Rock and a Hard Place (21 page)

Peter saw concern in both his brothers eyes,
as they watched him. Each held an acoustic guitar.

The lights in the arena dimmed. Garrett and
Adam started to play.

An image of Libby, larger than life, filled
the giant screens on each side of the stage. A smile lit her
beautiful face, her blue eyes sparkled. Next came a picture of them
talking, heads close as if sharing a secret. At first confused, as
he’d never seen the pictures before, Peter realized Adam’s
voyeuristic ways with his camera finally paid off. A few seconds
later another image appeared, this time of him and Libby sitting on
the large boulder at Parfrey’s Glen. Her long blonde hair blew in
the breeze. Light freckles sprinkled her cheeks and a look of utter
contentment shown on her face.

Transfixed, Peter moved across the stage for
a direct view, never taking his eyes off the screen. Photo after
photo appeared before him. Many showed the two of them together
laughing, all with the beautiful backdrop of Parfrey’s Glen.

As the images continued to materialize
across the screen, his brothers played an achingly familiar tune.
The song he wrote for Libby. “Angel Kisses.”

Peter released a breath. He must have been
holding it for days. This was their tribute to her, for him.
Garrett and Adam never understood how much he cared about her until
she was torn away.

When the song ended, a final photo filled
the screen of the two of them walking through a field at the nature
preserve. Her hand held firmly in his, she looked up at him with
total trust and admiration. Every emotion was revealed on her face.
She gazed adoringly, her love pouring out.

He missed her with every ounce of his soul,
but now he had a bit of her back. Her image remained on the screen
after the music ended.

Adam stepped next to him. “I thought you
might like this. We could play your song with this video playing in
the background.”

Garrett stepped beside him and placed a firm
hand on his shoulder. “I’ve been a jerk and I realize I was wrong.
I didn’t realize how much she meant to you. I guess I was a jealous
of how close you two were. I took her away from you and that was
wrong. Here’s a little bit of her back. It might give you a reason
to want to sing again.” Garrett’s eyes searched Peter’s. Peter saw
the heartfelt remorse from his brother, he nodded his
forgiveness.

Peter folded his arms across his chest, one
hand covering his face. He hoped he could hold the emotions in, but
failed.

“
Yeah, I’d like that,” his
voice cracked. Maybe his brothers weren’t so bad after
all.

# # #

Libby tried to cry for help, but didn’t get
a chance. Juanita grabbed her by the hair and slammed her face
against the wall. Then she grabbed her arm and twisted it behind
her back, causing a piercing pain to shoot up Libby’s arm and
shoulder. Juanita shoved her against the sandy textured paint,
scraping her face raw.

“
Listen bitch, don’t you
ever cross me again. If you say one more word to Scott about me,
I’ll break your fuckin’ arm.”

Libby didn’t doubt it for a moment.
Paralyzed with pain she tried not to breathe. She prayed for
Juanita to release her. The girl was crazy. She bit back her
tears.

“
And when I say something’s
mine, you just shut your whiny little trap and mind your own
business.”

Thankfully, Libby saw Scott, their
twenty-three year old ‘adult in charge,’ walk around the corner,
surprised. He rushed over.

“
Juanita, what are you
doing? Let go of her.”

“
Just having a little chat
here. Libby had a crick in her back and I’m trying to straighten
her out.” Her vise-like grip tightened.

“
Let her go. Right now!”
His raised voice brought Darnell and BJ from the
kitchen.

“
Shit girl, whad ya do to
piss off the Latina lunatic?” Darnell chewed on a Pop Tart as he
spoke.

BJ looked on, a satisfied smirk on his big
dumb face.

“
Feeling better now?”
Juanita asked getting up in Libby’s face.

“
Yeah.” She responded
through clenched teeth. “Great.”

“
Juanita, I said now!”
Scott yelled.

Juanita stuck her elbow in Libby’s back
before releasing her. “Anytime you need a little adjustment, let me
know.”

Libby leaned against the wall for support,
unable to bear the pain of straightening her arm. Slowly she
relaxed enough for the limb to fall useless at her side. With her
other hand she pushed away from the wall, her cheek aching and
bruised, the wall marred with streaks of blood.

“
Juanita, you’re killing me
here. I thought you weren’t going to allow your temper to get out
of control,” Scott said, this situation beyond his limited skill
set.

“
Yeah, well, it sneaks out
once in a while. I’m sorry, it’ll never happen again.”

“
You’re right about that.”
Scott said, shaking his head at her.

“
Damn chica! You goin back
to juvie. It’s three strikes and you’re out. Well you’re out baby.”
Darnell taunted, happy as a clam.

“
I’m afraid he’s right,”
Scott wrung his hands. “I’ve got to call this in.”

“
Yeah, what the fuck?”
Juanita spat at Scott. “You’re such a pussy. You need to grow
some.”

“
Juanita go sit in the
kitchen while I handle this. BJ please stay with her while I talk
to Libby.”

Scott checked Libby for injuries and
congratulated her for trying to get a peaceful resolution.
Apparently not fighting back or defending yourself qualified as
good behavior. He told her to shower and clean off the sand and
paint ground into her face. Today she could go in to school late.
Yippee. She was sick and tired of being pushed around.

After her shower, she gave a report to the
police about Juanita stealing her Jamieson CD. Narking seemed like
a lame reason to be pummeled against a wall, but the CD was one of
the few belongings she had left that tied her to Peter. She refused
to put up with Juanita’s constant bullying anymore.

In fact, she was done taking everybody’s
crap. She’d spent nearly two years doing what everyone else told
her to. She’d been the model orphan child. No more! She’d been lied
to, misled, and manipulated. There was no one left who cared about
her; they’d all left or been taken away. Feeling sorry for herself
wouldn’t help either. It was time to stand up for herself and move
forward, not cower in submission as other people made bad decisions
for her.

Today this madness stopped. She refused to
sit in this crappy house and get bullied and beat up. She’d been
afraid for so long. That ended today. She decided to take back her
life. Sink or swim, she’d do it on her own. She knew she could.

The decision made, Libby moved through her
room with purpose. She dumped the schoolbooks and papers out of her
backpack and kicked them under the bed. She went to the dresser and
surveyed the contents. She grabbed a pair of jeans, three warm
tops, a couple pair of socks and underwear, an extra bra. Then she
pulled a thick sweatshirt over the one she already wore. She
dropped her makeup bag into the backpack, then pulled it back out.
It took up too much space. She opened the bag, grabbed blush and
mascara, dropped them into the pack and left the rest on the
dresser.

She cushioned the picture of her family by
wrapping it inside a t-shirt and then placed it in the middle of
the pack. She moved around the room, scanning each item for
something she might need in her future life. Nothing.

Her eyes settled on her narrow bed. Without
pause, she went to the far side and reached deep between the
mattress and box spring. She pulled out a bank envelope full of
money she stashed from her job. She counted one hundred and
fifty-three dollars, not nearly enough. She stuffed the cash in her
back pocket. She opened the closet and examined the contents, a few
shirts, several pair of shoes and the dress from homecoming that
Miss Orman refused to take back. She left it all. She needed
nothing from this place.

She looked at Juanita’s side of the room.
Clothes littered the floor and the bed was unmade. She hesitated
only a moment, then moved to the dresser and worked her way, drawer
by drawer.

Bingo!

Inside the second drawer, lay her Jamieson
CD in its cracked case; she tucked it in her bag. In the next
drawer she found an empty cigarette container, inside of which she
discovered a thick wad of bills and a couple of joints. She dumped
the filthy drugs into the drawer and scanned the bills, a couple
hundred dollars. She thought twice about taking the loot, but
figured Juanita probably stole it to begin with, or earned it
selling drugs. It made sense that dirty money would help her
now.

Satisfied, she checked the hall. She heard
Scott on the phone in the kitchen. Libby stepped quietly to the
front door and grabbed his warm gloves off the table. She needed
these more than he did.

She exited the front door, pulling it
quietly shut. She stood on the front porch and took one long deep
breath. Libby Sawyer was finished, dead to her. She walked away
from the house and never looked back.

My life begins, today.

Chapter 20

The spectacular view of Paris from the
Eiffel Tower was wasted on Peter. The opportunities the band
enjoyed were unheard of. They were far from their Pennsylvania
childhood. He wandered the world-class restaurant, surrounded by
affluent people and checked his phone again.

One message.

He punched in his password, hoping this time
to hear Libby on the other end. Each message became pure agony as
he failed to find her cheery voice.

“
Hi Peter, this is Julie
Orman from Rockville High School. Please call me
immediately.”

He held his breath, hopeful. Perhaps this
was the call he’d been waiting for, that she’d found Libby.
Finally, he felt hope. He checked his watch, calculated the time
difference and dialed the number. He moved to the bank of windows
on the side of the elegant room, away from the crowd. “Pick up,
pick up,” he said to himself as he gazed out at the stunning
skyline.

“
Hello, Julie Orman
speaking.”

“
Hi Miss Orman, this is
Peter Jamieson, I just got your message. Did you find
her?”

He heard her sigh. “Hi Peter, I’m afraid I
have some bad news. I wanted to get a hold of you right away.”

“
Tell me, please.” His
chest tightened as he braced himself, praying she was wrong and
that it was good news. That Libby returned to school and waited for
him.

“
Child Welfare Services
contacted me this afternoon. They placed Libby in a group home and
not with a foster family as we thought.” Her voice sounded sad.
“I’m sorry to tell you this, but she ran away ten days ago, and
there’s been no sign of her since.”

“
Why would she do that? Are
you sure?”

Miss Orman paused a moment and cleared her
throat. “There was an altercation with another girl and Libby got
hurt.”

A silent void occupied the phone line. Peter
raised his eyes to the stars that shone above Paris, but only
despair rained down on him.

“
Is she hurt bad? Do they
know where she went?” His voice became a whisper as he digested the
news.

“
I wish I had some answers
for you. The authorities are looking, but Libby’s disappeared, she
doesn’t want to be found. If she contacts you, please let her know
I’m here and want to help.”

“
She doesn’t have my new
number. She doesn’t even know how to reach me.” Peter’s heart
dropped. “Do you think they’ll find her?” His mind began to reel.
Too many possibilities. Too many unanswered questions.

“
She’s fallen off the
radar. They’ve all but given up. She hasn’t shown up in her old
neighborhood in Michigan, there is no sign of her here in
Rockville. I don’t know what to do.” Miss Orman’s voice heavy with
emotion. “I pray she’s okay. I’m so sorry. I feel I let her
down.”

Silence hung between them as they both felt
responsible.

“
I know, me too. Thank you
for calling, I’ve got to hang up,” he said before he broke down. He
slid the phone closed. Around him the room buzzed with excitement.
The sound became a static white noise in his ears. He saw, but
heard nothing. Libby was gone. There was no way to find her. How
had life gone from perfect to this nightmare he couldn’t wake up
from.

Garrett and Adam walked over.

“
Pete, what’s up?” Garrett
said.

He looked up from his stupor. “Nothing.
Nothing at all.”

The other two exchanged a worried glance. He
knew they’d been growing more concerned about him.

“
At least nothing you care
about.” Peter looked around the room filled with happy friends and
colleagues. “I gotta get outta here.” Despair filled his eyes as he
searched for the closest exit and took it.

Garrett nodded to Adam. “You better get Mom.
It’s gotta be about Libby.”

Adam took off, darting through the crowd of
VIP attendees who sipped their cocktails oblivious to the crisis.
Garrett went after Peter. “Pete, wait up!”

Peter stopped and turned around. They stood
in the staging area of the restaurant kitchen. Around them a busy
staff of waiters and chefs looked up from their work, surprised to
see the superstar guests of honor in their kitchen.

“
Is everything okay?” He
searched Peter’s face