Redemption Song (4 page)

The boy gazed up at him with an expectant smile. Ethan wasn’t quite sure how to respond.

“Um . . . thanks, Bob.”

“It’s Ben.”

“That’s what I meant.”

Ethan’s awkward forgetfulness didn’t seem to faze young Ben in the slightest. Instead, his smile beamed even brighter and he skipped off toward Hank and his “plane”.

“Oh, man, Hinkle! That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!”

Ethan suppressed an amused snort. Obviously, Ben didn’t get out much.

“So how has my lil’ E been doing?” Granny Mae approached the car and motioned for Ethan to take shotgun before Ben returned and he still had the chance.

“Wow, Granny Mae, I haven’t been called that in . . .”

“Five years or so?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

There it was. Ethan knew was been disappointed in him. He quickly tried to think of something to change the subject.

“So who’s the kid?”

“Oh, Ben? I figured he already told you his name. I’m telling you, that kid has never met a stranger in his life. It’s like he already knows everyone on Earth, they just haven’t had the chance to know him yet.” Granny Mae gazed toward the plane where Hank had hoisted Ben up into the cockpit. He was making loud engine sounds and pretending to steer. Her look was listless.

“I got that his name was Ben, but who is he? Are you babysitting or something?”

She laughed as though it was some sort of inside joke. “Something like that.”

“What does that mean, Grandma?”

Granny Mae sighed, never veering her focus from Ben’s direction.

“A few things have changed since the last time you were here, Ethan. Ben was one of my Sunday school kids at church. One weekend his parents left him with his sister to take a drive up to Mobile to get some time away together. But they never made it home.”

“What happened?”

“Drunk driver hit them before they ever reached Mobile. It’s only a twenty-one mile drive, but they only made it fifteen.”

Ethan’s stomach twisted into knots and he recognized the familiar feeling of vomit rising in his throat. He wondered if this was a true story or a guilt trip.

“Granny Mae, did my mom tell you why I was coming to visit you?”

She gave him a sweet smile. “She sure did, honey, and believe me; I know what it feels like to be overworked. You deserve this break. I told your mom that you are free to stay as long as you like.”

Ethan wanted to feel relieved that his grandmother didn’t know the real reason for his sudden arrival, but her innocent kindness only helped to further his guilt. Ben’s story was not some fictional story his grandmother had made up to cause him guilt. It was true. The kid had lost his parents in an accident similar to the one Ethan almost caused the night before. He wondered if his mom had known about Ben before arranging this little “vacation”.

Ethan regained his focus. “So, I get that Ben’s parents died, but why is he with you? Doesn’t he have family that could’ve taken him?”

“Sure, sweetie,” Granny Mae said. “He has me, as does his sister. We’re not related by blood, of course, but I’ve loved those kids ever since the first day I met them. I couldn’t just let them fend for themselves. Ben’s sister is only seventeen. Technically, she could have handled things, I guess, but I figured that was an awfully young age to become a parent. So, I took them in.”

“You mean they live with you? Ben
and his sister
?”

“Is that a problem, dear?”

Was that a problem? Obviously, Granny Mae had never seen how girls acted around Ethan. They wanted him to sign their arms, let them touch his guitar, dedicate a song to them. They squealed and screamed and even sometimes cried. Ethan loved his fans and he appreciated their support, but the obsessive crush act got a little old. Now he was going to have to live with it until his mom saw fit to let him return to his real life. But he couldn’t expect Granny Mae to kick the girl out right after losing her parents just because he didn’t want to put up with a crazed fan. He was stuck. Boy, his mom had really thought this one out thoroughly.

“No, Granny. Not a problem.”

Ben bounded back up to the car, having a conversation with none other than silent Ted. Granny Mae was right. The kid definitely never met a stranger. Surprisingly, Ted didn’t seem annoyed by the jabbering youngster. He actually seemed a bit amused.

“Granny Mae, can we go already?” Ben spouted as if they had all been waiting to leave on something other than him. “I want to get home before Alaina leaves for work so I can introduce her to my new friend Ethan!”

“Who’s Alaina?” Ethan asked, almost afraid to hear Ben’s answer.

“That’s my sister. I can’t wait for you to meet her. She is going to llloooovvveee you.”

Ethan let out an exasperated sigh and turned his head toward the side window, trying to figure out what on earth he could say to his mother to calm her down enough to let him come home from this nightmare.

“I can’t wait, Bob.”

“It’s Ben.”

“Right.”

Ethan

Stepping into Granny Mae’s house was like stepping back in time to Ethan’s childhood. Everything was exactly the same. The same old floral patterned couch and recliner set that had been there since before he could remember. The multi-colored alphabet magnets on the refrigerator door. The pictures of Ethan from back long before the days of world-wide tours, guest appearances on talk shows, and confinement in the deep South due to episodes of drunkenness.

The carefree kid in the pictures smiled back at him innocently and Ethan suddenly felt a little confused. In the stillness of his younger self, Ethan noticed something that he hadn’t seen in a long time. The kid looked really happy—content. What had been so great back then? Even then Ethan had desired to be a big star. Why did the kid who had nothing look happier than the teen that had everything?

“C’mon, Ethan!” Ben’s voice broke into his thoughts, bringing his focus back to the reality of his arrival. “I want to show you our room!”

Our room?

Ethan turned and found a guilty faced Granny Mae standing in the entryway.

“Sorry about that, lil’ E, but there are only so many rooms. Ben’s got a bunk bed so it’s not like you’ll have to sleep on the same mattress. Not to mention, he’s asleep by eight almost every night. You probably won’t even notice he’s there.”

Granny Mae turned to silent Ted and offered an apologetic smile. “I’m so sorry, Ted, but I’m afraid that all I can offer you is the couch.”

“That will be perfectly fine,” Ted replied. “Thank you for your hospitality.” Ted slipped the large vinyl duffel bag off of his shoulder and made his way over to the floral excuse for his new bed.

Ethan had no desire to share a room with Ben. He could take the couch and stick Ted in the room with the kid, but when he parted his lips to offer this suggestion, he closed them just as quickly. He was all out of fight. He just needed sleep, even if he had to get it in the same room as the ten-year-old. Now, if only he could get to the bed without being spotted by Ben’s sister. He needed a nap before he would be ready to deal with living under the same roof with some squealing girl who would probably faint when she found out she was sharing a house with
Ethan Carter
.

When Ethan reached the doorway of his new bedroom, he found Ben perched on the top bunk, smiling ear to ear like the king of his own little mountain.

“We missed my sister, but oh well. You can meet her later. Can you believe this?” Ben beamed. “We’re going to be roommates!”

Ethan smirked. “It’s definitely unbelievable.”

Ben’s smile grew even wider. Ethan had to admit; the kid was kind of cute in his own annoying little kid way. It was as if he glowed when he smiled that big.

“I’ve never had a brother before!” Ben continued. “Sure, I’ve got Alaina, but she’s a girl and that’s just different, you know? Do you have any brothers or sisters, Ethan?”

“Nope. Only child.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. Alaina gets on my nerves sometimes, but I guess she’s pretty cool. She takes care of me and reads me stories at night and takes me to movies sometimes. It’s too bad you didn’t have a brother, but I guess you don’t need one when you have a million friends on Facebook.”

Ethan let go of his suitcase, not even attempting to remove it from the middle of the floor. He collapsed onto the bottom half of the bunk bed. “How do you know how many followers I have on Facebook? Aren’t you too young for Facebook?”

Ben snorted. “I’m young, not stupid. I just gave them a fake birthday. And you knew I was on Facebook already because you accepted my friend request last year. I figured you recognized me when you got off the plane.”

Ethan almost laughed. Like there was any way he would remember some little kid who added him to one of the numerous social networks that his PR people had him involved with. Ethan didn’t even check his Facebook page. He had people to do that for him. He hadn’t even realized he'd made it to a million friends. That was actually kind of cool now that he thought about it.”

“So do you remember?” Ben asked eagerly.

“Remember what?”

“Do you remember accepting my friend request?”

“Uh, not exactly. I don’t check that. Other people check it for me.”

Ben was quiet for a brief moment, processing Ethan’s honesty. Finally, he spoke.

“That’s stupid.”

Ethan scoffed. “Why?”

“What’s the point in having all those friends if you don’t talk to any of them?”

“It’s for publicity.”

“Like advertisement?”

Ethan yawned. All he wanted was to take a nap and forget where he was. “Yeah, Ben. It’s like advertisement.”

“But don’t you think it would work better if you did it yourself? I bet if people knew that it was really you posting all those status updates, they would check it a lot more often.”

The kid had a point and it only enhanced the level of his annoyance.

“Don’t you have like a train set or a plastic tool table or something that you can go play with?”

Ben giggled. “I’m ten, not four. I’m gonna go play XBOX. I got the new SpeedNeed game the other day. It’s totally cool. You wanna play with me?”

“Nope.”

Ben jumped in one swift, graceful motion from the top bunk to the floor. “Okay, well, I’ll see ya later, Ethan. I’m glad you’re my roommate!”

Ethan didn’t reply. Instead, he lay with heavy eyes, facing the light blue papered wall. He couldn’t believe where the last day had taken him. How had it come to this? Exhaustion finally took over and Ethan fell asleep, his unopened suitcase still in the middle of the floor and his shoes still on his feet.

Ethan awoke to the rhythmic sounds of Ben’s breathing drifting down from the top bunk. The room was pitch-black and the only other sound came from the faint click of the ceiling fan motor. Ethan rolled over; trying to get comfortable enough to drift back to sleep, but something was bothering him. A pain. His stomach. When had he eaten last? Not on the plane . . . not in jail . . . not at the party . . .

Ethan hadn’t even realized. It was going on two days since he'd last eaten. He was starving!

The poorly lit trip to the kitchen was nothing other than painful. Three toe stubs and one bump on the head later Ethan found his way to the doorway of the living room. Silent Ted wasn’t so silent from his resting spot on the couch. His snores filled the room. A faint glow emitted from the kitchen. Ethan glanced to the DVD player. It was three in the morning. Who would be up now?

Ethan edged his way closer to the kitchen, tying to remain as quiet as possible. When he reached the doorway, he stopped in his tracks. Curled up in the barstool beside the island, huddled over a half drunken glass of milk, tapping her fingers indolently on the countertop, was a girl.

Ben’s sister.

Ethan turned to run back to his room before she had the chance to notice, but a burning sensation shot through his stomach and made him change his mind. He would have to meet her eventually. At least if he got stuck now he would be close to food.

When Ethan turned back around to enter the room, something made him pause. He hadn’t taken a good look at the girl before, but for some reason, she made him take notice. She didn’t look anything like the girls that he hung around. First and foremost, she wasn’t blonde. Her hair was as dark as it could be without being considered black. It was long and straight as a board with wispy bangs that crossed over her forehead, almost completely covering one of her eyes. She looked to be about five foot two—three tops—and couldn’t weigh over a hundred and fifteen pounds. Her nails weren’t long and, surprisingly, weren’t fake. They were short and painted jet black. She wore a light blue tank top and a pair of striped cotton PJ pants that only went to her knees. On her feet was a pair of pink fuzzy house shoes. She didn’t have on a stitch of makeup, but her skin was a smooth ivory with the slightest tint of red in her cheeks and lips.

Ethan wondered. Had he ever seen Vanessa without makeup? He knew he hadn’t. He was pretty sure Vanessa touched up her makeup before she got into bed at night so that she could look painted when she woke up in the mornings.

Ethan couldn’t help but find something about this girl intriguing. Her dark hair and nails gave off signs of rebellion, but her bright pajamas and fuzzy shoes made her look like a helpless little girl.

Why helpless? It was something in her expression. She was staring at that glass of milk with so much intensity you’d think she was trying to make it boil with her mind. She sat only feet from him, but her focus seemed miles away. It almost made Ethan feel like he was intruding by entering, but a loud growl in the pit of his stomach snapped her out of her trance. He caught his breath when her gaze shot up, instantly meeting his, eye to eye.

“Oh . . . hi.” Her voice held a soft, sweet tone, but there was something else there, too—a hint of melancholy.

“Hi.” Ethan said cautiously.

He cringed, waiting for the girl to jump up from her seat and run to him with a shrill scream and beg him for a hug . . . but she just sat there keeping her gaze locked on his eyes. What was it about her doing that that made him uncomfortable?