drive you back to your mother's." Lizzie watched her dad lead Robbie from the room, and desperately hoped she'd be able to convince them to at least let her see Robbie at school. Robbie broke the rules sometimes, but if he thought she'd be in this much trouble again if he talked to her, he'd probably never even look at her again. He didn't care much if he got in trouble, but he refused to get his friends in with him.