Just a Freak

Mr. Ben?

"Riley?" Who'd have ever thought he'd be driving down the street at this precise moment. "Riley, what're you doing out here?"

"I don't know," I whispered.

I got in his car. He drove me back to the house.

I never thought in a million years I'd be so happy to see my mother.

"Riley!" she gasped. "What's wrong?"

I was three years old again, crying in my mother's arms.

I just shook my head and kept crying.

I sat on the couch and she made me hot chocolate.

A Christmas Carol was on the TV. I don't know why, it's not Christmas. It was the very ending, where Scrooge runs out of his house and starts wishing people "Merry Christmas" and buys that family the big turkey and they have dinner together.

You know, with the kid named Tiny Tim?

It was the black and white version.

"Caleb called for you," Mom told me.

And suddenly everything seemed okay.

"Can--can I call him back?" My nose was runny and my voice was hiccupy.

She nodded slowly.

Mr. Ben was stll in the kitchen. He and Mom were probably talking about me.

"Hello?" Mrs. Amherst.

"Mrs. Amherst?" I said. "Can I talk to Caleb?"

She was quiet for a moment. And then she said, "Sure."

I took a shaky gulp of my hot chocolate and then I heard his voice.

"Hello?" It was Caleb.

Oh, God, it was Caleb.

"Where were you?" I whispered.

"Riley?"

"Yeah."

He hesitated. "I guess you could say my family sort of found out."

"About what?" Because Caleb's got a lot of things going on.

"Me and Brian," he said.

That made sense. Brian said no one even picked up when he called.

"Where they mad?"

"At first."

The hot chocolate made my cold hands feel so warm.

"And now they're not mad?"

He was quiet for a moment before saying, "My Mom isn't."

"Oh."

Poor K.

"Are you okay, Riley?" he asked me.

God.

I started crying again. But quieter.

"No," I said.

And I told him what happened.